The New York Mets (36-51) return from a brief stint in Canada to face their division rivals, the Atlanta Braves (50-35). The Mets, if you can believe it, actually took two out of three from the first place Braves at Citi Field in June. You can probably believe this, but it’s the last time the Mets won a series, and it represents one of only two series the Mets won since the start of June.
Atlanta, GA
Atlanta west? In Anaheim, ex-Braves fill the roster and staff as Angels seek winning culture
Just days before the start of the season, the Los Angeles Angels and Atlanta Braves made a trade. It was their seventh deal in the last 11 months.
It was a swap of two once-promising, now-struggling pitchers. Ian Anderson to the Angels. José Suarez to Atlanta. Both joined the big league clubs to get their shot at a fresh start.
Neither one was very good.
Today, the pair are in the bullpen of the Gwinnett Stripers, Atlanta’s Triple-A affiliate. The Braves re-claimed Anderson on waivers after the Angels DFA’d him.
Their teammates in Gwinnett include nine other players who have been in the Angels organization in the last four years, including seven who made the Angels’ major league roster. Gwinnett is a who’s who of names that didn’t work out in Anaheim.
That isn’t just some weird coincidence. It’s emblematic of a unique dynamic between the two clubs, one that’s grown even more notably over the last calendar year. And a relationship that appears rooted in the Angels’ attempt to emulate Atlanta’s sustained success.
The Angels’ front office, coaching staff and roster are populated with former Braves. The roots of their comfortable dynamic stem from the history of Angels GM Perry Minasian, who took over in 2020 after spending four years as an assistant GM under Braves president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos in Atlanta; the pair also worked together for seven years in Toronto.
There is no effort in place to consciously acquire players or staff from the Braves, Minasian said; he and Anthopoulos know each other well, of course, but anything beyond that is circumstantial.
“Me personally, I don’t see any type of connection, outside of familiarity with the person who runs the team,” Minasian said. Anthopoulos declined an interview request.
Perry Minasian has been GM of the Angels since November 2020. (Elsa / Getty Images)
Some others see it differently. Joe Maddon managed the Angels from 2020 to 2022. The club fired him in June of 2022, after a 12-game losing streak. That October, he released a book, “The Book of Joe: Trying Not to Suck at Baseball and Life,” that offered a firsthand account of his experience with the early years of the Minasian front office:
“A lot of things were related to ‘We did it this way with the Braves,’” Maddon wrote.
If that were the case, it’s easy to see why they’d look to Atlanta. The Angels haven’t had a winning record in a decade. The Braves, on the other hand, have been to the playoffs the last seven seasons and won a championship in 2021. And by now the list of hires, trades, and signings is so extensive that Braves lineage — and by extension Braves ideas, methods and culture — run deeply through the Angels organization.
The Angels’ coaching staff is led by manager Ron Washington, who spent seven years as the Braves’ third base coach, leaving only when he was hired to manage the Angels. Additionally, base running coach Eric Young Sr., infield coach Ryan Goins and assistant pitching coach Sal Fasano all come from the Braves.
Head athletic trainer Mike Frostad has Atlanta roots. So do senior director of research and development Michael Lord, assistant field coordinator Sean Kazmar Jr, pitching coordinator Dom Chiti, and since-fired Angels assistant GM Alex Tamin.
The Angels have routinely signed players with ties to the Braves. It’s a practice that dates to Kurt Suzuki, Minasian’s second big league signing as Angels GM. He came as a backup catcher, two years removed from two great seasons with the Braves. He remains with the Angels, currently as a front office advisor.
Just this offseason, the Angels traded for Jorge Soler, signed Travis d’Arnaud, traded away Davis Daniel, traded away Michael Peterson, traded for Angel Perdomo and made the aforementioned Suarez-Anderson swap. They recently signed reliever Hector Neris, who started the season in Atlanta.
