
Let’s Make a Deal: Bats & Arms on the Move as MLB Trade Deadline Nears
July 31 marks the last day when teams looking to make a postseason run can significantly bolster their rosters. Which teams most need a playmaker to help with a playoff run?

July 31 marks the last day when teams looking to make a postseason run can significantly bolster their rosters. Which teams most need a playmaker to help with a playoff run?

Upon Value Add Baseball’s release two years ago, a disagreement arose over whether the best pitcher necessarily meant most valuable pitcher. The system now lists both. And Cincinnati Reds starter Johnny Cueto ranks as the best pitcher in baseball and deserves the All-Star nod over Clayton Kershaw.

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Clayton Kershaw is considered the top pitcher in baseball, with three Cy Young Awards in four years for the Los Angeles Dodgers, an NL Most Valuable Player award and a $215 million, seven-year contract. Max Scherzer

DETROIT (AP) — A runaway title in a division of behemoths, then an unexpected sweep against a trio of Cy Young winners. For Nelson Cruz, Buck Showalter and this unheralded bunch from Baltimore, the question now is: What’s next? Cruz

BALTIMORE (AP) — The Baltimore Orioles once again battered Detroit’s shaky bullpen and pushed the Tigers to the brink of playoff elimination. Pinch-hitter Delmon Young delivered another big postseason hit, lining a three-run double during a four-run rally in the

The Boston Red Sox landed Cuban defector Yoenis Cespedes in a trade last month. Friday, they added another Cuban defector to their outfield. The Sox signed vaunted centerfielder Rusney Castillo to a $72.5 million contract that will make him Boston’s

The bases full in a one-run game already plays as high drama. But a peculiar, mid-at-bat defensive substitution in yesterday’s Tigers-Cubs game eclipsed the bases-loaded situation in the drama department. Detroit manager Brad Ausmus walked onto the field in the

Baseball fans were still trying to sort out the dizzying deals for postseason aces Jon Lester and John Lackey, Home Run Derby champ Yoenis Cespedes and All-Star shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera when they were treated to a most curious sight Thursday.

Baseball’s dealing deadline has passed, but not before one of the most coveted players on the trade market switched uniforms in a three-team swap. David Price, the hard-throwing ace of the Tampa Bay Rays staff, has been traded to the

So, the first half of baseball’s 2014 season went exactly like we predicted, and by that I mean it went absolutely nothing like we predicted. The Nationals have the best and most complete roster in baseball. Yet, as opposed to

Don Zimmer was more baseball than you. For the last six-and-a-half decades, he had been playing or coaching baseball–in the U.S., Japan, Mexico, and wherever teams would pay him to do so. From 18 to 83, he worked on the

Major League Baseball suspended Red Sox pitcher Brandon Workman on Tuesday for six games for throwing a pitch close to Evan Longoria’s head on Friday. They meted out no punishment to Tampa Bay Rays pitcher David Price, who beaned David

Tampa Bay pitcher David Price apologized via twitter just before 3 p.m. EDT Sunday for previous tweets that caught the attention of a Boston radio station and others. Price was not happy about David Ortiz watching to see if his

(AP) Red Sox jump on Rays miscues, win ALDS opener 12-2By JIMMY GOLENAP Sports WriterBOSTONOne ball fell between two outfielders. Another took a bad hop off the Green Monster standings. One batter reached safely on a dropped third strike and

(AP) Cruz reinstated and back in Rangers lineupBy STEPHEN HAWKINSAP Sports WriterARLINGTON, TexasNelson Cruz fit right back in with the Texas Rangers after completing his 50-game drug suspension. The All-Star slugger was reinstated from the restricted list Monday by the

Of the three teams battling for the two AL Wildcard spots, only the Tampa Bay Rays have their ace lined up for a playoff game Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday. David Price (Rays, ranked 48th in the Value Add Baseball database)

(AP) Red Sox clinch playoff berth, beat Orioles 3-1By MATTHEW CARROLLAssociated PressBOSTONWinning the series wasn’t enough for Adam Jones. He obviously wanted the sweep. “Who cares about this getting two out of three? At this point in time, winning the

The Value Add baseball ratings through Thursday include 228 pitchers who have made at least five starts this year. The biggest movement continues to be from the Dodgers Zack Greinke, who has moved all the way up to 12th. In

A replacement-level pitcher going eight innings in Dodger Stadium with just two runs of support has only an 18% chance of winning a game, but Ricky Nolasco won 2-0 under those circumstances Thursday. Value Add gives the team 0.18 for

The top five pitchers on the new look www.valueaddbaseball.com database above will stay the same when the ratings are updated Saturday (see all 205 pitchers to make at least five starts below). Reader feedback urged us to move the Value

Thursday and Friday Detroit and Arizona picked up their identical 19th win in 23 starts for Max Scherzer and Patrick Corbin, respectively. Meanwhile the Los Angeles Dodgers have provided much less support while winning just 13 of 24 with Clayton

You will be very surprised at the big name pitcher who barely snuck into the initial Value Add Baseball rankings as the 100th most valuable starting pitcher in baseball. The following is the list of the Top 100 in Value

Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned Sunday that Washington was “not trustworthy”, after former US officials and lawmakers urged diplomacy with the Islamic republic’s incoming president Hassan Rowhani. Khamenei said in March he was “not optimistic” over the prospects

(AP) Hernandez, Rays beaten by Blue Jays, Dickey 3-0By MARK DIDTLERAssociated PressST. PETERSBURG, Fla.Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon was impressed by Roberto Hernandez’s start. The only problem was Toronto’s R.A. Dickey was even more dominating. Dickey pitched a two-hitter for

(AP) MLB suspends, fines umps after 2nd mistakeBy BEN WALKERAP Baseball WriterNEW YORKMajor League Baseball suspended umpire Fieldin Culbreth for two games on Friday because he was in charge of the crew that allowed Astros manager Bo Porter to improperly