The 2023 Major League Baseball All-Star Game is behind us now, with the National League snapping an 11-game losing streak by defeating the stars from the American League by a 3-2 score at T-Mobile Park in Seattle.
Technically, we are about a week and a half past the exact 81-game halfway point. However, the All-Star break is traditionally looked upon as the halfway point of each season.
Following four days off, all 30 clubs will return to play on Friday night, July 14. This leaves approximately two-and-a-half weeks until the 2023 trade deadline arrives on Aug. 1.
This gives us a fantastic opportunity to set things up with a preview of what we can expect as the dog days of summer get fully underway and the second half of the season unfolds. Let us start with a look at where each of the six MLB divisions currently stands and cover some crucial factors for each team.
NL EAST
The Atlanta Braves sit comfortably on top of the division. Their 60-29 (.674) mark is the best in baseball. They hold an 8 1/2 game lead, 10 in the loss column. The Braves have won 20 of 23 since the last time they dropped as many as two in a row. In short, this team is clicking on all cylinders. The big question: are they peaking too soon? Atlanta learned a year ago that regular-season success does not necessarily translate to victory in a short October series.
Trudging along well back of Atlanta are the Miami Marlins (53-39) and Philadelphia Phillies (48-41), each battling for one of the three NL Wild Card postseason berths. This Miami ballclub looks for real. Strong pitching and the infusion of Luis Arraez’s everyday excellence has fueled a true coming out for the perennially underwhelming squad. Meanwhile, Philly is still trying to get Bryce Harper and Trea Turner going to help overcome a rough 25-32 start that left the club buried in the standings. At 23-9 since then, the defending NL champions may finally be righting the ship.
Finally, the high-priced New York Mets are six games under .500, 18 1/2 games back of Atlanta, seven off the Wild Card pace, and closer to last-place Washington than they are to the clubs above them.
NL CENTRAL
The Cincinnati Reds (50-41) promoted exciting rookie phenom Elly De La Cruz on June 6. Since that time, they have gone 23-8 to take over first place in the division standings. The Milwaukee Brewers have also begun heating up, going 15-8 over the last few weeks. The Brew Crew sits just a game behind Cincy.
Well back, all with losing records, are the Cubs, Pirates, and Cardinals. St. Louis won three of four entering the break. But a 10-24 start left them swimming uphill, and the club simply has not been able to gain any traction this year. Now the perennial contenders find themselves buried at the bottom of the division.
NL WEST
It seemed for a while this might finally be the year the Los Angeles Dodgers’ (51-38) grip on the western crown, which they had worn for 10 of the last 11 seasons, was about to be snatched from their heads. But here we are at the break and L.A. is tied for the division lead. The improving Arizona Diamondbacks (52-39) are the club with which they find themselves tied. But while the Dodgers have gone 12-5, the D-backs are just 6-9 over the last couple of weeks.
The San Francisco Giants (49-41) hold the final NL Wild Card spot at the break. But that is with hot Philly and Milwaukee just a half-game back and the Phils even with S.F. in the loss column. And then we have the San Diego Padres. Four games below .500, the preseason favorites of many have a lot of work to do over the next couple of months to get back into the postseason chase.
AL EAST
At 58-35, the Tampa Bay Rays lead the division with the best record in the American League. However, the Rays finally stumbled last week, dropping seven straight to Philly and Atlanta before winning the final game into the break.
The emerging fun story here is the Baltimore Orioles. Riding an infusion of young talent led by catcher Adley Rutschman, the O’s entered the break winners of five in a row to pull within two games of the division-leading Rays.
The rest of the division are all over .500, with the Blue Jays nine over, the Yankees seven, and the Bosox five. That has the Jays holding the final AL Wild Card berth with the other two right behind them. This division is shaping up to be the most interesting overall during the final months, with a real possibility that four of them could reach October.
AL CENTRAL
Where the AL East has been excellent, the AL Central has been just the opposite. The Cleveland Guardians entered the break at .500 (45-45), but that was good enough for the division lead. The Minnesota Twins are just a half-game back. It looks as if whichever club wins it will be the only one from the division to see postseason action.
AL WEST
The big story here has been the emergence of the Texas Rangers (52-39) as front-runners, leading the defending world champion Houston Astros (50-41) by two games at the break. But the Rangers dropped 11 of 16 entering the break while the champs won 11 of 18 to tighten things up.
Both the Seattle Mariners (45-44) and Los Angeles Angels (45-46) came into the season with genuine postseason hopes. But the M’s have never gotten things going for a long stretch and the Halos have lost Mike Trout. Now the actual big story with the Halos has become the fate of pending free agent Shohei Ohtani.
BIGGEST STORIES TO WATCH
The Trade Deadline: Will Ohtani really be dealt? If so, how big will the package be in return for an Angels organization that cannot afford to have him walk away in free agency for nothing. Also, with more than half of the teams in MLB vying for a postseason berth, which can pull off the big move needed to reinforce its status as a contender?
The Injured List: There are a large group of potential impact players currently on the IL who could affect their team’s postseason hopes in a major way. How many will return, at all or in time to make a difference, and how effective will they be?
The weather is heating up across the country. Over the next few weeks, things will really begin to heat up across Major League Baseball as the trade deadline arrives and as teams begin to make moves both on their rosters and in the standings towards the goal of October (and maybe November) success.
MATT VEASEY 