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Thosar: It’s not enough for Elias to just take responsibility. Self-awareness is great, but what is he going to do about this mess? He can start by making savvy trades, which is what he should’ve done in the winter, anyway, after the O’s let Corbin Burnes walk away. The Orioles had the top farm system in baseball for the past three years before a slew of top prospects graduated and they dropped down the list. But they still have exciting names in-house that could be viable trade options to swap with the right team that has more pitching depth. There’s no room for No. 2 prospect Coby Mayo on the big league roster to get significant playing time, so start shopping him in exchange for an impact arm. Outside of trades, Baltimore needs to start aggressively promoting their pitchers in the minor leagues. Finally, they can take a page from other contenders around the league and transition a bullpen arm into a starter. The bottom line is, Elias and the O’s have to get creative to make up for the organizational failure of not having high-level pitching talent ready for this year.

2. The Twins have rattled off an eight-game win streak to push their record over .500 for the first time all year, and the Cardinals extended their own streak to nine on Monday with a win against the Phillies. Are you buying what either of these teams are selling in 2025, or is this just the normal ups and downs of a long season getting more attention because it’s mid-May?

Kavner: I’m buying that St. Louis has enough offense and Minnesota has enough pitching to contend for wild-card spots. Conversely, I don’t think the Cardinals have the starting pitching depth nor do I think the Twins have enough offense to win their respective divisions.

Matthew Liberatore has provided a huge boost for St. Louis, but Sonny Gray has a 4.50 ERA, and the underlying numbers suggest some regression ahead for Erick Fedde, who has performed well thus far. Meanwhile, the Twins have gone on their spectacular run this month despite a league-average offense during their hot May stretch. I’m slightly higher on Minnesota because I believe in the Twins’ pitching and the American League is so weak, but both teams still have work to do to make me view them as legit contenders.

Thosar: I’m buying what the Cardinals are selling, but not so much the Twins, because St. Louis has been more consistent throughout April and May than the Twins, who have been too up and too down for me to believe just yet that their winning streak is a sign that they’re the real deal. Byron Buxton’s red-hot start in May has helped Minnesota improve their record, but it’s dangerous to expect him to carry the club all season. The Twins need to play more consistently for a longer period of time just to have a chance of catching up to the first-place Tigers, and even then, they need to leapfrog over the Guardians and Royals to have a shot. It seems like a stretch. The Cardinals, though, have a clearer path to contention in the weaker NL Central, with a better shot at catching up to the first-place Cubs. Keep an eye on their series against the Phillies this week, which will be a huge test for St. Louis after winning the series against the Mets and sweeping the Pirates and Nationals. They could just be winning because of their softer schedule, or they could be the real deal. We’ll find out soon enough.

3. It’s tough to look at what Freddie Freeman is doing in 2025 and not wonder about where his career is going to end up. He’s the active leader in runs, hits, doubles, RBI and total bases, and recently passed the 350-homer mark. In 2025, at age 35, he’s leading the NL in batting average (.376), slugging (.734), OPS (1.170) and OPS+ (228), and has hit an astounding .491/.532/.906 over the past two weeks entering play on Tuesday. What do you see from the Dodgers’ first baseman from here on out, both in 2025 and by the time he calls it a career?

Kavner: Eventually, I see 3,000 hits and a place in Cooperstown, though that hit milestone will depend a lot on health for the 35-year-old. The physical toll that the 2024 championship season took on Freeman is still obvious. Both his ribs and his surgically-repaired right ankle have hindered him at times early this year, and the latter issue is still evident with every step he takes.

And yet, somehow, none of it seems to matter.

He lamented his swing not feeling right for much of last season in what was a tumultuous year off the field, but coming off his historic postseason performance, he looks as good as ever at the plate this year. Freeman’s average exit velocity is the highest of his career. He’s the National League OPS leader and is also contributing above-average defense at first base. The Dodgers are going to handle him carefully, as they have with many of their players this year. But as long as his ankle holds up, I see no reason why he won’t be an All-Star for the ninth time in his career and a matchup nightmare come October.

Thosar: I think his future success depends entirely on how Freeman manages his ankle injury. We’ve seen it be debilitating for him as recently as earlier this season when he slipped in the shower and re-aggravated it. That tells me he can’t place too much pressure on the ankle even off the field, and he goes through extensive, hours-long treatment for it every day just to play. It’s a lot to maintain, and it seems like one slip-up in the treatment and recovery process could lead to a potential IL stint. Then again, Freeman is clearly able to overcome pain better than most players, and even though it’s rare in baseball, there are players who get better with age. I’m just weary of long-term implications from his ankle that might not have caught up to him yet. Regardless, he’s a lock for the Hall of Fame in my book.

