Rafael Devers returned to Fenway Park on Friday for the first time since the Boston Red Sox traded him to the San Francisco Giants in June 2025.
Since Devers' relationship with the Red Sox, particularly with chief baseball officer Craig Breslow, didn't end particularly well, it could be reasonably ******* umed that fans might not greet the three-time All-Star warmly.
But he received a mixed reaction from the Fenway crowd with boos largely overpowering cheers during pregame introductions and when he took his first at-bat. Batting second in the Giants' lineup, Devers struck out looking on four pitches from Boston starter Sonny Gray.
Resentments understandably linger after Devers was traded largely because of the tension he created by refusing to move from third base to designated hitter when Boston signed Alex Bregman as a free agent. But with Bregman being a far superior defensive player, Devers eventually ceded and played at DH.
However, the possibility of switching positions came up again when first baseman Triston Casas ruptured his patellar tendon and the Red Sox needed someone to replace him at the position. Devers seemed a natural fit as a defensively challenged slugger. But he balked at being asked again to play another position during the season.

#bregman #time

Matthew Liberatore was his best self Friday afternoon as the St. Louis Cardinals entered the gauntlet of Wrigley Field to play the Cubs for the start of a crucial weekend series. The problem was that Cubs starter Clay Holmes was even better. The first 2/3 of the game was a scoreless and nearly hitless duel. Wheels would start to come off for the Cardinals in that last third of the game, though.
There are no offensive highlights to share with you from the first half of the game. However, there were a couple of defensive gems provided by the middle infield of the Cardinals. In the bottom of the 4th inning, Pete Crow-Armstrong was robbed by Masyn Winn. ROBBED!
The very next batter Suzuki was also denied base access, this time by future Gold Glove second baseman JJ Wetherholt. ROBBED AGAIN!
The Cubs would threaten to break through the scoring drought in the bottom of the 6th inning when Liberatore handed out a leadoff walk to Taylor. Dansby Swanson singled to center which gave Chicago runners at first and third with no outs. Matthew was able to get PCA to foul out to third for the first out, but that would be the end of Liberatore's strong outing Friday. George Soriano was brought in to face Suzuki. During his at-bat, Swanson stole second giving the Cubs two runners in scoring position. The stolen base wouldn't matter as Suzuki connected on an 88 mph changeup as it cleared the wall in left field traveling 390 feet and giving Chicago a 3-0 lead.
The Chicago Cubs 6th inning wasn't over yet as Soriano followed the Suzuki homer with a walk to Alex Bregman and a single to Michael Busch still with just one out. Fortunately, JJ Wetherholt and Masyn Winn combined on a double play on a grounder from Nico ******* ner to end the inning with the damage already being done. The final stat line for Matthew Liberatore would look less impressive than the eye test where he looked extremely sharp for the first 5 innings. Matthew tossed 5 1/3 innings striking out 6 and only walking 1, but those 2 earned runs that crossed the plate along with the 1 Soriano was responsible for were a killer.

#matthew #suzuki #cardinals #inning

WASHINGTON (AP) — Pete Crow-Armstrong, Alex Bregman and Seiya Suzuki homered, and the Chicago Cubs rallied from an early deficit to beat the Washington Nationals 8-6 on Tuesday night.
Crow-Armstrong's third-inning shot, his 27th, hit the facade of the third deck in right field, traveling an estimated 437 feet.
Bregman hit his 13th homer and finished 2 for 4 with three runs scored. Suzuki hit his 20th in the eighth inning to make it 8-4.
The Cubs (70-50) improved to a season-best 20 games over .500. They were 34-34 on June 10 but have gone 36-16 since, and they have a commanding lead in the NL wild-card race.
All-Star CJ Abrams hit a two-run homer in the first inning for Washington, his 29th, and Jacob Young went deep in the second, his 10th, to give the Nationals a 3-1 lead. Dylan Crews also hit his 10th homer for Washington.

