AL East

The Baltimore Orioles and Milwaukee Brewers have agreed to a deal that will send Francisco Rodriguez to Baltimore in exchange for INF Nick Delmonico.

Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports first reported the trade that will ship arguably the best closer on the trading block to the AL East contender.

The Baltimore Orioles have filled one of their biggest needs, acquiring former All-Star closer Francisco Rodriguez from the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for infield prospect Nick Delmonico. The Orioles announced this via their official Twitter feed:

Francisco Rodriguez, arguably the most sought-after reliever of the 2013 MLB trade deadline, is officially off the market.

With less than 10 days until the trade deadline, the New York Yankees continue to hover above .500, but are seven games back in the AL East and 3.5 games behind the Orioles for the second wild card spot.

The announcement, confirmed by Bob Nightengale of USA Today, of a new, seven-year, $100 million contract extension between Dustin Pedroia and the Boston Red Sox is a boon for both parties, giving Pedroia a lucrative, long-term extension while supplying

Things have really come together for the surging Tampa Bay Rays in the past month. With yesterday's big win in Boston, they've won six straight games and a franchise-record 21 of their last 25.

Let's take a look at how the Rays came from being last place in the AL East to just a half game out of first place and having the third-best record in baseball.

The Pitching

1983 was a magical year for the Baltimore Orioles. 2013 has the makings of a magical year as well.

The Orioles haven’t captured a championship since 1983, but that could change this season. Chris Davis, Adam Jones, Nick Markakis and the other big bats are leading the charge, and so far, the team is doing fairly well.

In the New York Yankees' endless search for viable bats, the next name on the list could very well be Milwaukee Brewers third baseman Aramis Ramirez, tweets Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe.

New York Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano is off to another stellar year, one that has already achieved an All-Star birth.

Though the Yankees have struggled this year and been decimated by injuries to their line-up, with last-season's regulars Mark Texiera, Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriquez and Curtis Granderson each missing extended time this year, the greatest bright spot has been Cano.

The Boston Red Sox and Dustin Pedroia are on the precipice of an agreement that could make the face of the franchise the highest-paid second baseman in Major League Baseball.