4. The Diamondbacks called up top prospect Jordan Lawlar this week. It’s his second go in the majors — Arizona called him up at the end of 2023, and then he missed most of 2024 with hamstring and thumb injuries. What should we expect from Lawlar, assuming he can stay on the field?

Kavner: It’s not often a team’s top prospect gets called up in a utility role, but that seems to be the plan ahead for Lawlar. The move has been a long time coming, even if there’s no obvious vacancy for him to fill with Ketel Marte at second, Geraldo Perdomo at shortstop and Eugenio Suarez at third. When you’re slashing .336/.413/.579 as a 22-year-old at Triple-A — and you tallied an OPS over 1.000 at that level each of the previous two seasons — you’ve done all you can to demonstrate your worthiness of playing at the highest level.

Lawlar has absolutely crushed left-handed pitching throughout his minor league career, so it would be reasonable to expect him to get some DH starts against lefties while giving Suarez, Perdomo and Marte occasional days off in the field. Lawlar’s Triple-A numbers (.347/.424/.590 with 13 homers in 65 career games) were boosted both by his hitter-friendly home park in Reno and the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, but even if he doesn’t end up slugging well above .500 for his career the way he did in the minors, his combination of pop and plus-plus speed (his sprint speed ranked in MLB’s 99th percentile during his first big-league stint) and ability to hit both lefties and righties (he had an OPS over .900 against both this year) should add to an already dangerous Arizona lineup, wherever he ends up playing. The D-backs prepared Lawlar for this opportunity by having him log time at second, shortstop and third at Reno this year, and I’d expect him to work in at all three spots.

Thosar: Since he can play every infield position besides first base, I’m expecting him to receive more playing time, allowing the everyday starters to get off their feet. It will be fascinating to see if he can thrive with more regular appearances in the batting order (the D-backs think he can start 3-4 times per week) and more reps against major-league pitching. Perhaps Lawlar’s speed and pop from the right side will help Arizona pull away from the .500 mark, which is where they’ve lived so far this season. He swiped 13 bags out of 14 chances in Triple A before he was called up this year, and those wheels should give the D-backs offense a different look. He can also be a late-game weapon for them, utilizing Lawlar’s speed in tight games to score runs easier. His confidence should grow the more that the D-backs use his dynamic ability on the field.

5. Aaron Judge and Paul Skenes are both going to be part of Team USA in the 2026 World Baseball Classic, after not participating in previous tournaments — Judge because the timing just wasn’t right, and Skenes because he wasn’t even in the pros yet. With that in mind, what other first-time player would you most want to see suit up for Team USA next spring, now that those two are already on board?

Kavner: Man, so many great possible answers here. I’ll go with Bryce Harper, who represented Team USA as an amateur and intended to play in the last World Baseball Classic but was forced out by his elbow injury. He tends to rise to the occasion on the biggest stage, and it only feels right that he gets the chance to do that at the WBC at least once in his career, especially while he’s still one of the game’s most feared hitters

Thosar: Bryce Harper and Pete Crow-Armstrong come to mind. They would definitely put on electric performances, and they’ve both played for Team USA as teenagers. On the pitching side, it’s always tough to get ace-type starters to participate in the WBC because they’re still building up from the long layoff of the offseason. But it would be awesome to see Jacob deGrom pitch for Team USA before he hangs up his cleats for good. It’s unlikely he does so; he even opted to skip the 2021 All-Star Game when he was selected, in favor of focusing on his recovery in between starts. But maybe he’ll have a different perspective next spring. You never know.

Rowan Kavner is an MLB writer for FOX Sports. He previously covered the L.A. Dodgers, LA Clippers and Dallas Cowboys. An LSU grad, Rowan was born in California, grew up in Texas, then moved back to the West Coast in 2014. Follow him on Twitter at @RowanKavner.

Deesha Thosar is an MLB writer for FOX Sports. She previously covered the Mets as a beat reporter for the New York Daily News. The daughter of Indian immigrants, Deesha grew up on Long Island and now lives in Queens. Follow her on Twitter at @DeeshaThosar.

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The Twins entered the day on a 10-game winning streak that brought them back into the mix in the competitive AL Central. They have also had a sudden influx of injuries. In the second game of Wednesday’s doubleheader against the Orioles, Harrison Bader exited in the third inning after feeling tightness in his groin. He was not in the lineup for Thursday’s series finale. France left the first game of the doubleheader with a left foot contusion after fouling a ball off of his foot, and while he didn’t start on Thursday, he was able to take Buxton’s spot in the lineup mid-game.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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As for who’s leading the way for the Mets, first baseman Pete Alonso — who didn’t re-sign with the Mets until February — has been phenomenal, totaling nine home runs and 36 RBIs while boasting a .311/.421/.584 slash line, and Francisco Lindor and Brandon Nimmo have driven in 26 runs, apiece; Soto, who announced on Wednesday that he’ll play for the Dominican Republic in the 2026 World Baseball Classic, has totaled eight home runs and 20 RBIs, while boasting a .255/.380/.465 slash line.