#washington #bregman #Cubs

The Nats got their second sweep of the season this weekend. Now they will look to build off that this week. That will be tough against a Cubs team that has been playing great baseball the past couple of months. Pete Crow-Armstrong in particular is performing at an absurd level.
With a lefty on the mound, the platoon heavy Nats have a lot of righties in the lineup. Dylan Crews will lead off while Andres Chaparro hits second and plays first. After not playing much this weekend, Andrew Pinckney will get the start in left field. Brady House and Harry Ford also return to the lineup. Jake Irvin will be on the mound tonight for his first home start since mid-May.
As mentioned, Pete Crow-Armstrong has been a monster at the top of the Cubs lineup. However, there is also plenty of depth as well. The likes of Seiya Suzuki and Alex Bregman feature in the middle of the order. Even at the bottom of the order the Cubs have an established veteran in Dansby Swanson. The Cubs have **** anese lefty Shota Imanaga on the mound.
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#armstrong #second

The Chicago Cubs denied the Los Angeles Dodgers' late comeback attempt on Wednesday, completing a three-game sweep over the World Series champions.
Shohei Ohtani hit his 29th leadoff home run as a Dodger to kick off the game, rising to No. 2 in the Dodgers' all-time leaderboard. He now only trails Mookie Betts by three homers in that ranking, and will certainly catch up to him if he maintains his spot at the top of the order.
Eric Lauer started the game for the Dodgers, looking to maintain his spotless record since becoming a Dodger, but didn't do himself any favors, allowing six runs during his four-inning outing.
The Cubs immediately tied the game in the bottom of the first inning, as Pete Crow-Armstrong hit a leadoff homer of his own. They scored two more times in the bottom of the second inning, as Dansby Swanson and Crow-Armstrong both hit RBI doubles to take the lead.
Crow-Armstrong got to Lauer again in the bottom of the fourth, hitting his second home run of the day—this time scoring two runs to make the score 5-1. Lauer allowed a double to Seiya Suzuki immediately after, and Alex Bregman singled him home to further extend the lead.

#home #inning #Cubs

Shohei Ohtani tattooed the seventh pitch of Wednesday's series finale between his Los Angeles Dodgers and the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. With an exit velocity of 110.2 mph, the ball jumped off his bat and whipped over the right-field wall.
Pete Crow-Armstrong, a contender to dethrone Ohtani as the National League's MVP, answered in the bottom half of the inning with some leadoff fireworks of his own.
PCA teed off on the first pitch Dodgers southpaw Eric Lauer tossed, a 90.2-mph four-seam fastball. His game-tying solo shot soared 420 feet to center. It also made him the first player in Cubs history to mount consecutive seasons with at least 25 homers and 25 stolen bases, according to ESPN's Jesse Rogers.
Crow-Armstrong's response, and MVP case, didn't end there. The next inning, he ripped an RBI double that bounced off the right-field wall. Two innings after that, in the fourth, he launched another big fly off Lauer. That two-run dinger traveled 405 feet, again to right. The no-doubter lifted Chicago to a 5-1 advantage. Soon after, an RBI single from Alex Bregman extended that lead to 6-1.
Crow-Armstrong, who entered the day leading all MLB players in wins above replacement (7.0), per Baseball Reference, showcased his massive improvement against left-handed pitching this season.

#ohtani #Dodgers #Chicago #lauer

CHICAGO — The Chicago Cubs spoiled Tarik Skubal's debut with the slumping Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday night, posting a 5-1 victory behind key RBI singles by Nico ******* ner and Pete Crow-Armstrong.
Dansby Swanson connected for a solo homer as Chicago won for the third time in four games.
Skubal permitted two runs and four hits over six innings in his first start since he was acquired in a trade with Detroit on Saturday night. The two-time AL Cy Young Award winner threw 85 pitches, 51 for strikes.
Kyle Tucker homered for Los Angeles, which finished with four hits in its fifth consecutive loss. It's the longest slide for the Dodgers since they also dropped five in a row in early September last year.
With two out and runners at the corners in the sixth, ******* ner hit a high chopper to the right of the mound. Alex Bregman scampered home on the infield single, giving Chicago a 2-1 lead.