Some big trades, more small trades, but always a high volume of deal-making. The two teams have even engaged in significant salary dump trades, with the Angels unloading Raisel Iglesias’ contract in 2022, as well as David Fletcher and Max Stassi the year after.
One could argue that the Angels’ most consequential trades of the Minasian era have been with the Phillies. But at just four trades in five years, their volume of transactions pales by comparison.
Since May of last year, the Angels have made 14 trades; seven of them have been with the Braves. Since Minasian’s tenure began in November of 2020, 11 of the 46 total swaps have come with Atlanta.
Despite the extreme volume, it’s not as though the Angels are attempting to be an exact replica of the Braves. They do employ people all across the organization who came from different franchises. Some with Atlanta ties were known to Minasian in previous stops.
And quite clearly, the results have been different.
The Angels have yet to win more than 77 games under the current front office. That continues a streak of losing seasons that started under Minasian’s predecessor, Billy Eppler, who ran the team over the 2016 to 2020 seasons without posting a winning record. Last year, the Angels finished with a franchise-record 99 losses. They’re on pace to finish 72-90 in 2025, following a weekend sweep of the Dodgers.
“Invest,” Angels DH Jorge Soler said flatly when asked how the Angels reach the Braves’ level. Soler was the World Series MVP in 2021 for Atlanta. “You see the Braves, they have a lot of money for contracts.”
“You need players,” Washington said, when posed the same question as Soler. “… It takes time. It’ll take about three years before you start seeing big-time improvement.
“These past couple years, I think we’ve been trying to get it right.”
The question surrounding the Angels is if they are actually building anything similar, as Washington suggests. Atlanta’s history offers at least a sliver of hope: Before the Braves’ run of playoff appearances, they weren’t good, either. Four straight years of sub-.500 records. But they were rebuilding successfully, and their young core all came up around the same time.
“How were the Braves before the sustained success?” said Angels catcher d’Arnaud, who spent the previous five years in Atlanta. “There’s a little period where they were struggling for a handful of years. Trying to develop and build a culture.
“That’s what I think is happening. Trying to build a culture here that creates winning. The people you surround yourself with is ultimately who you become,” d’Arnaud continued.
There are other voices with other organizational roots in the room, who are trying to make it happen. AGM and player development director Joey Prebynski, for example, came from the St. Louis Cardinals. Scouting director Tim McIlvaine was with the Milwaukee Brewers.
But still, the most consistent through line has been the Braves, felt throughout every facet of their operation. From the GM, to the manager, to even bench veterans over the years like Kevin Pillar or Phil Gosselin.
“They want to help everybody actually become a better player, and aren’t scared to pass along information, which I think is very important,” d’Arnaud said of Angels people with Braves ties. “To have that familiarity for me is huge.”
When Washington started as manager, he wanted to build a culture like Atlanta’s. He wanted guys that could post, a core of players who would play every day. In his final year as a Braves coach, in 2023, Atlanta’s starting lineup averaged 144.3 games played. The Angels averaged just 101.4.
That’s what the Angels are in search of: stability. A reliable core. A pipeline of talent. And a system of player development that can be consistently good. The Angels’ brass has sold their current plight as a growth period. What’s less clear is if this rebuild is actually working.
To Soler’s point, the Braves have spent more money on payroll, though not dramatically so. They’re at $211 million, according to FanGraphs. The Angels’ payroll is $203 million. However, Atlanta’s is balanced throughout their roster. They’ve locked up their young players, while the Angels haven’t.
What they’ve done is create something that looks similar to the Braves, with many of the same architects around it.
Only time will tell if they can ever come close to matching Atlanta’s success.
— With contributions from The Athletic‘s David O’Brien.
(Top photo of Travis d’Arnaud with Atlanta and Nolan Schanuel during a 2024 Braves-Angels game: Orlando Ramirez / Getty Images)
If you thought that the June Swoon might have been the cause of the team’s problems, well think again because the Mets kicked off July with a putrid effort in a 9-3 loss on Canada Day at Rogers Centre. It capped off a series loss in which they fell 2-1 on Monday but blanked the Blue Jays 3-0 in their lone victory.
