
The New York Mets were the team of the offseason, signing Juan Soto to the richest contract in the sport’s history. After getting swept by the Atlanta Braves, they are tied for the NL East lead with the Philadelphia Phillies. With the MLB trade deadline approaching, the Mets have the pitching prospects to be big players. The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal spoke with sources about New York’s trade deadline plans.
“Look for the New York Mets to again leverage their pitching-rich farm system,” Rosenthal reported. “After trading multiple minor-league pitchers last year, the Mets possess enough attractive arms in their farm system to supplement their roster without dealing their top pitching prospects, rival evaluators familiar with the organization said.”
“Such depth, especially with arms that other clubs like, makes them all the more dangerous when you add that they can probably take on money because of their owner and they’re led by David Stearns in a good front office,” one National League GM told Rosenthal.
Last year, the Mets traded four minor-league pitchers for players who helped them reach the NLCS. They could do it again, but Brandon Sproat and Christian Scott would not have to be on the move. They have four other pitching prospects in the top 15, including Jonah Tong and Noah McLean.
The Mets could use an infielder to spell their struggling younger players, Luisangel Acuña and Mark Vientos. Acuña has six RBIs and a .591 OPS in 63 games. And Vientos has taken a significant step back, with just a .298 OBP compared to last year’s .322 number. Ramon Urias from the Orioles and Isaiah Kiner-Falefa from the Pirates would be solid, low-cost options.
The Mets have gotten off to a solid start, but seven straight losses have fans looking for reinforcements. If they are fine saying goodbye to pitching prospects, they could be big trade deadline players.
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The 2025 World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays will go down as one of the best seven-game Fall Classics in history. Won in extra innings by the Dodgers on Saturday night, this year's World Series had plenty of wild moments and memorable performances. However, there were also some things that happened during this year's World Series that were historic but also didn't make as many headlines as Yoshinobu Yamamoto's MVP pitching or Will Smith's World Series-winning home run. With that in mind, here are three things that will add this year's World Series to the baseball record books. This 2025 World Series was just like ... 1926? Sure, this year's World Series went seven games. However, the pattern of wins between Toronto and Los Angeles was unlike anything seen in the Fall Classic since the St. Louis Cardinals beat the New York Yankees in seven games in 1926. Per Elias, the 2025 World Series was just the second-ever World Series to follow the path of the home team winning Game 1, road team winning Game 2, home team winning Game 3, and the road team winning Games 4 through 7, joining the Cardinals and Yankees 1926. The Dodgers player made headlines and history Los Angeles outfielder Justin Dean was in the middle of one of the most talked about plays of Game 6 when he signaled to the umpires that Addison Barger's hit to left-center in the ninth inning was wedged under the wall. With that signal, the umpires ruled it to be a dead ball, keeping Barger to a double and preventing Myles Straw from scoring from first base (he was held at third with the dead ball call). That decision kept the Los Angeles lead at 3-1, which would be the final as Tyler Glasnow worked his way out of the jam to record the save. Dean being put into the game for defensive purposes happened more than you might have thought during not only the World Series but the entire postseason as well. The 28-year-old Dean appeared in 12 games this postseason but did not register a plate appearance, entering a defensive replacement in center field 10 times and as a pinch-runner twice. His 12 games played during the postseason are the most ever in a single postseason without any plate appearances (among non-pitchers), surpassing the previous record of 10 games without a plate appearance by Clay Bellinger in 2000. Bellinger appeared in 11 games for the Yankees in 2000, getting a hit in his lone plate appearance. Hitting home runs? It's an international thing. Trailing 4-3 in the ninth inning of Game 7, Miguel Rojas of the Dodgers launched a game-tying home run, marking the 10th home run of the World Series hit by an internationally born player. Also joining Rojas as a player born outside the United States to hit a homer during the Fall Classic were Shohei Ohtani (three homers), Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (two), Alejandro Kirk (two), Enrique Hernandez (one) and Teoscar Hernandez (one). Per Elias, the 10 home runs are the most in a single World Series by internationally born players, breaking a tie with 2017 and 2019, which had nine each.