#four #night

CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Cubs spoiled Tarik Skubal's debut with the slumping Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday night, posting a 5-1 victory behind key RBI singles by Nico ******* ner and Pete Crow-Armstrong.
Dansby Swanson connected for a solo homer as Chicago won for the third time in four games.
Skubal permitted two runs and four hits over six innings in his first start since he was acquired in a trade with Detroit on Saturday night. The two-time AL Cy Young Award winner threw 85 pitches, 51 for strikes.
Kyle Tucker homered for Los Angeles, which finished with four hits in its fifth consecutive loss. It's the longest slide for the Dodgers since they also dropped five in a row in early September last year.
With two out and runners at the corners in the sixth, ******* ner hit a high chopper to the right of the mound. Alex Bregman scampered home on the infield single, giving Chicago a 2-1 lead.

#four #Dodgers #hits #since

Tarik Skubal had a perfectly fine Dodgers debut with six strikeouts in six strong innings. But the Dodgers couldn't score much at all, while the Cubs offense did just enough off Skubal then teed off on the bullpen in a 5-1 win at Wrigley Field, the season-worst fifth straight loss for the Dodgers.
Skubal allowed a home run to Dansby Swanson in the third inning, his only hit allowed the first time through the order. He struck out six, finishing off two of them with changeups, two more with four-seam fastballs, and one each with his sinker and curveball.
Dodgers defenders made several sharp plays behind Skubal, including two sliding catches in the outfield by Andy Pages and one by Kyle Tucker through the first three innings.
But in the sixth inning, a fly ball to deep right field by Alex Bregman that Tucker appeared to have a beat on simply dropped behind him for a double instead of an out. That put two runners in scoring position with one out. Tommy Edman with the infield in snagged a grounder and threw home to prevent a run from scoring, but a Baltimore chop in the infield into no-man's land behind the mound to second base fell for a Nico Horner single to score the go-ahead run.
Skubal was only at 85 pitches through six innings, but that was it for him, albeit after a stressful sixth inning, even with the bottom of the Cubs order due up in the seventh.

#innings #field #score #allowed

The Yankees blew a late lead against the Chicago Cubs to even the series following their 5-2 loss on Saturday night.
-- In his third start since returning from the IL due to a bone bruise in his left elbow, Max Fried was dominant over 5.1 innings. His only blemish came in the first inning after a leadoff walk to Pete Crow-Armstrong was followed by two wild pitches that sandwiched a groundout that advanced the runner to third base and scored the game's first run without a hit.
From there, the left-hander didn't allow a baserunner until Alex Bregman gave the Cubs their first hit with a one-out single in the fourth. However, Fried easily disposed of the next two batters to end the inning unharmed.
-- It was the next half inning that the bottom of the Yankees' lineup helped their starting pitcher out and got on the board to tie things up.
After two quick outs, Spencer Jones reached base on a fielding error by first baseman Michael Busch. That opening allowed the next batter, Ali Sanchez, to sneak one through the right side for a base hit before Jose Caballero capped the two-out rally with a run-scoring single to right field.

#next

Thursday's afternoon game between the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs can be described with two words: missed opportunities. Runners in scoring position not realized would be a problem for both the Cardianls and Cubs. Andre Pallante kept the Cubs relatively quiet, but would he get enough offensive support for a win? So many questions.
The St. Louis Cardinals were the first to score Thursday in the bottom of the 2nd inning when Lars Nootbaar and Masyn Winn drew one-out walks. That brought up Bryan Torres who singled to left scoring Nootbaar and giving the Cardinals an early 1-0 lead. That run would unfortunately be all St. Louis could manage in the bottom of the 2nd as Blaze Jordan and Nathan Church left runners in scoring position.
The Chicago Cubs tied the game in the top of the 4th inning when Alex Bregman slammed a one-out double. He would score when Lars Nootbaar forgot there was only one out when Ian Happ flew out to right allowing Bregman to score. File this under mistakes the St. Louis Cardinals cannot afford to make, but stuff happens and that tied the game at 1-1.
Both the Cardinals and Cubs would have opportunities to score in the middle innings, but no results until the top of the 7th inning when Dansby Swanson drew a one-out walk. That would end Andre Pallante's day. By the way, if you didn't see Masyn Winn's play in the top of the 7th inning on a ball to deep short, it might be his best play of the year so far.
George Soriano would enter the game and be greeted by Swanson stealing second base. After Pete Crow-Armstrong struck out (a moment all of Cardinals Nation enjoys), Suzuki walked followed by a two-out single by Michael Busch scoring Swanson and giving the Cubs a brief 2-1 lead. Very brief.

