Things just got real.
On Sunday night, Giants president of baseball operations Buster Posey threw down the gauntlet and acquired Rafael Devers from the Red Sox -- mark that under "things you couldn't have imagined saying a year ago" -- and with that stunning early opener from San Francisco, trade season is officially underway.
How might that define the week ahead? Well, not only has the NL West been shaken up just in time for another big Dodgers-Padres series, there won't be any time for the dust to settle on this deal, because guess where the Red Sox are headed this coming weekend?
So, in the wake of 2025's first blockbuster -- more on that later -- here's what you can catch during the week of June 16.
Padres at Dodgers
4 games (Monday-Thursday)
Head to head: They played their first series of 2025 a week ago in San Diego, where the Dodgers took two of three. However, the Padres' win was extremely loud -- an 11-1 rout that had a position player on the mound for the Dodgers by the bottom of the sixth -- and as a result, they did outscore the Dodgers overall, 20-14.
Storyline: Things are as precarious as ever in the NL West -- after taking two of three from the Giants over the weekend, the Dodgers are two games up on their arch rivals, and the Padres, coming off losing two of three in Arizona, lurk just behind. So Los Angeles is pulling out the stops and sending Shohei Ohtani to the mound for his first pitching appearance since August of 2023 as an opener on Monday night.
Watch out for: The Padres' weekend in Phoenix was forgettable, but there was one huge development -- after several weeks of looking generally out of sorts at the plate, Fernando Tatis Jr. went 8-for-13 with three doubles against the D-backs.
Brewers at Cubs
3 games (Tuesday-Thursday)
Head to head: Although they took eight of 13 from the Cubs in 2024, the first run-in of 2025 didn't go nearly as well for the Brewers, who dropped two of three at home in early May.
Storyline: A lot has changed in Milwaukee this week. Flamethrowing top prospect Jacob Misiorowski made his much-anticipated (and absolutely stellar) debut on Thursday. Aaron Civale, bumped to the bullpen to make room for Misiorowski, requested and was granted a trade that made a Brewer out of 2020 3rd overall pick Andrew Vaughn. With the way both clubs have played to this point, if the Brewers were hoping to pose any real threat to the Cubs, they needed a jolt -- could this be it?
Watch out for: The aforementioned Misiorowski, who threw five hitless innings and hit 100 mph 14 times in his debut, is scheduled to start Tuesday -- you might want to mark your calendar.
D-backs at Blue Jays
3 games (Tuesday-Thursday)
Head to head: The D-backs won their only head-to-head series in 2024, two games to one; the last time they met at Rogers Centre, the Blue Jays swept a three-game series.
Storyline: Three years removed from the Daulton Varsho trade, the man himself won't be on the field -- he's currently working his way back from a left hamstring strain -- but the return, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and former Blue Jays top prospect Gabriel Moreno, will be making the trip, too. Moreno homered in his first appearance at Rogers Centre as a visiting player on July 14, 2023, and Gurriel, who played in parts of five seasons for the Blue Jays from 2018-23, went 5-for-11 in the same series and is a career .283/.334/.469 hitter at Rogers Centre.
Watch out for: The Blue Jays have a little momentum, and Alejandro Kirk's boost in extra base hits has played a huge part in the vibe shift -- he's hitting .380 with a .972 OPS in June.
Mets at Phillies
3 games (Friday-Sunday)
Head to head: The Mets swept their first 2025 meeting, a three-game series in April at Citi Field.
Storyline: The NL East has the most fluid narrative in baseball. The Mets and Phillies were tied atop the division at the end of May. Then the Phillies hit a dramatic skid and found themselves five games back by June 10. This past weekend, however, while the Phillies were sweeping the Blue Jays at home, the Mets were being swept by the Rays in New York, making this upcoming weekend series once again a potential battle for first place. Who knows where things will stand in five days' time, but it's worth noting that in the interim, the Mets will see the Braves in Atlanta while the Phillies play a four-game series against the Marlins.
Watch out for: Good news -- it looks like Juan Soto is still Juan Soto. Even after the Mets' lackluster weekend against Tampa Bay, Soto has a 1.146 OPS this month with four homers and almost twice as many walks (17) as strikeouts (9).
Red Sox at Giants
3 games (Friday-Sunday)
Head to head: The Red Sox, having won the 2024 head-to-head series at Fenway, are making just their second trip to Oracle Park since 2016. In the long history of both franchises, they've only seen each other 25 times in the regular season and their sole World Series matchup (1912) was so long ago that the Red Sox actually won it in eight games -- because it would be over two decades until any Major League stadium was artificially lit, Game 2 had to be called due to darkness.
Storyline: There's a chance you haven't heard, and if that's the case, let us break the news: on Sunday, the Red Sox traded Rafael Devers … to the Giants. That puts an end to an obviously awkward situation in Boston, but it's going to get worse before it gets better, because five days won't give anyone much time to adjust to the seismic shift all of Major League Baseball just experienced.
Watch out for: The first ever Rafael Devers revenge game? Who knows -- this is brand new territory for him, and maybe the change of scenery and some extra fire is all he needs to break out of the minor rut he's fallen into (.208, 3 HR, 6 RBI in June).