Are the Cardinals this season's plot twist? Plus: Boston rookie brought the spice

New York Times

09-06-2025

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Are the Cardinals this year's plot twist?
Plus: Ken dives into the Roman Anthony conundrum in Boston, where the Red Sox just took two of three from the Yankees. And if you're looking for an underdog, I found him: He's in Detroit. I'm Levi Weaver, here with Ken Rosenthal. Welcome to The Windup!
I think the MLB season is more or less a theater show. It's never quite the same, but every year, some familiar roles are recast. Here's who's playing whom this year:
There are the stars of the show (Tigers, Dodgers, Yankees, Mets, Cubs, Padres), the What Happened ensemble (Orioles, Rangers, Red Sox, Diamondbacks and the Braves), the 'Hmmm, as I suspected: bad' chorus (Rockies, White Sox, Pirates, et al.), and then, there's everyone's favorite character: the Plot Twist.
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By nature, plot twists are hard to identify less than halfway through the show. Remember last year, when the Pirates started the season 9-2? Had a winning record on Aug. 4? They almost had me. (In the end, it was the Tigers and Royals.)
But this year … man, I'm starting to think it might be the Cardinals. After taking two of three from the Dodgers over the weekend, they're four games back in the NL Central, at 36-29 — the same record as the AL West-leading Houston Astros.
So, are they for real? Hard to say. Going into last night's 7-3 loss to the Dodgers, they had scored 298 runs — seventh-best in the league. But everything else has been pretty aggressively average: Defensively, they were tied for 14th with 11 Defensive Runs saved, and their pitchers had allowed 266 runs allowed (also 14th).
That rotation could get a boost soon, though, if they can find space for 24-year-old prospect Michael McGreevy, who showed some encouraging signs in his spot start against the Dodgers.
As for the rest? We'll just have to keep watching, I guess. That's what makes the play so good.
More Cardinals: Before Sunday's finale, the St. Louis played video of Matt Adams' home run off Clayton Kershaw in Game 4 of the 2014 NLDS. Kershaw said he thought it was 'bush league.' (He also picked up his first win of the year.)
A few additional points to the column I wrote Sunday about the need for the Boston Red Sox to bring top prospect Roman Anthony to the majors:
Did the Red Sox reward Campbell for agreeing to a potentially below-market contract? Did they effectively punish Anthony and infielder Marcelo Mayer for declining to do the same?
No one can say for sure, particularly when the Sox were high on Campbell all spring and had more of a need at second base for him than in the outfield for Anthony or left side of the infield for Mayer.
Still, player representatives often grow suspicious when teams make decisions clouded by financial implications. And Campbell wouldn't be the first whose debut appeared tied to his willingness to sign a pre-arbitration deal.
NCAA athletes have gained control of their name, image and likeness rights and earning power. How is it that major-league teams still effectively control players for the first six years of their careers, and under a system that remains subject to manipulation, no less?
The answer, of course, lies in the rules outlined in the sport's collective bargaining agreement. While players are free to market themselves the same way NCAA athletes do, they cannot bounce from club to club in search of better situations.
The 2022 CBA struck a blow against service-time manipulation, awarding additional picks in the amateur draft to teams that keep rookies on their rosters long enough for the players to gain a full year of service.
But service-time manipulation, while explicitly prohibited by the CBA, is difficult to prove. Forms of it still exist and always will, as long as baseball uses a tiered economic system based on a player's service.
Could it be, though, that they want to ensure he does not finish first or second in the AL Rookie of the Year voting, thus depriving him of gaining a full year of service and keeping him in Boston for an extra season? That also seems doubtful.
Even if the possibility of Anthony winning Rookie of the Year was part of the initial equation for the Red Sox, it shouldn't have been. As stated in the column, the Sox are a big-market team. They need not fret over service-time considerations. They could always sign Anthony to an extension.
At this point, it's probably too late for Anthony to win Rookie of the Year, anyway. Paul Skenes captured the NL award last season after debuting on May 11. Anthony would be getting started nearly a month later, and Athletics shortstop Jacob Wilson is the clear front-runner for the award.
Again, here's the column.
Speaking of those Boston Red Sox …
The vitriol isn't what it once was, but they butted heads with their division rivals over the weekend, and we did get at least one good quote: Red Sox rookie Hunter Dobbins, 25, said if the Yankees were the last team to offer him a contract, he'd retire. Whoa. Way to make it interesting again, kid.
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The Yankees took the first game by getting revenge on the guy who threw the last pitch of the World Series. Walker Buehler only lasted two innings Friday night, allowing seven runs (five earned) as the Yankees cruised to a 9-6 win.
Saturday, the Sox struck back, winning 10-7 to overcome Garrett Crochet's worst outing this year. Then last night, Aaron Judge's 22nd and 23rd home runs went to waste — it was Carlos Rodón's turn to have his first dud. Boston scored five runs in the sixth inning and five different Red Sox homered en route to an 11-7 Boston win.
Oh, and the winning pitcher? Dobbins! He backed it up!
The 32-35 Red Sox are still 6 1/2 games behind the Yankees, with the Rays and Blue Jays between them. It's not great in Boston, but the 39-25 Yankees missed an opportunity to make it much worse.
A really cool moment happened Friday. With the Tigers clinging to a one-run lead over the Cubs in the eighth inning, manager A.J. Hinch decided to pinch hit for right fielder Kerry Carpenter.
The new hitter? Jahmai Jones, whose big-league experience consisted of 69 games for four teams — the Angels, Orioles, Brewers and Yankees — since his 2020 debut.
On the first pitch he saw from Génesis Cabrera, Jones swung hard and sent a hanging breaking ball soaring over the left-field wall. In Detroit, which is significant.
See, Jahmai's dad Andre played for the Detroit Lions in 1992. So did Jahmai's brother T.J., from 2015-2018. But Andre didn't get to see either of them carry on his Motor City tradition. He died in 2011 of a brain aneurysm at just 42 years old.
Cody Stavenhagen has the full story here. It's enough to make you root for the 27-year-old Jones, even if this is the first you're hearing about him.
Oh by the way, Jones pinch-hit in the eighth inning again Saturday and singled. His pre-Tigers batting average? .198. As a Tiger, though — he's batting 1.000 so far. If you're the sort of baseball fan who needs an underdog to root for, Jones is my nomination.
Trending up: the Blue Jays (8-2 in their last 10 games). Mitch Bannon explains what is going so right lately.
Trending down: the Phillies (1-9 in their last 10, swept by the Pirates over the weekend). Bryce Harper (wrist) is on the IL, and Matt Gelb explains what (else) is going so wrong lately.
It's official: Corbin Burnes is having Tommy John surgery. Ken says the implications go well beyond just the 2025 Diamondbacks.
Juan Soto reached base six times yesterday. His OBP is up to .384, 15th in the majors.
The (second) Craig Kimbrel era in Atlanta is over. After one day.
Pete Alonso's new game-planning routine has been at the center of his big year, says WIll Sammon.
Looking for the key to the Cubs' success? Don't overlook Kyle Tucker's 'aura,' but a resurgent Matt Shaw hasn't hurt, either. (Check back after the deadline to see if 'pitching' is added to this list.)
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