#inning #Chicago

Trying to describe what happened when the St. Louis Cardinals played a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs Tuesday night is like trying to explain what it looked like when you see a dumpster on fire. It wasn't pretty, but it happened so let's begin.
The Chicago Cubs made St. Louis Cardinals starter Michael McGreevy look like a batting practice pitcher. It started out promising enough (for the first out, anyway) when Pete Crow-Armstrong struck out gloriously. From there, it was downhill at blazing speed. I'll keep this as brief as possible. Suzuki singled. Two batters later, Bregman hit a ground rule double then Ian Happ hit a double which made it 2-0 Cubs before most of the Busch Stadium crowd had even taken their seat.
The top of the 2nd inning was worse. So much worse. Conforto singled. Kelly walked. Two batters later, PCA hit a sacrifice fly then Suzuki doubled, Busch singled, Bregman singled, Happ walked, then Nico ******* ner singled to right. By the time the carnage was over, it was 7-0 Cubs. Even the all-you-can-eat Busch Stadium food deal isn't enough to redeem this type of experience. Michael McGreevy didn't even finish the 2nd inning. That was Gordon Graceffo's job and, to his credit, he kept the Cubs from piling on any more runs until he was replaced by Justin Bruihl in the top of the 5th inning.
The Cardinals would manage to scrounge around for a run in the bottom of the 4th inning when they loaded the bases with an Alec Burleson walk, a Nootbaar infield single, a Masyn Winn single and a Nathan Church sacrifice fly with the bases loaded slightly reducing the humiliation making it 7-1 Cubs.
The Cubs were determined to squash whatever faint hopes the Cardinals might have managed with that menial 1-run bottom of the 4th by grabbing another run in the top of the 5th inning when Nico ******* ner walked then stole second, advanced to third on a wild pitch by Justin Bruihl and then scored on an infield single from Ramirez restoring the 7-run lead making it 8-1 Chicago. The Cubs added another run in the top of the 8th to make it 9-1 and another in the top of the 9th to make it 10-1, but who really cares? Oh, the Cardinals did add a run in the bottom of the 9th inning when Masyn Winn doubled in Lars Nootbaar who had walked to make the final score 10-2, but we still don't care.

#even

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Alex Bregman had a homer, two doubles and drove in two runs to lead the Chicago Cubs to a 7-3 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Monday night.
Bregman had sat out Sunday's game in Pittsburgh after going hitless in his previous three games. Against the Cardinals, he snapped out of an 0-for-12 slump with four hits and scored three runs in a game that was delayed an hour and 46 at the start due to rain.
Nico ****** ner also had four hits, including a two-run homer in the ninth as the Cubs banged out 14 hits in the win.
David Peterson (6-7) worked 5 2/3 innings and earned the win. The 30-year-old left-hander, who was acquired on June 25 from the New York Mets, struck out two and allowed two runs on three hits and two walks.
Matthew Liberatore (5-8) was tagged for three runs on eight hits and two walks in 3 2/3 innings.

