Plenty of news from around the league during a D-Backs travel day to Toronto. Most notably, Luis Guillorme is back in the Bigs and doing exactly what you expect!
Diamondbacks News
Diamondbacks’ Ken Kendrick still deciding whether to be trade deadline buyers or sellers by David Veenstra [Arizona Sports]
“If you really look at the talent, I believe that you could say even now with the injuries that we have, the talent base is as talented group on paper from their past performances as the team that went to the World Series (in 2023).
“Some may argue with me. That was a band of brothers who did it. This band of brothers may be also able to do it. So I think we just have to let the next month play out.” {Kendrick quote}
Marte, Carroll among position leaders in NL All-Star voting returns by Kavish Siddhartha [Arizona Sports]
Voting leaders through the first MLB All Star ballot update! pic.twitter.com/TJH7MOU5MK
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) June 16, 2025
Rafael Devers Trade Shakes NL West, Makes D-Backs Season Tougher by Michael McDermott [SI]
Torey Lovullo on Devers to Giants:
“I know Rafi, I was part of his development process, he’s a very good baseball player. It just seems like every good baseball player comes to the NL West these days. It just made that team better,…. It means we gotta be better too”
— Diamondbacks On SI (@DbacksOnSI) June 15, 2025
Previewing the Diamondbacks at Blue Jays 3 Game Series by Jack Sommers [SI]
The Blue Jays are 38-33, in third place in the AL East, 4.5 games back of the Yankees. If the season ended today they would be in the playoffs however as they’re currently the second seed in the AL Wild Card. Toronto started June by winning eight of 10, but were just swept by the Phillies in Philadelphia, getting outscored 22-6.
Around the League
A quick reminder that I am on the cabinet of the Luis Guillorme Fan Club. Four highlights from his first game after being recalled to the Majors!
Defensive wizard is back with a highlight you never see from an infielder by Theo DeRosa [MLB]
FanGraphs Power Rankings: June 9-15 by Jake Mailhot [FanGraphs]
With the Giants aggressively asserting themselves with their acquisition of Devers, the five teams in this tier might be fighting over one Wild Card spot. There’s plenty of season left to play, but Philadelphia and San Francisco certainly seem like they’re a step ahead of this group. Still, the Diamondbacks went 5-1 last week and have snuck back into the playoff picture after their rough end to May. For their part, the Reds won both of their series last week, while the Brewers went 4-3 thanks to a big series win over the Cardinals last weekend. As for St. Louis, the Cards snapped a six-game losing streak with a win on Saturday, but have still gone 5-11 over their last 16 games.
Ohtani touches triple digits in long-awaited return to mound by Sonja Chen [MLB]
He threw 28 pitches (16 strikes) and hit 100.2 mph with his four-seamer — which was tied with Michael Kopech for the Dodgers’ second-fastest pitch of the season, behind Roki Sasaki reaching 100.5. Fourteen of Ohtani’s pitches registered at or above 98 mph.
Then Ohtani walked off the mound, headed to the dugout and prepared to lead off the bottom of the first. He struck out swinging in his first at-bat against Padres starter Dylan Cease — and later made up for the run he allowed with a game-tying double in the third inning.
Ex-Ohtani interpreter reports to federal prison by Tisha Thompson [ESPN]
Mizuhara, 40, was ordered to surrender to federal authorities by Monday. He is in custody at Federal Correctional Institution Allenwood Low, a low-security facility, after being sentenced to 57 months in prison for stealing nearly $17 million from Ohtani.
Mizuhara was initially ordered to report to prison in March, but a federal judge granted the delay. The reasons for the delay remain under seal.
Question of the Day
If the standings remain relatively unchanged (currently 3 GB of a Wild Card) in late July, what would you, as a fan, like to see from the Diamondbacks front office at the deadline?