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In a move that has caught the eyes of American League playoff contenders, the surprising Baltimore Orioles have called up their 19 year old pitching phenom Dylan Bundy just in time for their matchup with the Seattle Mariners this evening. Bundy was selected with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2011 draft and has showed flashes of dominance in the minor leagues since his arrival in the Orioles system. MLB.com recently re-ranked their list of top 100 prospects and Bundy found his name as the top pitching prospect in all of baseball and No. 2 overall. This exciting season for the 2012 Orioles has been led by 14 extra inning victories, timely hitting, and a dominant bullpen. The Orioles [...]

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• Category: Baltimore Orioles, Los Angeles Angels, New York Yankees, Seattle Mariners, Tampa Bay Rays
• Tagged as David Price, Dylan Bundy, Manny Machado, Tom Verducci

In an effort to keep you well informed, below is a list of important dates and deadlines in the MLB calendar for the remainder of the 2012 season. SEPTEMBER 19-23, 2012 2013 World Baseball Classic Qualifier 1 in Jupiter, Fla. (France, Israel, South Africa, Spain) SEPTEMBER 20-24, 2012 2013 World Baseball Classic Qualifier 2 in Regensburg, Germany (Canada, Czech Republic, Germany, Great Britain) OCTOBER 3, 2012 End of 2012 MLB regular season OCTOBER 5, 2012 Wild Card playoff games OCTOBER 6-7, 2012 Division Series begin OCTOBER 13-14, 2012 League Championship Series begin OCTOBER 24, 2012 World Series begins IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE WORLD SERIES Eligible players become free agents SIXTH DAY AFTER COMPLETION OF WORLD SERIES First day that Major League [...]

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• Category: Teams

Trading away top prospects is never an easy pill to swallow. As an organization, you have gone to great lengths to scout, train and mentor the young talent in your farm system. They are the lifeblood and future of your team and your legacy as a general manager.  So how do you know when it is time to pull trigger and let a prospect go. Walt Jocketty, GM of the Cincinnati Reds is in this position now. Billy Hamilton, a 6’ 1” switch-hitting shortstop with speed to burn is quickly making his way up through the minor leagues.  His most recent accomplishment was breaking the all-time single season stolen base record in the minor leagues. He is currently sitting at [...]

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• Category: Arizona Diamondbacks, Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds, Oakland Athletics, Rumors
• Tagged as Archie Bradley, Billy Hamilton, brandon phillips, Otis Nixon, Paul Janish, Todd Frazier, Trevor Bauer, Tyler Skaggs, Vince Coleman, Walt Jocketty, Zack Cozart

Major League Baseball has expanded the playoffs to 10 teams by adding wild card games for each league. This extra level in the bracket was agreed upon by the owners and the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) in the new collective bargaining agreement established back in November of 2011. This means that one-third of the 30 major league teams will now make the postseason.  This is the first time MLB has expanded the playoffs since 1995 when the new division series went into place. Let’s take a look at how the new system will work this year and how it will affect your favorite team’s chances of bringing home a pennant and World Series Ring in the years to [...]

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• Category: Boston Red Sox, Houston Astros, Tampa Bay Rays, Teams
• Tagged as Michael Weiner, players union, playoffs

Chicago Cubs’ shortstop Starlin Castro became the latest pre-arbitration/arbitration eligible player to receive a contract extension, with the finalization of his seven-year $60 million dollar contract on Tuesday. Castro’s contract is the third major contract of its type for the 2012 season, with the first two going to Andrew McCutchen, Pittsburgh Pirates’ centerfielder, and Adam Jones, Baltimore Orioles’ centerfielder. Castro, Jones, and McCutchen are the core players for their respective teams and three of the top young players in baseball.  Below are some interesting numbers to look at in respect to each contract and the player themselves. Guaranteed Years: Castro  7, Jones  6, McCutchen 6 Arbitration Years Bought: Castro  4, Jones  1, McCutchen 1 Guaranteed Millions: Castro $60, Jones $85.5, McCutchen $51.5 Player Age: Castro  22, Jones  27, McCutchen 25 2011 Precontract Stats: Castro 10 HR/66 RBI/.307 BA/.773 OPS/22 SB/-8.7 UZR, Jones 25 HR/83 RBI/.280 [...]