#hits #Cubs #homer

The St. Louis Cardinals entered Monday night's game against the Chicago Cubs with an urgent need to turn their recent downward spiral around. The Chicago Cubs and specifically their bats seemed determined to not allow that to happen.
Matthew Liberatore started the game for the Cardinals who planned to piggyback his start with Hunter Dobbins for the final half of the game. David Peterson, who the Cardinals hit hard in their last encounter, made that seem like a distant memory as he held St. Louis and their struggling offense to a minimum of opportunities.
The Cubs scored on Matthew Liberatore in each of the first 3 innings. In the top of the 1st inning, Liberatore walked Pete Crow-Armstrong, but then picked him off of first to the delight of the "Tarps Off" crowd in right field. Chicago got the last laugh, though, as Suzuki and Bregman hit back-to-back doubles giving the Cubs a 1-0 lead.
Chicago would score again in the top of the 2nd inning as Nico ****** ner led off with a single. After Ian Happ struck out, Dansby Swanson singled giving Chicago runners at first and second with just one out. Amaya then smacked a single to right doubling the Cubs lead to 2-0.
The Cardinals would get one run back in the bottom of the 2nd inning when José Fermín would become the Fermínator muscling up for a 407 foot shot into Big Mac Land reducing the Cubs lead to 2-1.

#liberatore #game #lead

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - JANUARY 15: Chicago Cubs general manager Jed Hoyer speaks to the media during a press conference o introduce Alex Bregman (not pictured) at Wrigley Field on January 15, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Geoff Stellfox/Getty Images)
With the trade deadline looming at the beginning of next month, the Chicago Cubs made a significant move that seems designed to protect their outfield depth for the stretch run.
The Cubs entered the week firmly in the postseason picture and are expected to be active buyers before the deadline. While much of the attention has focused on potential impact additions for the pitching staff, the front office quietly addressed another area of concern by adding a former first-round outfielder who was recently cut loose by a fierce division rival.
ESPN Veteran Addresses Pat McAfee-Linked Layoffs After Phillies, Dodgers Game
That move became official this week when Chicago quietly signed former Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Greg Jones to a minor-league contract.

#Cubs #illinois #january #week

CINCINNATI — Alex Bregman described the Chicago Cubs' first half of the season Saturday as a time of "some high highs and some low lows," which sounds about right.
It was highlighted by a pair of 10-game win streaks, an MVP-caliber performance by Pete Crow-Armstrong, the emergence of Ben Brown as a primetime starter and the continued defensive excellence that has been the team's hallmark under manager Craig Counsell. Ten walk-off wins, a 23-run outburst featuring eight home runs and a PCA cycle were all binge-worthy moments.
The low points included the devastating loss of Cade Horton, the nonstop march of pitching injuries, the 10-game losing streak, a prolonged offensive slump by Dansby Swanson and an early power outage by Bregman, the team's biggest offseason acquisition.
There was even a cameo appearance by a well-fed rat at Wrigley Field in April, which forced a team spokesman to **** ure fans the Cubs "take the health and safety of our guests seriously." Rat aside, the mental health of Cubs fans was almost always in question, thanks to a team that went from ridiculously good to unquestionably bad and then back to good again.
The Cubs finished things up Sunday with a victory over the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ballpark, ending the first half with a bang.

So, it turns out the Cubs are no slouches after all. And though it’s their offense that’s supposed to be a team strength, today the Most Cub-Like Player had to have been the starter, Matthew Boyd. The lefty hounded the Orioles all night, the way you thought a crafty lefty might. Through six innings, Baltimore had no runs and just three hits—a single apiece by Adley Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson and Pete Alonso—off the 2025 All-Star, who was mixing up speeds and locations. That’s no way to win a ballgame.
You can’t be too mad at a Shane Baz quality start (six innings, three runs) against MLB’s second-best offense. But his team gave him no help at all.
Rain delayed first pitch by an hour, so we kicked off bravely at the pretty regular hour of 7:30 ET. It didn’t appear to faze the Orioles starter, Baz, who confronted the Cubs with confidence, attacking the zone.
For two innings it kinda worked! Baz had a strong first inning, striking out the mighty Pete Crow-Armstrong with high heat before retiring Alex Bregman and Michael Busch on two quick flyouts. In the second, he allowed lots of noisy contact, including to outfielder Seiya Suzuki, who skied a ball deep to center, 383 feet away, 106 mph off the bat.
Despite keeping things scoreless, so many hard hits augured poorly for Baz in the third. Considering, it could have gone worse. With two outs, Miguel Amaya walked and Crow-Armstrong singled to center before Alex Bregman got a hanging Baz knuckle curve and singled home the Cubs’ first run. A concerned O’s pitching staff checked on Baz, but the damage wouldn’t go any further. It took a popout with the bases loaded to get Baz out of trouble, though.