The Vikings got key contributions from all three phases in a 27-24 upset win over the Lions on Sunday at Ford Field. Let's dive into the week's snap counts and take a look at some notable PFF grades to see what stands out. Vikings offensive snap counts vs. Lions (out of 62) LG Donovan Jackson: 62 RG Will Fries: 62 RT Brian O'Neill: 62 LT Christian Darrisaw: 62 C Blake Brandel: 62 QB J.J. McCarthy: 62 WR Justin Jefferson: 59 WR Jordan Addison: 57 TE T.J. Hockenson: 48 RB Jordan Mason: 37 WR Jalen Nailor: 33 TE Nick Vannett: 27 RB Aaron Jones: 26 TE Ben Yurosek: 17 WR Adam Thielen: 4 OL Joe Huber: 2 It was encouraging to see the Vikings' entire offensive line, including Darrisaw and O'Neill, stay healthy throughout 60-plus snaps. At running back, Jones was excellent in the first half and would've comfortably out-snapped Mason on the day if he hadn't left early in the third quarter with a shoulder injury. Initial reports are that Jones avoided a serious injury and has a chance to play next Sunday against Baltimore. Without Josh Oliver or C.J. Ham, the Vikings turned to Vannett and Yurosek as extra run blockers, and both put in solid performances. Four offensive snaps is a season-low for Thielen, who has played just 24 total over the past three games. Top 5 PFF grades on offense (min. 20 snaps) 1. Jones — 76.6 2. Jefferson — 72.8 3. Brandel — 68.0 4. Jackson — 67.4 5. Darrisaw — 65.7 This checks out. The Vikings' offensive line played well, and Jones and Jefferson were the top two weapons for J.J. McCarthy. Speaking of McCarthy, he just missed this list with a 63.5 grade, which feels pretty fair for how he played. Addison and Hockenson are right behind him, grade-wise. Low grades on the day went to Mason and Fries, but both were still above 55. Vikings defensive snap counts vs. Lions (out of 64) LB Blake Cashman: 64 S Josh Metellus: 64 CB Byron Murphy Jr: 64 S Harrison Smith: 64 OLB Jonathan Greenard: 62 CB Isaiah Rodgers: 61 DT Jalen Redmond: 58 LB Eric Wilson: 56 DT Jonathan Allen: 51 OLB Andrew Van Ginkel: 39 DT Javon Hargrave: 39 CB Fabian Moreau: 24 S Theo Jackson: 16 OLB Dallas Turner: 14 LB Ivan Pace Jr: 13 DT Levi Drake Rodriguez: 11 DT Elijah Williams: 4 This was quite the game for Brian Flores and the Vikings' defense, who made things tough on an elite Lions offense for most of the day. From a snap count perspective, the first thing that jumps out is Redmond playing 91 percent of the snaps. He's legitimately established himself as the best defensive tackle on a team that employs former Pro Bowlers in Allen and Hargrave. Cashman and Wilson were outstanding in this game. Allen made an impact. Hargrave was excellent. And the importance of Van Ginkel simply cannot be overstated. He changes everything. He was limited to playing 61 percent of the snaps in his return to action, but that number figures to rise next week. Van Ginkel's return coincided with Turner playing a season-low 14 snaps. It'll be interesting to see if that continues moving forward. Pace is merely a role player behind the Vikings' top two linebackers at this point, but he can still be effective when used as a blitzer. Stepping into the CB3 role in place of Jeff Okudah wasn't Dwight McGlothern, it was the veteran Moreau, who played well. Top 5 PFF grades on defense (min. 20 snaps) 1. Cashman — 90.8 2. Hargrave — 81.4 3. Van Ginkel — 75.1 4. Moreau — 73.4 5. Smith — 67.4 Cashman was simply fantastic in this game, whether it was in run defense or coverage or as a blitzer on the Vikings' many designed pressure looks with their off-ball linebackers. Hargrave and Van Ginkel were also instrumental in Minnesota's run defense. Moreau and Smith tackled well and were important in coverage. Wilson got dinged a bit for some missed tackles and ended up with a 63.5 grade, but when you watch the tape, he was absolutely everywhere. He had six pressures and two sacks, and even when he missed tackles, the fact that he arrived at the play so quickly helped lead to tackles for teammates. He looked like a star in this game. Lower grades on defense went to Redmond, Rodgers, Murphy, and Theo Jackson.
Per Jon Machota of The Athletic, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said on SiriusXM that they have made a trade. Jones also said they could make a couple of more moves before tomorrow’s 4 P.M. ET deadline. He said the player will be on the field immediately and implied it could be on the defensive side. “Immediately it will have him on the field and it will address some of the things that have been our shortcomings,” Jones said. Jones, 83, bought the team from Bum Bright back in 1989 for $140 million and has raised the value to $10 billion. Since purchasing the team, Jones has operated as owner, team president, and general manager. He replaced HC Tom Landry with Jimmy Johnson, and shortly after, the team won three Super Bowls in 1992, 1993, and 1995, respectively. In 2014, Jones was named the league’s Executive of the Year, and he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2017.
The Philadelphia Eagles certainly have had an aggressive trade deadline. Philadelphia hasn't been messing around in the slightest and as of writing have acquired Michael Carter II, Jaire Alexander, and Jaelan Phillips. The reigning champs clearly are going all in, which makes all of the wild noise around star receiver AJ Brown even more outlandish. Seemingly all season to this point, there has been speculation about Brown's standing with the Eagles and that only intensified with him not getting the ball as much as expected early on this season. But, still, the noise hasn't made sense. Why would the reigning champs trade a player that gives them a better chance to win away? It hasn't made sense. FOX Sports NFL insider Jay Glazer was asked about the possibility of a trade involving Brown on Sunday and acknowledged that teams have called, but emphatically said a deal isn't happening. "No," Glazer said when asked if Brown is going anywhere. "A couple of teams have asked about him but that is a hard no for AJ Brown. The receivers out there, like Jakobi Meyers, who the (Pittsburgh Steelers) called about earlier of the (Las Vegas Raiders). Rashid Shaheed, Calvin Ridley, those are names." The Eagles are making the right call The Eagles have arguably the most aggressive front office in football. But, there is no way to argue that the Eagles are a better team with Brown not on the roster. Sure, there have been a few social media posts that have raised eyebrows, but that's no reason to trade a guy and fortunately it doesn't sound like the Eagles are thinking that way right now at all. The Eagles are 6-2 and are in first place in the NFC East right now. The closest team to the Eagles in the division right now is the Dallas Cowboys, who are 3-4-1 on the season. If the season were to end today, the Eagles would be the No. 1 seed in the entire NFC. The idea of trading Brown has been odd from the jump, but it sounds like Philadelphia fans don't need to worry about that any longer.
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