The MLB Trade Deadline is only days away, as some teams are trying to figure out their identity last minute. There are hot streaks and cold runs, regardless of the statistical rankings. Catch up on the most up-to-date scores and stories from after the finish of the July 25, 2025, games. Team and player statistics and rankings are per MLB.
The Brewers are trying to hold onto their grasp of first in the NL Central. Good teams are going to lose to bad teams on occasion, and they have still won eight of the last ten. Miami outfielder Kyle Stowers stays hot. His .949 OPS is the only bat on the team above .750. The Marlins’ starting rotation is drowning with the fish, with the only pitcher over 100 IP boasting a 6.66 ERA.
The only thing these Pirates loot is people’s money. Their MLB worst .640 OPS is the largest gap between two teams. Arizona has seemingly punted on the season, already trading first baseman Josh Naylor to the Mariners. Nonetheless, the win was refreshing for fans after a three-game sweep from the Astros.
Colorado got the win on the day they traded third baseman Ryan McMahon to the Yankees. Rockies’ outfielder Mickey Moniak keeps his hot streak going with a homer and a couple of runs scored, bringing his OPS to 1.305 over the last seven games. Orioles’ shortstop Gunnar Henderson continues to slip. Originally given the day off, he was an unsuccessful pinch hitter, bringing his AVG over the last seven games to .182.
Phillies’ DH Kyle Schwarber led the way, including two home runs and four RBI. Philadelphia holds at 0.5 games back of the Mets, while the Yankees continue to choke away the AL East, now 5.5 back of Toronto, closer to third than first. The Yankees are allowing too many runs to expect outfielder Aaron Judge to hit them out of. They should add a reliable arm, so as not to waste some of these hot bats. Outfielder Cody Bellinger and second baseman Jazz Chisholm have above a .900 OPS over the last 30 days.
Both of these teams have flipped the narrative. The Tigers have lost nine of the last ten games, while the Blue Jays have the best record in baseball. The inconsistencies of this pitching staff have turned Detroit inside out. Once left in the dust, the Guardians are now just 7.5 games back.
Outfielder Teoscar Hernández led the Dodgers to victory with his three RBI. The team is six games up on the Padres, first in the NL West, while Boston is fighting through a logjam. There are five teams within three games of each other for the final two spots, and another three teams within five.
Don’t count out the Reds just yet, tying the Giants’ win total, now just one game back of a Wild Card berth. They have high-end pitching from top to bottom, but on offense, there’s a steep dropoff after shortstop Elly De La Cruz’s .849 OPS. The Rays are in the Wild Card hunt in the AL, but are a cheap organization. They may be just 1.5 games back of the final spot, but they don’t have the backbone to compete with teams like the Mariners, Rangers, or Red Sox.
The Cardinals’ management is in a sticky spot. They are only 1.5 games back of the final Wild Card entry, but they have three teams to jump over who are better on paper. This win was a good step if they choose to make a push, with the Padres holding that spot. This win makes it 2-0 in the four-game series. San Diego’s bats are a serious issue with just a few days left before the trade deadline. The team’s .690 OPS does nothing to help their top-five pitching staff.
The Cubs haven’t completely frozen over, but it’s getting chilly. Losing four of the last five, they sit one game back of the Brewers for the NL Central lead. Chicago’s typically steady starting pitcher, Shota Imanga, was lit up for seven earned runs by the second-worst team’s OPS. Things like this happen, but they feel like a team that may have gotten hot too early, and can’t seem to find it again.
Rangers’ shortstop Corey Seager continues to prove one of the best in MLB. This win included extending his on-base streak to 25 games. This win lands them just 0.5 games back of a spot, but fans hope for a bat by the end of the month. Their team’s .674 OPS puts them bottom five, wasting the best starting staff in the league. The Braves are buried under the Phillies and Mets in the NL East, but what can be expected from the 20th-ranked OPS and ERA?
The A’s offense continues to beg for a trade, and actions speak louder than words. How does a bottom-five team have the seventh-best OPS? Those actions sound like increasing returns if the team chooses to shop them. Starting pitcher Ryan Gusto is begging not to make the postseason roster; his 7.01 ERA over his last seven games is dragging down a top-ten pitching staff.
Twins’ centerfielder Byron Buxton is consistently the only exciting bat in Minnesota, so, of course, he had the only RBI. Their arms are as top-heavy as the bats. With the injury to Pablo Lopez, Joe Ryan is their only starting pitcher below a 4.00 ERA. The Nationals are a bottom-ten team without many MLB-ready trade chips.
The Mariners’ newest acquisition, first baseman Josh Naylor, contributed his first hit since joining. They hope to avoid too many losses to lower-grade teams, currently only +0.5 games in the AL Wild Card picture. While mathematically possible, the Angels don’t have the roster to gain 4.5 games. Even worse than that, there are six teams in the way.
The battle between the Mets and Phillies atop the NL East may be the most interesting storyline in MLB. Currently 0.5 games up, they will fight to avoid the Wild Card until the end of the season. Their top-ten OPS showed up for eight runs against starting pitcher Logan Webb, who is usually reliable with his 3.38 ERA on the campaign. The Giants may only be one game back of the Wild Card, but they need to even out the roster before anyone takes them as a threat. Their top-ten defense can only do so much to carry the bottom-ten OPS.
The Padres and Giants fighting for one of the final spots is one of the more intriguing storylines. It’s going to heat up with their seven games against each other in August. Can the Tigers fix this fairytale before it’s too late, and what big moves are left before the MLB Trade Deadline?
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