And what a time it is to make a return to talking about America’s past time. Mike and I have done plenty of coverage of our beloved Yankees and Mets, but this series has fallen by the wayside. As you know I’ve been a bit busy this year, but I am finally settling down and ready to go around the Diamond. Today we have an array of stories to cover, but there is really only story that we can start with…so without further ado, let’s talk trades!

First Base

Raffy by the Bay: Today is one of the most momentous days in the 67-year history of the San Francisco Giants. The team by the bay has gone out and done something they have been trying to do for the last several years, acquired a super star bat! Sunday afternoon, the Giants acquired Rafael Devers from the Red Sox in exchange for right-handed pitcher Jordan Hicks, left-handed pitcher Kyle Harrison and two prospects. We’ll have some thoughts on the Red Sox side of things in our next base, but there is no understating how big this is for the Giants and their fans. Devers has been one of the league’s best hitters since he burst onto the scene in 2017 and is exactly the type of power bat the Giants have been crying out for. He is near the top of the statistical rankings in offensive categories and seems fully engaged and ready to go after receiving a hero’s welcome at Oracle Park ahead of the Giants homestands that sees them host his former team over the weekend. With the Giants squarely in the race out West, now is as good a time as any to buy big and jolt the squad. Devers was greeted by Barry Bonds, a player whose impact on the Giants on the field he will try to emulate for years to come.

Second Base

They Did it Again: First they gave away Mookie Betts for peanuts. Then they Let Xander Bogaerts leave for free. Next, they gave away Chris Sale for air. Finally, they sent Devers packing for almost nothing. Now THAT is how you dismantle a Championship core of players! If you don’t want to win anything of substance and just pretend, you’re still a big franchise, then the Red Sox front office are the people you need to hire. Now I’m sure some of you at home are saying “but Nick, Devers didn’t want to be there anymore, what choice did they have? He wasn’t being a team player.” Sure, you could call Devers behavior petulant, but at the end of the day the situation arose because the Red Sox did everything, they could to alienate their franchise player.

From bringing in the aging and oft-injured Alex Bregman, who will opt out after this season, to trying to move him around the diamond after committing to Devers years ago. I don’t believe you need to allow players to run your team for you and hold you hostage, but if there was ever a player worth catering to, surely it was this one. But in truth, this move is just another downstream effect of a string changes to the Red Sox culture, and really the entire culture of baseball. I don’t say this to only try and destroy analytics, as there is room for both the old school and new school, but the Red Sox hyper corporate presser above is emblematic of the shift in front offices across the game. Individuals in charge of teams with no real prowess and a focus on solely generating value based off of outcomes. Content to do a cheap owner bidding because they watch Moneyball a few too many times. John Henry’s desire to rid himself of payroll is the main culprit here in truth, but it is a shameful exercise to see playout in a market like Boston. It’s hard to believe that this ownership group is going from hero to zero, but here we are.

Third Base

Here Come the…Rockies?!: Plenty of teams are surging around baseball, but let’s give the Rockies some love! No? Okay, hear me out. They’re 4-6 in their last ten games, have won three in a row and clobbered the Nationals for a boat load of homers Tuesday night in the Nation’s Captial. They’ve improved to…16-57 on the season…but hey you have to start somewhere right?

Home Plate

They’re Baaaaaaaack: In the preseason we talked about the Rangers being a threat to win the AL West. In April and May it felt like it may finally be the Mariners year to win the division. But here we are, once again with the calendar in mid-June and the Houston Astros atop the AL West. They’re playing the best baseball they have all year and are starting to look like a real threat the rest of the way, especially given their front offices typical desire to go for it at the deadline. The real story of this team’s success comes from the mound, as their offense isn’t exactly its formerly dynamic self. Hunter Brown is the new ace of the staff, at 8-3 on the year with a 1.88 ERA, and he is backed up by the reliable lefty Framber Valdez, who is 7-4 with a 3.10 ERA of his own. When they need the game nailed down, Josh Hader is perfect in save opportunities, going 18 for 18 in those chances and a 1.45 ERA. If Houston can add some thunder in the lineup, they’ll be even more dangerous the rest of the way.

The Walkoff

Red Hot Reds: There is hot, and then there is the Cincinnati Reds. After a lot of positivity around this team in the offseason, the Reds got off to a slower start than anticipated and there was plenty of doubt around this groups outlook in 2025. But now they have gotten it going under Terry Francona’s leadership with an 8-2 mark in their last ten games, improving their record to 38-35 on the season. Offensively they’re being carried by Elly De La Cruz, who is hitting .270 with 16 homers, 50 RBI’s and 21 stolen bases. He’s back up by a pitching staff that is really coming on strong with Hunter Greene posting a 4-3 record with a 2.72 ERA and Andrew Abbott putting in dominant performances improving his record to 6-1, pitching to a 1.84 ETA. At the back-end veteran Emilio Pagan is 17 for 19 in save opportunities, something this club desperately needed in the wake of Alexis Diaz struggling on the bump. They’re seven games behind the first place Cubs in the Central but are only two games behind the Padres for the final NL Wild Card spot. Keep an eye on this team as we head to the All-Star Break.

It’s good to be back on Around the Horn and we’ll continue to have this series on the site on a weekly basis. Stay tuned for more coverage of the MLB season as well as the Rangers offseason and Knicks coaching search. We’ll also have more in special series “I Was There,” and some other fun topics to come soon! On twitter you can find Mike @Mike_Sheerin, Tyler @TMon_19 and Sean @SeanMartinNFL. Subscribe to the site by hitting the follow button in the bottom right corner and entering your email address. Check out our Instagram feed @thebroadwaybreakdownsports for special gameday and promotional content. Our podcasts are available on Spotify. Visit the Rangers Ed Shop by clicking the link on our homepage. Check out our mailbag page to join the conversation here on the site and on our partners show, The Rangers Ed Podcast! We’ll be back with more soon.