Who saw that surge coming?
Happy Wednesday, BCBers! We’re getting mighty close to the All-Star break, and that means two things: if we’re not talking about the All-Stars, we’re talking about the amateur draft or the trade deadline.
There’s plenty to get into in today’s news, as we find out who is taking the helm in Washington, the unexpected surge of the Toronto Blue Jays, what it takes to frustrate Shohei Ohtani, and what Willie Mays items might be available at auction soon.
Let’s get right into it!
- Brittany Ghiroli reports that bench coach Miguel Cairo will be the interim manager for the Nationals. (The Athletic subscription required)
- According to Tom Ruminski, Rafael Devers is continuing to have difficulty being a team player as he was a no-show for several first base mentoring sessions.
- Dan Gartland looks at the surprise surge of the Blue Jays, and the tight AL East race.
- Karl Rasmussen shares that Tyler Glasnow is set to rejoin the Dodgers after a lengthy IL stint.
- Mike Petriello looks at how George Springer is rebounding at age 35.
- Shohei Ohtani had a rare moment of visible frustration with an umpire. Story by Ryan Phillips.
- Dan Hajducky looked at how catching prospects are being evaluated ahead of the draft.
- Schedule and ticket information are now available for the World Baseball Classic. (MLB)
- The official balls for all the All-Star events have been revealed.
- How every team can upgrade at the trade deadline. (MLB)
- Tyler Kepner shares the “Never Been an All-Star” team of his dreams. (The Athletic subscription required)
- Karl Rasmussen looks at five third basemen the Yankees may want to target at the deadline.
- Joe Trezza has nine storylines to follow leading up to the MLB Amateur Draft.
- Karl Rasmussen shares the legacy of the player with the most All-Star appearances in MLB history.
- A collection of Willie Mays’ personal items will be headed to auction—per the legend’s request—to raise money for charity. Story by Dan Hajducky.
- Tim Capurso reports that Clayton Kershaw thought his “Legend” inclusion in the All-Star Game was “weird but cool.”
- With the Rockies in a downward spiral, could a big front-end shakeup be coming? Story by Ken Rosenthal. (The Athletic subscription required)
- The batting glove from Manny Machado’s 2000th hit will be going into a baseball card.
And tomorrow will be a better day than today, Buster. Make it so.