MLB Roundtable: Subway Series, White Sox's Outlook, And A Dodgers Dilemma

The MLB weekend slate brings some intriguing regional rivalries, including the first Subway Series of the season. While the Yankees are hopping onto the 7 Train to face the Mets, the Cubs are taking the Red Line to the South Side to face their Windy City counterparts, the White Sox. Meanwhile, the Dodgers will endure some freeway traffic to take on the Angels. Let's take a look at some of the notable MLB teams in action this weekend: 1. The Yankees top the AL in HR, RBI and OPS. Cam Schlitter feels like a Cy Young candidate. What's their weakness? Kavner: This looks like the team to beat in the American League, but the bullpen and the bottom of the lineup have some weak spots, and now there's suddenly a lot more pressure on Gerrit Cole to return looking like himself after Max Fried left his start with elbow soreness. Opponents are hitting .260 against David Bednar, Fernando Cruz is missing a ton of bats but also walking too many hitters - a primary reason for his 1.44 WHIP - and Camilo Doval, Jake Bird and Paul Blackburn all have ERAs well over 4.00. They should be able to grab another leverage arm at the trade deadline. The other issue is what happens when a pitcher gets past the Ben Rice-Aaron Judge-Cody Bellinger portion of the lineup. While every team would like more offensive depth, the Yankees' No. 6-9 hitters rank 25th in batting average, 22nd in on-base percentage and 19th in OPS. Those numbers are too low for a team with championship aspirations. They need to find a way to get Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Austin Wells going. 2. What's a fix the Mets can make to at least climb up the NL East standings? Thosar:The Mets finally looked like they're capable of making a run that fans will get behind after sweeping the Tigers at a re-energized Citi Field this week. Much of that energy came from the surprising promotion of top prospect A.J. Ewing, who hasn't experienced a loss since coming up to the big leagues. The 21-year-old outfielder is enjoying a fast start, batting .333 with four walks, three RBI, three runs scored, one stolen base and four strikeouts in three red-hot games. His confidence while grinding out at-bats has been contagious. The front office making the desperate but necessary decision to promote Ewing was the first real fix this club needed to try and climb back up the NL East standings. Any and all conversations about the Mets resembling a playoff contender begin with their underperforming offense. Some of their bad outcomes are self-inflicted, like expecting center fielder Luis Robert Jr. and infielder Jorge Polanco to stay healthy. But others are downright perplexing, like third baseman Bo Bichette forgetting how to hit, and the young core in Brett Bay, Mark Vientos and Francisco Alvarez unable to find consistency in what is now their fifth season in the major leagues. Bichette went from boasting a 129 OPS+ last year to recording a 62 OPS+ in over 40 games this year. If Bichette can get back on track, Francisco Lindor can return from his calf injury soon, and the young Mets can do their part, the Mets can attempt to crawl out of their hole. 3. Speaking of the NL East, the Braves feel like they could run away with the division. What's been behind Atlanta's hot start? Thosar:The Braves have the best pitching staff in the National League, which is a supreme success given that the rotation looked out of commission before the season even began. First it was Spencer Schwellenbach who went down with injury. Then it was Hurston Waldrep, Joey Wentz, and eventually Spencer Strider. The Braves are running away with the division despite all of that, rocking the second-best rotation ERA (3.04) and third-best bullpen ERA (3.10) in MLB. Beyond the continued excellence from future walk-in Hall of Famer Chris Sale, nobody expected right-hander Bryce Elder to be this terrific. The Braves starter owns a 1.81 ERA and 1.01 WHIP, outperforming his 3.09 FIP and suggesting he's run into some good luck. In reality, the pitching staff didn't even need to be this dominant given how dangerous the offense has been. First baseman Matt Olson is leading the lineup's ascendency with an NL-leading 184 OPS+ and 2.4 fWAR. The 32-year-old's 14 home runs are tied for the fourth-most in the majors. Right behind him is catcher Drake Baldwin, who's following up his 2025 NL Rookie of the Year award with a standout sophomore season. Baldwin's 37 runs scored lead MLB, and his 155 OPS+ trails only the A's Shea Langeliers' 173 OPS+ among all big-league catchers. Those two bats in particular have helped Atlanta possess the best offense in baseball. The Braves lead MLB in average (.271), slugging (.252), OPS (.786), runs scored (237), and RBI (232). Their combination of high contact and elite power is menacing, and it all looks sustainable for this battle-tested team. 4. The White Sox are hanging tough in the AL Central. Should the South Siders be thinking about the postseason? Kavner:The fact that we're talking about this at all a year after they won 60 games and two years after the worst season in modern baseball history is an incredible achievement in itself. Thesurprise signing of Munetaka Murakami has provided a real jolt - they're 22-21 entering their three-game series against their Northside neighbors and would currently hold the second wild-card spot in the uninspiring American League - and their success to this point goes beyond the powerful and polarizing NPB sensation. The Miguel Vargas offensive breakout is finally upon us, Colson Montgomery now has 32 homers in 113 career games, and Davis Martin has a 1.62 ERA through eight starts. They've also gotten to this point without standout catcher Kyle Teel, who should be returning soon. If they find a way to sneak into the playoffs, that's an unbelievable success. But they're not going to mortgage their future to make it happen, and this isn't a team built to make a deep run in 2026. This year is still about development for their intriguing young talents, and I can't imagine the White Sox will sacrifice them for "win-now" moves. It will, however, be interesting to see what, if anything, they do with Murakami. If they're unable or unwilling to extend him, they have to at least listen to offers from contenders while his value is this high. 5. Blake Snell's return gives the Dodgers a boost, but are the Dodgers soon facing some tough roster decisions? Kavner: They will, and really those roster decisions already began earlier this week when Mookie Betts was activated and they optioned Alex Freeland. On the pitching side, an even tougher call looms when Tyler Glasnow is ready to return, even with their six-man rotation. Most likely, one of Justin Wrobleski, Emmet Sheehan or Roki Sasaki will have to move to the bullpen, get optioned to Triple-A or be placed on the injured list. Based on performance thus far, the most obvious decision would be sending Sasaki either to the minors or back to the bullpen, but the Dodgers don't sound inclined to do either. They've been adamant that they believe the best thing for his development is to have him continue making starts in the majors. He has performed better lately, but it's hard to make a case that he's more deserving of a rotation spot than Wrobleski, who had a 0.56 ERA through his first five starts, or Sheehan, who has a 3.38 ERA over his last five starts. Still, it seems most likely that the odd man out will be either Wrobleski, who proved last October that his stuff can play up in a relief role, or Sheehan, who has had trouble holding his velocity through starts. They'll "kick the can down the road" on that decision, as they like to put it, as long as possible.