Despite escaping with one victory in the three-game set, the offense yet again remained the biggest culprit. New York scored seven runs across the three games, with six of the seven coming via the home run. The team also did not record a single hit with runners in scoring position, going hitless in 17 tries across the series and leaving 17 runners on base. Most glaring of all was the Monday game, when they went 0-for-9 and left 7 on base, and given that they lost by one run, they squandered several chances to steal the game from Toronto. Dating back to their loss on Sunday against the Phillies, New York is 2-for-25 with RISP over their past four games.
On the bright side, I mentioned the home runs, and Francisco Lindor contributed two of the five. In doing so, he doubled his home run total on the season, with two now post-IL to match the two he hit before landing on the injured list. In addition, Carson Benge hit his tenth of the year in yesterday’s loss, a two-run blast that got New York on the board. Lastly, both Francisco Alvarez and Luis Torrens homered in Tuesday night’s victory.
The big story from the week was Steve Cohen joining Jon Heyman and Joel Sherman on a podcast and confirming that David Stearns is safe for the duration of his five-year deal (for those keeping track, he’s currently in the middle of year five of the contract). I’d argue that it’s not really a surprise, as Cohen is committed to Stearns’ vision and also is probably in no hurry to have to fill that role again after how long he waited to get Stearns away from the Brewers.
Fans have been out in full force against the team’s President of Baseball Operations, but it also makes no sense to cut bait now, especially close to both the draft and the trade deadline. Cohen’s comments, at the very least, put all questions to bed and turn attention to Stearns fixing this mess. Cohen did express a lot of disappointment at the team’s play and the position they currently find himself in, so while he essentially said Stearns is safe (for now), that was not necessarily a glowing endorsement of the work he’s done over the past two years, given the team’s current position. However, fans should get comfortable with Stearns at the helm for the next two seasons, which will include navigating a potential lockout.
There is, perhaps, no team in baseball happier than the Braves to see the calendar turn from June to July. Atlanta started the month by going 5-2 but ended it by dropping 12 of their final 16 games, bringing their overall record in June to 9-14. They have gone 1-1 so far in July and ended up dropping two out of three in their series with the Cardinals.
The Braves’ offense was putrid in June, which resulted in their sub-.500 record. They posted the lowest wRC+ (65) and scored the fewest runs (77) of any major league club. They also hit the fewest home runs in the month (19) and had the lowest OPS (.599). Their rotation was not any better in June, as they posted a 5.69 ERA, which is somehow even worse than the Mets’ ERA for the month (5.46), and is the fifth-worst mark in the majors. Their bullpen is just about the one aspect of their game that didn’t fall apart in June, as their relievers posted a 2.14 ERA, which is the best mark in the majors.
Friday, July 3: Christian Scott vs. Grant Holmes, 7:15 PM EDT on WPIX
Scott (2026): 45.0 IP, 53 K, 21 BB, 5 HR, 3.20 ERA, 3.93 FIP, 79 ERA-
Scott made his first start in 15 days after landing on the IL with a right hip impingement and was relatively effective against the Phillies. He lasted 4 1/3 innings and allowed two earned runs on three hits. He struck out six in the game and walked just two. In the end, he needed 82 pitches and threw 54 of them for strikes. He did not seem to be suffering any ill effects from his injury and is set to make his next turn against the Braves. He has continued to be one of the lone bright spots for New York and has established himself as one of the faces of the club’s future.
Holmes (2026): 77.1 IP, 69 K, 37 BB, 14 HR, 3.96 ERA, 5.19 FIP, 94 ERA-
Holmes made his first relief outing his last time out, going four scoreless innings while limiting the Giants to one hit. Atlanta put him in the bullpen because he had failed to go deep in any of his previous three starts (3 2/3 innings, two innings, and 4 2/3 innings). This outing was by far his most effective of the four, and he showed enough that the Braves feel comfortable plugging him right back into the rotation after that brief reset.