Meanwhile, New York’s starting rotation has a 2.74 ERA, which is first in MLB, and its bullpen has a 2.98 ERA, which is fourth in MLB.

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The Tigers made it right later on, as they ended up winning with another walk-off hit against the Sox — as if the universe was in disagreement about the earlier assisted home run robbery even happening — but hey. The Sox will always have that impossible catch. 

Julio Rodríguez gets his revenge on Trent Grisham

Let’s rewind to Monday night’s action for a moment, to set the scene. It’s the first game of the Yankees taking on the Mariners in Seattle. Trent Grisham hits not one, but two home runs, to the exact same spot in the park — the 401-foot marker where the walls meet at an angle in center — with center fielder Julio Rodríguez just missing robbing the first to the point it bounced off of his glove, and mistiming his attempt at long ball thievery the second time. 

On Wednesday, Rodríguez got the timing down, and it was somehow again Grisham at the plate.

This ball was hit more toward left field, rather than the same spot as Monday’s dual dingers, but it was still within range. Well, Rodríguez’s range, anyway. And he timed the jump perfectly here, and kept Grisham from adding to the dozen homers he’s already hit this year. 

Like with the Red Sox and their highlight-reel catch against the Tigers not being enough, the Mariners would end up losing to the Yankees, 3-2. At least Rodríguez doesn’t have to torture himself with thoughts of three home runs that Grisham hit just out-of-reach, all in one series.

Hoskins’ big 4-hit night

Rhys Hoskins’ first season with the Brewers after seven years with the Phillies didn’t go as expected for either side. He hit just .214/.303/.419 — a little below-average for any hitter, never mind a first baseman and DH — after producing a .242/.353/.492 line for his entire run in Philadelphia. The 2025 season has gone much differently for Hoskins, though, with Wednesday’s game a great example of that, as he collected four hits and drove in five runs against the Guardians in a 9-5 win. 

Hoskins also drew a walk and scored a pair of runs himself to go with a double, a two-run homer, and a pair of singles. His line for the year is now up to .292/.396/.462, good for a 141 OPS+ that would rank as the second-best of his career over a full season. Which is to say that it’s not out of the realm of possibility that he keeps this going, though, it is worth pointing out that his batting average on balls in play (.355) is as overly high as last season’s (.250) was low. Still, if he balances it out a bit and can hit .250 or so with plenty of walks and a bit of pop, the Brewers will be a lot happier with the results than they were a year ago.

Twins extend win-streak to 10

With the Cardinals losing on Wednesday, the Twins are now alone on the lengthy win-streak front, and were able to push theirs to 10 with a pair of wins over the Orioles that also gave them a sweep. Thanks to the doubleheader, the Twins have the longest win streak in MLB this year, and it’s pushed them from a disappointing 13-20 start that had them eight games back in the AL Central and already 4.5 back of a wild card to their present position: 23-20, 5.5 back in the Central, and in possession of the last of the three wild cards. 

Minnesota’s run differential sat at -1 when the streak began, and has since jumped to +24, which is just about what you’d expect from a team with their record. Byron Buxton (.270/.378/.595), Trevor Larnach (.310/.341/.595) and Harrison Bader (.417/.500/.667) have led the offensive attack during this 10-game streak, which is great news on the one hand, but on the other, Bader exited the second game of the doubleheader after injuring his groin on a sliding catch. Bader currently ranks first on the Twins in OPS+ among regulars, so losing him for any amount of time would be a blow.

Kim gets his first big-league homer

The Dodgers called up Hyeseong Kim from the minors this month in order to help plug the holes in the lineup that various injuries have created, and he has not disappointed. After 11 games and 25 plate appearances, the 26-year-old has played at second base, center field and shortstop as needed, and is batting .360/.360/.480. He hasn’t drawn a walk yet, but he did get his first homer in the majors on Wednesday:

As the Dodgers get healthy — if that’s even allowed, anyway — Kim might find himself back in the minors so he can play every day. If he’s going to hit like this when he has the chance to fill in, though, then if he’s not just kept on the big-league roster, then he’ll at least be first in line to return.

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As for Soto, the five-time Silver Slugger is in his first season with the Mets, who signed him to a record-breaking, 15-year, $765 million contract in the offseason. Thus far, Soto has totaled eight home runs and 20 RBIs, while boasting a .255/.380/.465 slash line and posting 1 DRS in right field.

The Mets are atop the National League East at 28-15, which is the best record in the NL.

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