Ahead of the 2025 season, the National League is loaded with talented rosters like the incumbent World Series Champion Los Angeles Dodgers and other teams who look to contend like the New York Mets, Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phillies, and Arizona Diamondbacks.
The Mets, who lost to the Dodgers in the National League Championship Series last season, added top free-agent slugger Juan Soto and brought back postseason hero Pete Alonso. This makes for a scary lineup for any pitching staff.
MLB Analyst Ben Verlander, the brother of future Hall of Famer Justin Verlander, claims that the Mets loaded lineup gives them every chance to beat the Dodgers in the playoffs.
"But the Mets' lineup, with the return of Pete Alonso, was a necessary addition for them, it makes them very good and very competitive in the National League," Verlander said. "It gives them every chance to beat the Dodgers in the playoffs. There are a handful of teams, in my opinion, that are good enough in a five- or seven-game series to beat the Dodgers."
Only time will tell if that Mets lineup truly is on par with the Dodgers loaded roster that features multiple MVP winners and is a walking All-Star team. The Mets may have enough on the offensive side to keep up with the Dodgers and potentially give them a run for their money, but how good is the Mets pitching after the Dodgers just had their way with that staff in the 2025 NLCS?
More must-reads:
The New York Mets are a half-game ahead of the Philadelphia Phillies for first place in the NL East, but their pitching staff is still injury-ravaged despite the recent returns of Sean Manaea and Frankie Montas. Brandon Waddell (hip), Dedniel Nuñez (elbow), Max Kranick (flexor), Paul Blackburn (shoulder), Tylor Megill (elbow), Griffin Canning (Achilles), Drew Smith (elbow), A.J. Minter (lat), Danny Young (elbow), and Christian Scott (elbow) are alll on the Mets' IL. The MLB Trade Deadline is July 31 at 6 p.m. EST, so the front office has one week to add healthy arms from around the league this season. ESPN's David Schoenfield predicted on Thursday that New York would trade for a Minnesota Twins reliever. "One guarantee of the trade deadline: The Mets will add to the bullpen, probably with more than one trade. Though the rotation still ranks fifth in ERA, that was built off a hot start," he wrote. "More importantly, the only Mets starter to complete six innings since June 7 has been David Peterson. As a result, manager Carlos Mendoza has run relievers Reed Garrett, Huascar Brazoban, Jose Butto and Ryne Stanek into the ground. The bullpen had a 2.78 ERA through May, but that figure is over 5.00 since the beginning of June (ranking near the bottom of the majors)." "The Twins have two high-profile relievers in [Jhoan] Duran and [Griffin] Jax, both of whom are under team control through 2027, so they'll be much more expensive than your usual short-term relievers if the Twins decide to trade one or both," he continued. "Duran would be harder to deal -- but bring more in return -- so we'll say Jax will go. Don't be fooled by his 4.09 ERA: He has 68 strikeouts and 12 walks in 44 innings with a 97-mph heater. He's an elite strikeout reliever, the type you want on the mound in October." The Mets are hot despite their injuries, as they're on a four-game winning streak and just swept the Los Angeles Angels. Next up is a road trip against the San Francisco Giants and San Diego Padres. New York right-handed pitcher Clay Holmes (8-5, 3.48 ERA) will face Giants right-hander Logan Webb (9-7, 3.08 ERA) on Friday.
According to some, throw out the idea that the Edmonton Oilers should pursue Max Pacioretty. A veteran forward who has earned over $63 million over the course of his NHL career has yet to sign an NHL contract and was recently mentioned in a post by David Staples as a possible fit. In a recent post, the Journal noted, “All of the top NHL unrestricted free agents have already signed contracts, but there’s one big name player still available that makes good sense for the Edmonton Oilers to pursue.” Responses have been varied, with a few quite vocal about the Oilers not following Staples’ advice. “In what world does this make sense?????” writes a commenter on a recent post for The Hockey Writers. Another commenter wrote, “Pacioretty is a good journeyman player but he is injury prone now, late in his career. Oilers might be lucky to get 40 games out of him. They should look elsewhere instead of taking a chance on Patches.” Tyler Yaremchuk of Oilers Nation chimed in and said, “He scored five goals in 37 games last year with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Can’t stay healthy, very old, very slow.” Yaremchuk then went on a rant, listing several Oilers forwards who would be better than Pacioretty. What About Pacioretty on a PTO? Is there any reason that a team that is looking to get younger and faster, and move out depth pieces that were older and less productive than expected, would revert back to last summer’s strategy? It seems like an odd choice on the surface. Something would have to happen that would make giving Pacioretty a look risk-free. That means only a PTO. Even at that point, should he agree, it would require him to be willing to sign a two-way contract for the league minimum.