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• Category: Baltimore Orioles, Chicago Cubs, Miami Marlins, Pittsburgh Pirates, Teams
• Tagged as Adam Jones, Andrew McCutchen, arbitration, contract, Dan Duquette, Giancarlo Stanton, Peter Angelos, pre-arbitration, Starlin Castro

All-Star catcher and first baseman Joe Mauer was placed on waivers Tuesday by the Minnesota Twins, multiple sources have reported. The Twins are in an interesting place with Mauer. At age 29, he remains one of the best catchers in the majors, and although injuries the past 2-1/2 years have taken their toll on him, he is obviously someone the Twins can rebuild around. And with first baseman Justin Morneau’s impending free agency this offseason, a move of Mauer to first base full-time would make sense if Morneau leaves. In addition to filling the hole left by Morneau, it would save a lot of wear-and-tear on Mauer’s body. Mauer’s current contract locks him up through the 2018 season, giving Minnesota [...]

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• Category: Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Minnesota Twins, Rumors
• Tagged as Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Joe Mauer, Minnesota Twins, Terry Ryan, waivers

The 2013 free agent outfielders’ class is more robust then many of the other positions this coming offseason. With stars like Josh Hamilton, Curtis Granderson and Michael Bourn potentially becoming available there will be a plethora of options and skill sets to choose from as general manager. Josh Hamilton is the cream of the crop. When healthy Hamilton’s offensive production is second to none. He has hit .292 with 35 home runs and 111 RBI in just 120 games so far this season. The biggest knock against Hamilton is that he cannot stay healthy. At 120 games played he is getting close to his career average of games played per season. He is currently making $13.75 million in 2012 and [...]

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• Category: Atlanta Braves, Boston Red Sox, Detroit Tigers, Free Agents, Los Angeles Angels, Los Angeles Dodgers, Miami Marlins, New York Mets, New York Yankees, San Francisco Giants, Tampa Bay Rays, Texas Rangers
• Tagged as Angel Pagan, B.J. Upton, Carlos Lee, Curtis Granderson, Delmon Young, Ichiro Suzuki, Josh Hamilton, Luke Scott, Marlon Byrd, Matt Diaz, Melky Cabrera, Michael Bourn, Nick Swisher, Reggie Willits, Ryan Spilborghs, Shane Victorino, Torii Hunter

The Red Sox and Dodgers connected this weekend to complete a rare post waiver deadline trade. The Red Sox shed a great deal of talent by sending Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford Josh Beckett and Nick Punto along with their $260 million in future salary to the Dodgers. In return the Red Sox received James Loney and fourth upper level prospects including Allen Webster, Rubby de la Rosa, Jerry Sands and Ivan De Jesus Jr. The Red Sox will also be sending $12 million to the Dodgers to cover the prorated part of the veterans’ 2012 salaries. Also due to the fact that there were other waiver claims on de la Rosa and Sands the Dodgers pulled them off of waivers [...]

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• Category: Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers
• Tagged as Adrian Gonzalez, Allen Webster, Carl Crawford, Ivan De Jesus Jr., James Loney, Jerry Sands, Josh Beckett, Josh Hamilton, Nick Punto, Rubby de la Rosa

The sun maybe setting on a dismal season for the Houston Astros but, a move to the American League, new ownership and clean slate may be just what they need to get the mission back on track. The Astros officially changed hands back in November of 2011. Houston business man Jim Crane purchased the team for $615 million. Crane received a discount when he agreed to move the team from the National League Central division to the American League West.  In moving the Astros to the AL, MLB has put into place a major overhaul of its playoff structure and season scheduling.  How does this effect new general manager Jeff Luhnow’s approach to putting a competitive team on the field. [...]

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• Category: Free Agents, Houston Astros
• Tagged as Brandon Lyon, Brett Myers, Carlos Lee, Chris Johnson, Hunter Pence, J.A. Happ, Jeff Luhnow, Jim Crane, Jonathan Singleton, Jose Altuve, Lance Berkman, Michael Bourn, Mike Elias, Roy Oswalt, Wandy Rodriguez

Stephen Strasburg Shutdown Day is quickly approaching. Mike Rizzo, GM of the Washington Nationals has drawn a line in the sand at 160 innings pitched for Strasburg this season. Many people in the baseball world have applauded and jeered this decision. Many Washington fans are concerned as this is the first time since 1933 a Washington team will make the playoffs. The Atlanta Braves have to be excited being only 5 games back. Sitting a dominant pitcher like Strasburg will give them a golden opportunity to make up some ground.

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• Category: Fantasy, Free Agents, Washington Nationals
• Tagged as Jordan Zimmermann, Josh Johnson, Kerry Wood, Mike Rizzo, Stephen Strasburg