Once again, the Arizona Diamondbacks are trying to trade right fielder Justin Upton reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Major-league sources, however, say the team is again engaged in active discussions about Upton, and one estimates the chances of him playing elsewhere next season are “80-20.” The Diamondbacks need a shortstop, and Upton possibly could bring them a player such as the Rangers’ Elvis Andrus. Upton, 25, is signed for $9.75 million next season, $14.25 million in 2014 and $14.5 [...]

Rounding The Bases is back… As we did before, we’ll highlight some of the must-read posts from the Mets beat writers, take a cruise around the Mets blogosphere, check in on our enemies, and have a little fun while we’re at it. MMO Instant Replay Connor O’Brien dished out his report cards for the Mets infielders this week and gives Josh Thole a big fat D. “Josh Thole has not become the player we thought [...]

After being denied a Rawlings NL Gold Glove as the league’s top defensive third baseman in 2012, David Wright can take solace in being named the Wilson Defensive Player of the Year for the Mets. Wright trumped Gold Glove winner Chase Headley in just about every advanced defensive metric at third base, but that didn’t stop the coaches and managers from muffing up the decision and showing just how inept and broken the voting process is. The [...]

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports spoke with two rival executives who say “they smell a rat” in the Phillies’ pursuit of free-agent center fielder B.J. Upton. The executives believe that to gain some leverage in going after Upton this offseason, Ruben Amaro Jr. fired their hitting coach and replaced him with Steve Henderson, the Rays’ hitting coach from 2006 to ’09, to fill the same role for the Phillies. Henderson has a very close relationship with B.J. Upton. [...]

Updated Post 11/4 The Seattle Mariners announced that they have re-signed reliever Oliver Perez to a one-year contract for the 2013 season. “We are happy to have reached a mutual agreement with Oliver,” said GM Jack Zduriencik in a statement. ”He did a very nice job in helping solidify our bullpen after his call up last summer. As a veteran left-hander, and one that had adjusted very nicely to his new role, we are looking forward to his contributions as [...]

As you may have already heard, the Angels have opted against giving outfielder Torii Hunter a $13.3 million qualifying offer. After five years with Anaheim and becoming a fan favorite and an integral part of the Angels’ clubhouse, Hunter is now a free agent. Last night, veteran pitcher Dan Haren also became a free agent despite a last minute attempt to trade him and his team option to the Cubs. Although both could be re-signed by the Angels it [...]

Updated Post 11:28 PM Ken Rosenthal has confirmed that the deal is off. The Cubs pulled the deal off of the table, a source told him. The Angels are still talking with other clubs about Haren as they close in on the 11pm CST deadline to exercise his $15.5MM option. Original Post 9:30 PM According to the Chicago Sun-Times, the Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim have agreed on a trade. The Cubs are [...]

Hey, Mr. Alderson!  Need to retool your bullpen?  I’ve got your relievers right here! Twitter has been abuzz this afternoon with the news that former Yankees closer Rafael Soriano and Royals closer Joakim Soria are available for the taking, with Soriano opting out of his contract and Soria having his option declined by the Royals. As far as my own thoughts on the topic go, I can sum it up in two words.  (Or is [...]

When did the Gold Glove become an offensive award? On Tuesday, MLB announced the 2012 Gold Glove winners. Here are the winners: There are some obvious choices in there, like Beltre, Buehrle, Molina, Reddick, Heyward, and Cano. Some choices can be argued back and forth, like Teixeira, Gordon, LaRoche and Wieters. Then there are some downright absurd choices. All due to respect to Adam Jones, how does this award not go to Mike Trout? Aside [...]

My grandparents moved to Puerto Rico when I was three years old.  After they moved to San Juan, I would only see them for a few weeks at a time when my parents and I would visit them during my summer vacation from school.  Because those trips would coincide with the middle of baseball season, my grandfather would always want to talk to me about baseball. When I was eight years old, I discovered that [...]

It’s an exciting time to be a San Francisco Giants fan for sure, but I’m talking about RickeyBobby, the 2012 MMO Fantasy Baseball Champion. In one of the closest and tightest World Series I’ve ever seen, Rckey defeated runner-up and first time fantasy player Urinal Blogs Rule by the score of 5-4-1.The lack of a bullpen was UBR’s downfall, as Rickey squeezed a save each out of Greg Holland, Huston Street and the Mets own Bobby Parnell, [...]