We’re in the thick of the 2025 MLB season, with the All-Star Game in Atlanta just over a month away and the trade deadline just a few weeks later.
In this week’s roundtable, FOX Sports MLB experts Rowan Kavner and Deesha Thosar do a temperature check on the biggest storylines in the league.
1. How do you see this Drake Baldwin-Sean Murphy situatin shaking out for the Braves, given Murphy was the more established veteran, but Baldwin had the kind of All-Star-caliber promise that led Atlanta to give him this opportunity in the first place?
Kavner: The reigning Rookie of the Month is clobbering the baseball. Baldwin’s hitting for both contact and power, and all the underlying numbers support the production. Among Braves hitters with at least 100 plate appearances this year, Baldwin has the highest hard-hit rate, second-highest OPS and second-lowest strikeout rate. So, until or unless that changes, that’s a player the Braves have to continue working in as they try to claw back into contention. Then again, it’s easy to say the Braves need to find at-bats for someone like that. Finding those at-bats is harder when the DH spot is occupied by Marcell Ozuna (who has been the best hitter on the team all year) and Murphy has been one of the five best hitters on the club. I think right now, the right answer is continuing on as is, and maybe Baldwin wins out in the timeshare. You could entertain trade offers for Murphy, but the current system alleviates some of the pressure on Baldwin if he were to experience a second-half downturn. After all, it’s hard to hold up full-time at that position as a young player over the course of a full season. Plus, it’s not the worst thing to have two great catchers with one coming off the bench to pinch-hit late.
Thosar: The Braves can’t afford to take Baldwin’s bat out of the lineup. He’s been one of the only bright spots on an offense that’s ranked 19th in MLB, and the Braves have as many wins as the Rockies (3) since May 23. I think he’ll continue receiving starts at catcher and DH, especially to help get Murphy and Ozuna off their feet. But there will likely be a drop off in his playing time now — unless the Braves try something unconventional. Maybe they can let Baldwin continue to hit by playing him at a different position. It would be pretty unusual to move Baldwin to, say, left field since he’s only posted up at catcher throughout his professional career. But, at this point, if it won’t exactly harm his development, what does Atlanta have to lose?
Jaocb deGrom was arguably the best pitcher in the league for seven years, winning Rookie of the Year honors, multiple Cy Young awards, and four All-Star nods. (Photo by Sam Hodde/Getty Images)
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2. It feels like Jacob deGrom is back to his old self this year with the Rangers. How do you handle the legacy of an arm like this, who has been — and is — dominant in a way few others are, but has so rarely been on the mound for so many of those years?
Kavner: Hall of Fame worthy stuff, Hall of Fame worthy rate stats, one of the best pitchers in the sport’s history when he’s on the mound … and, at least at this point, not on the mound enough to be a Hall of Famer. Sandy Koufax is probably the prime example of one of the best pitchers of all time whose career was shortened by injury, and Koufax finished with 165 wins and more than 2,300 innings and strikeouts. DeGrom has fewer than 100 wins and well fewer than 2,000 innings and 2,000 strikeouts. Now, obviously the game has changed considerably since the days of Koufax, and if deGrom can win a third Cy Young, perhaps that would put him in enough rare company to get in the conversation without the counting stats. His peak, after all, is as dominant as anyone’s. So, if he can be one of the best pitchers on the planet for a few more years — and, most importantly, stay healthy through his late-30s — he could make it interesting. At some point, there will need to be a longer conversation about what should constitute a Hall of Fame career for a big-league starter, given how rare it is for a pitcher to throw 200 innings anymore.
Thosar: Jacob deGrom is in the same camp as Mike Trout, in that they’re two of the greatest players in baseball history, but it’s anyone’s guess how long they’ll dominate before inevitably landing on the injured list. Given deGrom debuted at 26 years old, I do think he has more mileage left on his arm than people might give him credit for. His counting stats might not be enough to get him into the Hall of Fame, but his limited innings pitched suggests, as long as he can stay healthy, he has the chance to defy the odds and pitch into his 40s. It’s impressive that deGrom seems to have unlocked another level by taking some velo off his fastball. It wasn’t sustainable to throw triple-digit heaters every fifth day and expect to stay on the mound. Now that he’s dialed it back, and has remained effective, that might just be the magic recipe for deGrom, which is terrific for fans of the sport. Baseball is better when deGrom is on the mound.
3. Trent Grisham has been quite the surprise for the Yankees. Has there been a real change here that can help the Yankees going forward, or should they just be happy that they’ve already gotten this much out of the center fielder?
Kavner: Yes … and yes. The Yankees should be thrilled at what they’ve gotten, but even if it doesn’t stay quite this productive all year — he already saw a rather significant downturn in May, and I’m going to take the under on a 138 OPS+ by season’s end — there are real reasons to believe he can remain a well above-average hitter. He has made some stance changes — more open, more distance between his feet — and he’s finding the sweet spot and making contact far more often in the zone. He has always been a patient hitter, sometimes to his detriment which is why his strikeout rate has always been higher than you’d expect for someone who rarely chases and walks a ton. Now, he’s still taking a lot of free bases while registering a career-low strikeout rate. Most importantly, he’s also clobbering pitches to hit early in the count more often than he had in the past. It all seems to be coming together for him at 28, and it’s possible an All-Star nod is ahead.