BALTIMORE (AP) — Matthew Boyd pitched six shutout innings, Alex Bregman drove in two runs and the Chicago Cubs beat the Baltimore Orioles 5-2 Tuesday night.
Miguel Amaya scored three times for the Cubs, who have won 11 of 14 to tighten their grip on the top spot in the NL wild card.
Making his third start since being sidelined for seven weeks with a knee injury, Boyd (4-1) allowed three hits, struck out seven and walked two. The left-hander is 2-0 with a 1.72 ERA since returning from the injured list on June 25.
Cubs reliever Ryan Rolison entered in the seventh with a 4-0 lead and promptly gave up two singles and a walk to load the bases. Adley Rutschman delivered a two-out, two-run single off former Oriole Jacob Webb before Gunnar Henderson struck out.
Tyler Ferguson worked a perfect eighth and Trent Thornton got three straight outs for his second save.

Red Sox are finally seeing Caleb Durbin become the Alex Bregman replacement they needed originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
When the Boston Red Sox lost Alex Bregman over this past offseason, it was seen as a huge folly by their front office. He was the leader of their team, an All-Star, and one of their best hitters.
It got even worse when they missed on multiple sluggers they had convinced fans they were in on, and only in the end traded for a ROTY finalist in Caleb Durbin.
However, now, that trade is looking better and better by the day. In fact, Durbin might be a better replacement than Boston could have hoped for.
© Kevin Ng-Imagn Images

Take a flyball pitcher in JP Sears and put him on the mound in Wrigley Field with the wind blowing out you get a final score that looks like a bad football game. That was the case Tuesday night when the San Diego Padres suffered a 9-7 loss to the Chicago Cubs.
Sears was staked to a lead thanks to a leadoff home run from Fernando Tatis Jr. to start the game, but the 1-0 advantage was short-lived because a Tatis throwing error in the bottom of the inning allowed Seiya Suzuki to reach safely and advance to second base with two outs. Sears allowed an RBI-single to Carson Kelly and the game was tied 1-1 after the first inning.
The trouble for the left-hander came in the bottom of the second inning. Sears allowed a one-out solo home run to Dansby Swanson to give Chicago a 2-1 lead. He then allowed a single and a walk before allowing a three-run home run to Alex Bregman to give the Cubs a 5-1 lead. Manny Machado hit a two-run homer in the top of the third to make the score 5-3 in favor of the home team.
Both sides settled into the rhythm of the game until the bottom of the fifth inning when Sears allowed a solo blast to Michael Busch before allowing a two-out single to Ian Happ. Ron Marinaccio took over for Sears and allowed a two-run home run on a 2-2 pitch to the first batter he faced in Swanson who pushed the Cubs ahead, 8-3. Marinaccio was tagged for another home run to open the bottom of the sixth inning when he faced Pete Crow-Armstrong and the Padres found themselves trailing 9-3.
San Diego did mount a comeback in the top of the eighth inning when Gavin Sheets hit a three-run home run after a walk by Ty France and a one-out single by Xander Bogaerts. Tatis stepped to the plate later in the inning with two outs and connected on his second solo home run of the game and the second home run in the inning for San Diego, but that was where the scoring ended for the Padres and now, they find themselves looking to Walker Buehler to avoid a three-game sweep today at 11:20 a.m.