Are NBA players underpaid? Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry argues yes. The greatest shooter in NBA history said Thursday on Complex’s “360 With Speedy” that because the league’s current CBA doesn’t allow for current players to invest in league and team equity, players are leaving money on the table. “I would say, yes, we are underpaid,” Curry admitted when asked, despite enormous salaries, if the players were getting short-changed, “because you wanna be able to participate in that rise [of equity].” “It’s a partnership with ownership, [and] it’s a partnership with the league,” the 37-year-old stressed, revealing that league salaries do not reflect players’ impact on team valuations. If anyone has the right to begrudge the current CBA on player participation in equity, it’s Curry. When drafted in 2009, the Warriors were worth $315 million. Current valuations in May of 2025 have the team at $9.4 billion, the most in the league. Curry’s been paid handsomely during his time in Golden State, and he doesn’t overlook it. “I know we’re blessed to be in a position where we’re playing basketball for a living, and these are the type of checks that people are earning,” he told Complex. However, when he signed his $62.6 million one-year extension in 2024 that would keep him in a Warriors’ jersey until 2027, many felt that no amount of money the franchise could offer him would represent his worth. Curry had an undeniable impact on the Warriors’ valuation increasing by nearly 3,000%. He’s benefited by being the most salaried player on the roster and plenty of endorsement deals. But is he getting his fair share? Something similar may happen with reigning NBA Finals MVP and Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who just signed the richest contract in league history with an average annual value of $71.25 million. According to Forbes, the Thunder’s valuation increased 20% from 2023 to 2024 and will likely take another jump after this year’s championship. Curry concedes that player participation in equity isn’t a simple concept and not all markets are created equal: “You got competitive advantage considerations…and want every market to have a fair chance, like I get all that.” He believes, however, that finding a solution is a “mutually beneficial proposition” for players, teams and the league. Even the most expensive people in the world need to find other investors to make owning an NBA team possible. The best example of Curry’s point is the Boston Celtics sale in March. The most-championed franchise in league history was sold to Bill Chisholm for $6.1 billion, the largest ever sports franchise sale in North America at the time. Chisholm needed Rob Hale, Bruce Beal Jr., and private equity firm Sixth Street, to afford the purchase. Because team ownership is already a multi-investor operation, the league could potentially come to an agreement with the players by the next CBA negotiation at the end of the decade. If not, the league's best players will continue to simultaneously earn a ridiculous amount of money, and it will not be nearly enough.
Whispers surfaced in June hinting that the Cleveland Browns could carry quarterbacks Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett, Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel on their active roster through at least Week 1 of the 2025 regular season. While speaking with reporters on Thursday, Browns general manager Andrew Berry confirmed he could consider a unique idea regarding the club's quarterback situation. "We’ve largely looked at the last five spots of a roster as more developmental spots, and that can come from any position," Berry explained via Browns.com. "I also think with the roster flexibility nowadays, especially with the elevations that you’re able to have on the practice squad, there’s just more flexibility in terms of how to build your 48-man game day roster, where it’s maybe not as quite as restrictive in the past. ...If there are four (quarterbacks) that are 53-man worthy, we think it makes the most sense for us to keep them." While Berry made it known he's less than thrilled that Sanders was cited for speeding in Ohio twice in June, the former Colorado star and Gabriel are both expected to be on Cleveland's roster when September arrives. That said, it's clear that only Flacco and Pickett are competing for the QB1 gig ahead of the Browns' preseason opener against the Carolina Panthers on Aug. 8. It was previously suggested that some Browns personnel "want" Pickett to win the starting job since he's only 27 years old, while Flacco will turn 41 in January. On Thursday, Berry indicated he will let head coach Kevin Stefanski determine who starts Cleveland's Week 1 matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sept. 7. "I think you guys know us well enough that we work really well together in that regard," Berry said about his relationship with Stefanski. "But at the end of the day, I trust him. I trust our coaching staff in terms of who they want to play. I think we’ll get a lot more information over the next few weeks." It remains to be seen how Berry would respond if a team were to lose a quarterback to an injury and consider trading for either Flacco or Pickett to the Browns. For now, it appears there's a realistic chance that those two signal-callers could continue sharing a quarterback room with Cleveland's rookies beyond this summer.
Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!