Saturday, July 4: Sean Manaea vs. Chris Sale, 8:08 PM EDT on FOX
Manaea (2026): 63.0 IP, 64 K, 22 BB, 6 HR, 4.71 ERA, 3.65 FIP, 117 ERA-
Manaea bounced back from a rocky (and short) start against the Cubs by holding the Blue Jays to two runs on three hits in 5 2/3 innings pitched. Unfortunately, he was bitten by a misplay to start the game, which resulted in a little league home run and put him behind one batter into his start. That was enough to saddle Manaea with his third loss of the year, despite the solid showing. Since being inserted back into the rotation on June 13, he has a 4.05 ERA and a 2.91 FIP in 20 innings across four starts, so at the very least he’s gotten his season back on track following the rough stretch in the bullpen to begin the year.
Sale (2026): 90.0 IP, 109 K, 22 BB, 6 HR, 2.10 ERA, 2.55 FIP, 50 ERA-
The 2024 NL Cy Young winner is having a really strong season for the Braves. He currently owns the third-best ERA (2.10) and FIP (2.55) among NL starting pitchers with at least 90 innings pitched in 2026. He’s also third in HR/9 (0.6), fourth in K% (29.6%), and seventh in BB% (7.0%). He’s probably right behind Jacob Misiorowski and Cristopher Sánchez in the Cy Young race right now, but it’s still impressive to see what he’s doing at 37 years old. He suffered a loss in his last start to the Giants, as he allowed two runs (one earned) on eight hits over six innings. In the loss, he reached double digits in strikeouts for the second time this season. He’s also been able to give Atlanta a lot of length this year, pitching into the sixth inning in 13 of his 15 starts. He’ll be happy to see the Mets, as he owns a 1.97 ERA in 32 career innings across five starts against the Mets.
Sunday, July 5: Nolan McLean vs. Martín Pérez, 12:30 PM EDT on NBC/Peacock
McLean (2026): 95.1 IP, 113 K, 36 BB, 10 HR, 3.78 ERA, 3.58 FIP, 93 ERA-
McLean enjoyed his best start of the season and looked like the ace the Mets were hoping he would be this year. The right-hander tossed six shutout innings against the Blue Jays, scattering five hits while walking two and striking out seven. The effort was good enough to get him his fifth win against five losses this year, which matched his win total from 2025. The outing also highlights a really fascinating split from the right-hander’s season. So far, he owns a 2.49 ERA in eight road starts while pitching to a much less palatable 5.03 ERA in nine starts at Citi Field. It’s curious to see just how much better he’s pitching away from home, but hopefully that trend continues, at least for this next go-around.
Pérez (2026): 77.0 IP, 61 K, 30 BB, 9 HR, 3.27 ERA, 4.29 FIP, 78 ERA-
Pérez is coming off of a couple of tough outings. His last time out, he was charged with four earned runs on five hits over five innings in a loss to the Cardinals. Prior to that, he was charged with three earned runs on four hits over four innings in a loss to the Padres. In those two starts, he walked seven while striking out five. He also surrendered three homers in the two losses after giving up six homers in his first 15 starts. He did very well against the Mets on June 13, limiting New York to one earned run on four hits over 5 1/3 innings. It ended up being the only game the Braves won in their trip to Citi Field.
Monday, July 6: Freddy Peralta vs. Reynaldo López, 7:15pm on SNY
Peralta (2026): 95.1 IP, 92 K, 38 BB, 13 HR, 4.81 ERA, 4.27 FIP, 119 ERA-
Peralta continues to be really maddening for the Mets this year. He was tagged for five earned runs on seven hits against the Blue Jays as he picked up his seventh loss of the year. He walked three and struck out four, and again failed to pitch deep into a game. With the club all but out of it, Peralta is almost sure to be moved by the trade deadline, so his performance over the next few weeks will basically just be used to increase his value and help New York recoup some (hopefully) top prospects.
