| By Zach Crizer
Just like that, MLB’s All-Star break is over. As it turns out, it wasn’t much of a break from major news. With the second half underway, let’s take a look at the major storylines that will shape the stretch run.
1. The Juan Soto sweepstakes
Juan Soto is a top three hitter in baseball, and suddenly he’s on the trade block. That’s momentous enough before you realize he’s still just 23 — younger than a good chunk of the sport’s top prospects — and will probably still be one of the best, most impactful players in the sport in literally 2032.
Color me skeptical the Nationals will have the gall or the gumption to pull off a virtually unprecedented deal before the Aug. 2 deadline, but their ownership situation and outlook could make the seemingly impossible a reality.
2. Damn, Yankees
In a contract year flex for the ages, Aaron Judge is spearheading a vintage New York Yankees season, one that erupted just when many of us thought they were slipping into a competitive AL East pack. The Bronx Bombers are on pace for 113 wins at the break, putting them in range to chase the 2001 Seattle Mariners’ and the 1906 Chicago Cubs’ all-time wins record (116).
Maybe the most interesting bit of this narrative is how it could supercharge a playoff showdown with the Houston Astros, who — with and without the sign-stealing scheme — have assumed the villainous role the Yankees played for that Mariners team: Kryptonite.
3. Stranger things
Or maybe, just maybe, someone other than the usual suspects could seize the spotlight. There are rumblings emanating from Seattle and Baltimore that portend a potential journey to the Upside Down.
Rookie star Julio Rodriguez and reigning Cy Young winner Robbie Ray could help a fun Mariners team break a two-decade playoff drought, while the brutal Orioles rebuild has suddenly achieved liftoff just in time to turn the AL East into an all-out brawl. The odds are against these young teams factoring into the endgame in 2022, but stranger things have happened. Like the Mets winning with minimal hijinks.
4. The price of disappointment
Ever had buyer’s remorse on a $200 million expenditure? Yeah, me neither.
But it is about to become a driving force in the baseball universe. Someone is destined to fall short — either of their own high bar for success or the lowered bar for merely making the playoffs. Over the next few weeks, the Mets, Braves, Padres, Blue Jays, Red Sox, Phillies, White Sox and Giants will all be working to avoid that fate. A particularly motivated team owner could paper over their problems with straight cash in an offseason where Aaron Judge, Jacob deGrom, Trea Turner, Carlos Correa, Xander Bogaerts, Nolan Arenado and Dansby Swanson could become free agents.
5. Shohei Ohtani
Never content with entertaining us in one way, Shohei Ohtani in inspiring two tantalizing questions. The first involves the usual joy of watching him: What will this season’s unprecedented stat line look like? Will he add a Cy Young Award to complete his trophy case? Will he add a second MVP? Both?
The second involves his outlook on the Los Angeles Angels, who are verging on hopeless. He’s a year-and-a-half from free agency, and perhaps inclined to seek a new team that can put his unrivaled services to better use. Any indication of that intent would instantly be the biggest story in baseball. And there’s no two ways about it.
—Follow Zach Crizer on Twitter
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