Thosar: The Yankees should be happy that Grisham helped carry the offense in April, and anything else he does now is a bonus. After posting a 1.009 OPS in April, Grisham is starting to come back down to earth. He’s batting .174 (8-for-46) with one home run over the past two weeks, but he still gives a quality at-bat every time he’s at the plate, sporting a chase rate that’s in the 100th percentile this season. And the man has played in 52 of the Yankees’ 59 games this year, so he’s probably getting tired. The Yankees could’ve given Grisham more off days up until this weekend, before left fielder Jasson Dominguez sustained a thumb injury and is now considered day-to-day. Now, Grisham needs to continue posting in center field while providing just enough to get by with his bat. But the Yankees have the best outfield production in MLB (thanks, of course, to Aaron Judge) so they have a cushion in case Grisham returns to being more of a bench player.
Kyle Schwarber is batting .266/.398/.584 with 19 homers, and in 2024 he led the NL in walks while just missing hitting 40 homers, a feat he managed in 2022 and 2023 (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)
4. Kyle Schwarber is 32, and in the last season of his deal with the Phillies. Should the Phillies be trying to extend him before he even makes it to free agency, or is playing things slower and waiting until the offseason the right move?
Kavner: Considering he has more than twice as many homers as any player in the Phillies’ lineup, and how little pop there has been behind him, Bryce Harper and Trea Turner, I think it’s definitely worth a conversation. The fit is great, and he seems to enjoy being in Philadelphia. But I wonder if it might be too late now, given just how good he has been this year. Schwarber’s in the midst of the best offensive season of his career. He has been the seventh-best hitter in MLB by wRC+, he’s the only player on the team slugging over .500, and he’ll be one of the best bats on the market. I have a hard time thinking — or seeing a reason why — he would agree to sign an extension in season before testing free agency, even if he ultimately does end up back with the Phillies.
Thosar: Schwarber is the most important person in the Phillies lineup, besides Bryce Harper. So they really have nobody to replace him, and no choice but to try and extend him before another contending team makes him an offer he can’t refuse in the offseason. Keep in mind, there’s also a thin market for designated hitters this winter, with Marcell Ozuna the only other DH who will become a free agent. Schwarber is beloved by the Phillies fan base in a way we haven’t seen in years. But I think, ultimately, the decision to extend him will depend on how desperate the Phillies are to win. Schwarber likely has 2-3 good years left in him before he experiences the inevitable drop off from power hitters in their mid 30s. Signing Schwarber to a 2-3 year deal keeps the Phillies’ championship window open. Waiting to re-sign him in the offseason will only raise his price.
5. We’ve had two distinct versions of the Athletics in the season’s first two months. Through May 5, they were 20-16, and held one of the AL’s three wild card spots. In the games since through Monday, though, they’re 3-22 — that’s worse than the Rockies in the same stretch — and are now on pace for 101 losses. Which version of the A’s is closer to the truth we should expect to see from here on out?
Kavner: Sadly, when you have a worse ERA than the team that’s trending toward the worst record in MLB history, it’s probably the latter. The A’s have a 5.85 ERA overall, a staggering 6.22 ERA at home and have allowed the most home runs in the majors, and we haven’t even gotten to the summer heat that will descend upon Sacramento and send even more baseballs into orbit. I have a hard time thinking that will make life easier. Jacob Wilson is the clear AL Rookie of the Year frontrunner, Lawrence Butler is heating up and Brent Rooker and Tyler Soderstrom continue to rake, and yet the A’s have still one won of their last 20 games. ONE OF THEIR LAST 20! They’ve allowed eight or more runs in each of their last six games. The offensive talent in place can’t fix that.
Thosar: The A’s dreadful 1-18 stretch from May 24 to June 3 was their worst record over a 19-game span since going 1-18 in 1943. So, they’re not as good as they were in April (14-12), but they’re definitely better than they’ve been playing lately. A troubling sign of things to come is the A’s MLB-worst 5.85 ERA as a pitching staff — and it’s only the beginning of June. As the weather gets warmer, the ball is going to start flying in Sacramento soon, which will only make that ERA more bloated. Even though the A’s offense will have that same opportunity to watch their hits fly in the summer months, it won’t matter much if the pitching staff isn’t even giving them a chance to win the game.
Deesha Thosar is an MLB writer for FOX Sports. She previously covered the Mets as a beat reporter for the New York Daily News. The daughter of Indian immigrants, Deesha grew up on Long Island and now lives in Queens. Follow her on Twitter at @DeeshaThosar.
Rowan Kavner is an MLB writer for FOX Sports. He previously covered the L.A. Dodgers, LA Clippers and Dallas Cowboys. An LSU grad, Rowan was born in California, grew up in Texas, then moved back to the West Coast in 2014. Follow him on Twitter at @RowanKavner.
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