Michael Young

Infielder Michael Young fittingly announced his retirement in a Texas Rangers uniform Friday, after playing 14 seasons in the major leagues, 13 of those with the Rangers.

The Boston Red Sox have several decisions to make this offseason in the wake of their World Series victory against the St. Louis Cardinals, but luckily for them, there don't appear to be too many major issues for them this winter.

The Philadelphia Phillies traded for Michael Young this past offseason in hopes that he could fuel a return to the playoffs. With the Phillies' playoff hopes fading, though, the Philadelphia front office made the decision to deal the popular third baseman to Los Angeles.

FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal had the news:

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.

If the Boston Red Sox have the opportunity to upgrade at third base with Michael Young, general manager Ben Cherington needs to make that happen.

There is a unique feeling for Philadelphia fans entering the 2013 season.  Much of the talent that helped the team win 102 games in 2011 remains, but the bitter taste of the 2012 season remains strong.  Ruben Amaro has quietly filled the team's needs, avoiding the flashy free-agent signing or blockbuster trade that has marked seasons past.  The team appears poised to compete, but there is more uncertainty surrounding this team than there has been in many years.

The Texas Rangers have reportedly traded infielder/DH Michael Young to the Philadelphia Phillies for reliever Josh Lindblom and minor league pitcher Lisalverto Bonilla, according to a tweet by MLB.com’s TR Sullivan.

The Texas Rangers have been known for quite some time as a team that usually wins with their bats. They are third in Major League Baseball since 2000 in runs scored and this is a team that has only been to the postseason twice since the turn of the millennium.

As the MLB season creeps toward the end of April, all 30 teams have now played approximately 20 games each, and while there were certainly some surprises at the start, the expected cream is starting to rise to the top, while the expected bottom feeders, with some exceptions, are trending toward the bottom of the pack.

Though the Texas Rangers entered 2011 fresh from their first ever World Series appearance, there are those that believe that it was some sort of mirage, and that we shouldn't expect them to be as successful this season.

Of course, while a massively talented squad, the Rangers did benefit from a weak AL West last season and a helping hand from the league when MLB took control of the franchise before handing over the reigns to the Greenberg/Nolan Ryan ownership group.