The Hall of Fame Index was first published in 201o. It had been in the works for nearly a decade at that point. The whole point was to establish a systematic way of looking at Hall of Fame candidates and those already in the Hall of Fame. At its best, it measures fitness for the Hall of Fame and aims to put players into groups with other similar players so we can compare them.
The sequel was published in 2020. It obviously updated numbers for players that were currently active, but also adjusted the formula as we got more information. One of the key things in statistical **** ysis is that we are always learning something new. The formula is similar to JAWS, but has a couple of key differences. First, it combines baseball-reference.com WAR and Fangraphs.com WAR into one number. I do that for two main reasons. First and foremost, the more data the better in most instances. It gives us a cross-section of what keen sabermetric minds feel about a player.
The second reason is that there is always an intellectual divide on these things. The old formulas included win shares, but since Bill James retired, there is no longer an update on current win shares, so that one has been dropped from the formula. Like JAWS, the index includes a peak value element. However, the peak value is made up of ten seasons. I have gotten push back on this and the push back is perfectly reasonable. I chose ten years because you need to play at least ten years to get into the Hall of Fame and ten years gives you slightly more data than the seven years that JAWS brings.
That is important distinction because I do not profile any players until they have been in the league for at least ten seasons. So, as we compare Alex Bregman to his contemporaries, there are five third baseman that make the list. I will not speak for Jay Jaffe (the creator of JAWS) but the index was never meant to rank order players. It was meant to place players into groups with other similar players so that we can directly compare them using other means. I have done this before with Bregman, but since we are at the midway point of the 2026 season, it is a good time to revisit it.
BWAR

Deep in the Southwest, there’s a deep pool of athletes who have hailed from New Mexico high schools.
Athletes like Brian Urlacher, Alex Bregman, and Nancy Lopez all hail from the Land of Enchantment, creating names for themselves and their home states through success in their respective fields. Athletic feats go beyond the everyday; others have become local legends.
Who is the all-time best New Mexico high school athlete?
As the United States approaches its 250th anniversary, USA TODAY is launching its 250 for 250 series, looking to answer that question by celebrating the best athletes from each state.
With your votes, five will be selected to represent the athletes who have defined high school sports.

Caleb Durbin Hot Month Continues, Numbers Rival Alex Bregman's originally appeared on NESN. Add NESN as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Caleb Durbin's career with the Boston Red Sox got off to one of the worst starts in team history when Durbin was left hitless through the team's first six games of the season. It wasn't until the third series of the year, and first at Fenway Park, that Durbin secured his first hit as a Red Sox.
His struggles offensively did not immediately expire. He has batted in the .100s all season. It wasn't until June 10 against the Tampa Bay Rays that the starter finally jumped into the .200s at the plate.
He has been red hot in June, and his bat is starting to draw national attention.
Durbin hit one home run in April before finishing the entire month of May without one long ball. Now 22 days through June, he has put four ***** over the fence with an OPS nearing 1.000.

Yankees, Blue Jays, and Red Sox could battle for Astros World Series champion, says ESPN’s Jeff Passan originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Around the American League East, we definitely see some of the better teams in Major League Baseball.
The New York Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays, and Boston Red Sox, when things are going as planned, are typically among the top teams in the American League. Over the last year, the Yankees and Blue Jays have definitely been better than the Red Sox, but that doesn't mean the Red Sox won't add at this year's trade deadline, which could mean these teams are even battling off the field this summer.
According to the latest report from ESPN's Jeff Passan, we could see a battle for Houston Astros shortstop Jeremy Pena.
“Replenishing a bad farm system with few players close to the big leagues takes a move like trading Pena, and the only question at this point is whether it will be before Aug. 3 or before the Dec. 1 lockout. No longer are the Astros in the position they were when they held onto George Springer, Carlos Correa and Alex Bregman all the way to free agency.