López (2026): 51.2 IP, 46 K, 22 BB, 6 HR, 3.31 ERA, 4.17 FIP, 79 ERA-
López has bounced back and forth between the rotation and the bullpen this year but appears to be sticking in the rotation for now. He is coming off one of his best showings this year, as he held the Cardinals to one earned run on two hits over five innings of work. He walked just one and struck out six, and the result was his fourth win of the season. It was just the fourth time this year that the right-hander completed five innings of work or more.
Atlanta, GA
Decatur Square businesses thrive during 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup and WatchFest: “…beyond our wildest imagination”
With all the soccer fans visiting metro Atlanta, local businesses are reaping the benefits.
In Decatur, shops and restaurants on the Decatur Square are seeing a surge in foot traffic during the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup and Decatur WatchFest.
Lee Fewell, manager and bartender at The Brick Store Pub on the square, said the excitement has been nonstop. “It’s been really crazy,” Fewell said. “We have our outback garden area just completely filled up. We added some TVs, and it’s just been full capacity at any given moment.”
While Wednesday night was relatively slower than recent days, Fewell noted that business is usually quieter during the summer. This year, however, the restaurant saw its biggest day ever when the U.S. Men’s National Soccer Team played its first match in the tournament.
“It’s been 29 years this month since this place opened, but usually, it is definitely not like this,” Fewell said. “This is, I think, beyond our wildest imagination.”
Across the square, Siam Thai Restaurant is also enjoying record-breaking business. “We sold out of beer,” said Narit Narajit-McCrary, who works at the restaurant. “I had to go to the supermarket to restock for Monday.”
Narajit-McCrary said the World Cup boost has far exceeded expectations: “During the summer, normally it’s very slow for business, but this summer has been very good for us.”
Atlanta, GA
FBI orders field offices to send analysts to Atlanta for 2020 election investigation, sources say
The FBI is ramping up its investigation into the 2020 election results in Fulton County, Georgia, by ordering field offices across the country to send investigative analysts to Atlanta to help evaluate thousands of records, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.
According to a memo sent to all field offices and reviewed by CBS News, the Directorate of Intelligence requested “surge support” to Atlanta to assist in what it called FBI Director Kash Patel’s “priority” investigation. The memo did not explicitly discuss the nature of the investigation, but multiple sources confirmed to CBS News the subject of the memo is the 2020 election probe in Fulton County.
The memo calls on every FBI field office to assign analysts, seeking to reach a total of 260 analysts. Large field offices are being asked to contribute eight analysts each, while small and medium offices must dedicate between three and five analysts. They are being asked to review 708 records each, and complete the work by July 17, the memo shows.
These “tactical intel” staffers typically provide help with day-to-day casework, such as running license plates, doing open-source checks on subjects of investigations, phone analysis, preparing subpoenas and reviewing subpoena returns.
The surge of personnel was first reported by MS Now.
President Trump has repeatedly alleged without providing evidence that officials in heavily Democratic Fulton County manipulated ballot counts in 2020 and that large numbers of votes in the state were cast by deceased Georgians, nonresidents or other ineligible participants.
After Mr. Trump lost Georgia by 11,799 votes, he frequently claimed the election had been “rigged.” But Joe Biden’s win in Georgia was confirmed in both a machine recount and an audit that involved hand recounts by every county in the state.
Earlier this year, the FBI executed a search warrant in Fulton County where it seized “all physical ballots” from 2020, as well as tapes from vote-tabulating machines, ballot images and voter rolls. Home to Atlanta, Fulton County was crucial to Biden’s narrow 2020 win in the state.
The case was referred to the FBI by Kurt Olsen, a lawyer who previously fought to help overturn the results of the 2020 election and now works for the Justice Department, where he is assigned in Miami to help investigate the so-called “grand conspiracy” into whether Obama and Biden-era officials conspired to keep President Trump out of office.
A judge in May denied a request by Fulton County to return the ballots that were seized.
The FBI declined to comment.
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