Jeremy Hellickson

After having his best season while with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2016, Jeremy Hellickson has decided to extend that partnership by accepting the team's $17.2 million qualifying offer.  

Trade season is upon us, and while the Boston Red Sox have been the most aggressive team thus far, swinging deals for a starting pitcher (Drew Pomeranz) and reliever (Brad Ziegler) in recent weeks, the rest of baseball is sure to catch up in no time.

After all, the Aug. 1 non-waiver trade deadline will be here before you know it. Considering how quickly the All-Star break seemed to arrive, the 11 shopping days that teams have left will pass in the blink of an eye.

That doesn't leave much time to answer some burning questions.

The Philadelphia Phillies have acquired right-handed starter Jeremy Hellickson from the Arizona Diamondbacks for right-handed prospect Sam McWilliams, according to Jon Morosi of Fox Sports.

The Arizona Diamondbacks are leading the Los Angeles Angels 1-0 Tuesday in a West Coast interleague battle. 

The Arizona Diamondbacks needed to be active this offseason after an MLB-worst 64-98 record in 2014.

The Arizona Diamondbacks enter 2015 with much uncertainty regarding their starting rotation.

According to the depth chart, Josh Collmenter is listed as the team's top starting pitcher. He is followed by Rubby De La Rosa, Jeremy Hellickson, Allen Webster and Vidal Nuno.

We all knew it was a matter of when, not if, Jeremy Hellickson's days with the Tampa Bay Rays were officially over.

After struggling to find consistency with their pitching staff, the Arizona Diamondbacks moved to remedy the problem on Friday night. Jeremy Hellickson was traded to the Diamondbacks for minor league outfielder Justin Williams and infielder Andrew Velazquez, who will be headed the other way:

The Diamondbacks provide full details on the trade. 

Most teams are paying their big-name starting pitchers a fortune to provide 200 innings this season. But for a few of those pitchers, their performance is crippling teams that hope to contend, and that brings their job security into question.

Some of these pitchers have long track records that afford them a longer leash. They may not lose their jobs based on a bad first month, but if the struggles continue into June, teams may begin looking for alternatives.

The 2013 MLB season is now in full swing, and the Rays haven't had very good start to their year. Tampa Bay stands at 3-4 after the first week of baseball, dropping a couple of tough games but showing some bright signs as well.

It's just the beginning of what should be an exciting year for this talented Rays team.

Here are five things I've taken away from the first seven games of the season.