Despite a valiant comeback effort fueled by four home runs, the Colorado Rockies couldn’t overcome a disastrous second inning by the Chicago Cubs as they dropped the series finale 8-6 to lose the series. They finish their road trip with a 2-4 record.
After an impressive, albeit short, outing for his Major League debut, the Rockies hoped to see more of Sean Sullivan in his second start.
The night started promisingly as Sullivan allowed just one walk as he faced four batters and retired the side on 12 pitches. The top of the Cubs’ order looked off balance as he continued to be deceptive. However, the second inning proved to be a nightmare for the young lefty.
Alex Bregman led off the inning with a walk. Ian Happ blooped a single to right field that fell perfectly in a spot that no fielder could cover. Matt Shaw then tripled to center field to get the Cubs on the board with an early 2-0 lead. An RBI double from Carson Kelly followed to make it 3-0. The struggling Dansby Swanson then stepped up to the plate and hit a fly ball to left field that the wind pushed out for a two-run home run to make it 5-0 and complete the team cycle in the inning.
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If the Boston Red Sox are going to turn their season around, it's not going to be thanks to small changes. If the Red Sox really want to right the ship, they need to get bold and make a splash in the trade market.
Specifically, Boston needs to target an elite right-handed bat. The lineup is lefty-heavy already and is missing an important right-handed bat in Trevor Story. Plus, of course, the Red Sox let Alex Bregman walk in free agency before the 2026 season. Boston doesn't need to just add around the edges, but instead find a way to add another star to the organization, preferably under team control or a long-term contract.
One player who would be a dream target would be San Diego Padres superstar Fernando Tatis Jr. Despite a lack of power this season with just two homers, Tatis would give the Red Sox the right-handed bat they need and he's under contract through the 2034 season. If Craig Breslow is looking for a guy who could help save his job and the team's season, Tatis is the guy to call about, even if the Padres don't want to talk.
Here's a mock trade the Red Sox should call San Diego about and offer:
Red Sox Receive: OF/INF Fernando Tatis Jr.

Potential Red Sox Trade Target Needs 'Change Of Scenery' originally appeared on NESN. Add NESN as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Could the Boston Red Sox actually benefit from third baseman Alex Bregman signing with the Chicago Cubs? You betcha.
As we all know, Bregman traded Beantown for the Windy City. And the three-time All-Star is underwhelming the North Side, hitting just .250 this season with six home runs an OPS of .690.
But Bregman's five-year, $175 million contract ensures he's not going anywhere. The same goes for infielder Nico ***** ner, who signed a six-year, $141 million extension with the Cubs in March.
So when the music stops, infielder Matt Shaw could be left without a chair in Chicago. If that is the case, Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow would be wise to inquire about the Cubs' super utility man.

$126 Million Red Sox Target Expected To Hit Open Market, Per Insider originally appeared on NESN. Add NESN as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
One of the Boston Red Sox's top offseason targets could become available again as soon as this offseason.
After the Red Sox failed to retain Alec Bregman this past offseason, the team quickly pivoted, targeting two-time All-Star free agent Bo Bichette. Bichette, 28, eventually signed a three-year, $126 million contract with the New York Mets. USA Today's Bob Nightengale shared that the star infielder is surprisingly expected to opt out of his contract this offseason, hitting the open market once again.
"Teams expect New York Mets third baseman Bo Bichette to opt out of the final two years of his Mets contract after the season, giving clubs like the Philadelphia Phillies a second shot at him," Nightengale wrote on Sunday.
"It could be a massive gamble for Bichette considering he’s still owed $79 million. He is earning $2 million this year after already being paid a $40 million signing bonus, and if he opts out, he will be paid an additional $5 million."

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The Cubs have not hit well for the last several weeks. After defeating the Rangers 7-1 on May 8, they were 27-12 and the team was batting .258/.354/.429 with 215 runs (5.51 per game), 51 home runs (1.31 home runs per game) and 308 strikeouts (7.89 per game).
Since then the Cubs are 7-20 and in those 27 games are batting .211/.302/.330 with 88 runs scored (3.26 per game), 23 home runs (0.85 per game) and 242 strikeouts (8.96 per game).
So if you’ve been feeling like the Cubs run scoring and power is down and strikeouts are up, you’re not wrong.
The slump has mainly been on the backs of four hitters who have pretty much stopped hitting: Alex Bregman, Michael Busch, Seiya Suzuki and Dansby Swanson.

Ian Happ and Seiya Suzuki have found themselves in the middle of an unwanted conversation this season, with the pair drawing attention for their place among MLB’s leaders in runners left on base.
A post listed Happ third in MLB with 138 runners left on base, while Suzuki was seventh with 129.
Alex Bregman topped the list with 143, followed by Colson Montgomery with 139. The post also stated that the Cubs are the only team with multiple players in the top 10.
The numbers put two of Chicago’s most recognisable hitters in an unwanted position.
Happ was listed behind only Bregman and Montgomery, while Suzuki also appeared inside the top seven.