Not every American League East team closed the first half as well as the Boston Red Sox.
Boston enters the All-Star break with a 10-game winning streak, but the Baltimore Orioles are fighting for their playoff livelihood. They fell to 43-52 after Sunday’s 11-1 loss to the Miami Marlins.
Kyle Stowers found a fitting way to end a painful first half for Baltimore. Miami’s lone All-Star pulverized his former team, which traded him last summer. The outfielder went 5-for-5 with three home runs, giving him 19 long balls this season.
MLB recognized Stowers after that huge performance, naming him the National League Player of the Week. Cleveland Guardians third baseman José Ramírez received the American League’s honor.
Stowers spent limited time in Baltimore from 2022 to 2024 without receiving a full runway. He failed to earn full-time reps in a crowded lineup by batting .229/.274/.369.
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Deep with hitting but desperate for pitching help, the Orioles sent Stowers and infielder Connor Norby to Miami for struggling southpaw Trevor Rogers. Norby has a .692 OPS in 108 games since the trade, but Stowers has fueled the Marlins offense by batting .293/.368/.543 this season.
Stowers has already submitted six home runs and a 1.291 OPS in 13 games this month. The left-handed masher has more homers and a higher wRC+ (151) than all Orioles hitters in 2025.
“I just feel like I’ve learned how to not put pressure on myself a little bit better,” Stowers said, per MLB.com’s Byron Kerr. “I was always battling that. Never have it figured out, but I think giving myself some grace. I kind of realized that I was the one person in my life who would be OK with me not having the baseball career that I think I should have.”
The Orioles would feel truly awful about trading Stowers if it wasn’t for Rogers’ recent resurgence.
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Rogers recorded a 7.11 ERA in four starts for Baltimore after the trade last year, but he’s found his 2021 All-Star form since starting his season in late May. The 27-year-old has a 1.53 ERA in six starts after holding the Marlins to one run over 6 2/3 innings on Saturday.