MLB

It's time for America's favorite game show, "Contender or Pretender."

OK, maybe it's not America's favorite game show, but we're still going to play, and you're invited to play along.

It works like this: We take a look at the teams with the best records in baseball and determine whether they're legitimate threats to make the playoffs (contenders) or if their early-season success is unsustainable (pretenders), which could be for a variety of reasons.

Under normal circumstances, a struggling pitcher with an ERA north of 5.00 wouldn't inspire feverish trade speculation.

But the Oakland Athletics' Sonny Gray isn't a normal struggling pitcher. And these aren't normal circumstances. 

The New York Yankees moved to 17-22 on Wednesday with a victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks, but owner Hal Steinbrenner is not happy his team is in last place in the American League East.

He specifically singled out the players while deflecting blame from manager Joe Girardi and the rest of the coaching staff, per ESPN.com:

What a difference a season can make.

Los Angeles Angels catcher Geovany Soto will miss the next four to six weeks after suffering a torn right meniscus.

Continue for updates.

Detroit Tigers right-hander Justin Verlander reached the 2,000-strikeout milestone on Wednesday against the Minnesota Twins. 

Verlander's historic punchout came on a high fastball against Twins outfielder Eddie Rosario in the fourth inning: 

David Ortiz has arguably been one of the best hitters in baseball in the early portion of the season, leading the MLB in slugging percentage (.674) and OPS (1.069). That is making his decision to retire after this season hard to grasp.

After blowing his fourth save of the season on Tuesday by giving up a walk-off grand slam to Oakland's Khris Davis, Shawn Tolleson has been removed from the closer's role with the Texas Rangers.   

With the San Diego Padres already facing another lost season, Matt Kemp's future with the franchise is once again becoming a topic of conversation.   

Continue for updates. 

In the wake of the Atlanta Braves firing manager Fredi Gonzalez on Tuesday, Bud Black has emerged as a top option to replace him. 

According to ESPN Podcasts, Bob Nightengale of USA Today called Black the "clear favorite" to take over in Atlanta.