Most MLB teams will hit their 54th game this week. As they reach the one-third mark of the season, some glaring questions have begun to crop up. Here is a look at one burning question each National League East team faces going forward. How these situations play out over the month of June will greatly affect their decisions at the trade deadline in July.
After a terrible 1-8 start to the season, the Atlanta Braves have fought their way back to 25-27. The team just got superstar Ronald Acuña back. All is not quite well yet, though. After missing all but two starts in 2024 due to UCL surgery, Strider has dealt with a hamstring strain that has limited him to only two starts so far this year. Those starts have not gone well, as Strider’s ERA currently sits at 5.79. Strider returning to the form that saw him go 20-5 with 281 strikeouts in 2023 is a must for Atlanta if they are to claim a playoff spot in 2025.
The Washington Nationals entered Tuesday with a 24-29 record, having won seven of ten games. Their core of young players like James Wood, CJ Abrams, Luis Garcia, Jake Irvin, Mitchell Parker, and MacKenzie Gore are all off to good starts. If the team continues to improve, they have an outside shot at snagging a wild-card spot. So, will management be a buyer or a seller at the deadline? If their history is any indication, they will sell. That is where Finnegan comes in. His 2.41 ERA and 15 saves will make him an attractive deadline target. If the team keeps Finnegan, it will indicate that the team believes that their long rebuild is finally over.
Starters Frankie Montas, Paul Blackburn, and Sean Manaea have not pitched a single inning this season. The New York Mets currently have the best ERA in all of MLB without those three, but how long will that last? Can Kodai Senga (5-3, 1.46 ERA), David Peterson (3-2, 2.79), Griffin Canning (5-1, 2.88), Tylor Megill (3-4, 3.66), and converted Yankees closer Clay Holmes (5-3, 2.98) continue to overachieve? Canning was 25-34 with a 4.78 for his career going into 2025. Megill’s career ERA entering the season was 4.56. Holmes hadn’t started a game since 2018. How long until he hits a wall? Something is bound to give soon, right?
Closer José Alvarado’s 80-game PED suspension throws a wrench into the works for the division-leading Philadelphia Phillies. Alvarado had been excellent, going 7-for-7 in save chances and sporting a 4-1 record with a 2.70 ERA. Replacing him has proven difficult. Philly had been mixing and matching some with Alvarado, a lefty, and Jordan Romano, a righty. Romano has been spotty. His ERA is 8.05, and he gave up three earned runs in his last appearance, forcing Tanner Banks to take over for the save in a 4-3 win. Banks and Matt Strahm, who blew a save and took the loss on Sunday, appear to be the other arms in the mix. Look for a trade deadline deal to address this.
The Miami Marlins’ 21-31 start is no surprise. As the calendar shifts to June, the perennial question is always about who the Marlins will trade and what the return will be. Every GM around MLB believes that Sandy Alcántara will be the next to go. The issue that Marlins’ GM Peter Bendix faces is whether or not he can get a good return for the 2022 Cy Young winner. Alcántara (2-7, 8.05 ERA) has not looked good in his return from Tommy John surgery. The ace is under contract through 2026, with a club option for 2027. Will the Fish have to keep him for another year and stall their current rebuild?
Alcántara has not looked right since his surgery. It will be hard for Miami to get proper value for him if things do not turn around soon. My guess is that they will have to keep him at least until the winter meetings. If he needs more surgery, the Marlins will have to look elsewhere in their staff to make a deal at the trade deadline.
Washington has built up a strong enough core of young players that it needs to consider adding at the deadline and trying to win now. Their window for making a playoff run appears to be opening, and they will need to make the most of the years that they have the likes of Gore, Woods, Garcia, and Abrams together. Woods is going to be a breakout star this season. It is time to add pieces around him and try to make a run.
It is very possible that three of these teams make the playoffs this season, so how these teams proceed over the next two months is key. Look for there to be a flurry of deals at the trade deadline from the NL East this year, as every team has multiple glaring holes to fill. Don’t miss my breakdown of the rest of MLB’s divisions’ glaring first-trimester questions in the coming days.
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