MLB

While fans and pundits alike declare winners and losers of trades only seconds after they've been announced and before the players involved take the field for their new teams, it takes years before we can accurately assess which club truly came out ahead in a deal.

That's especially true for trades involving prospects—many still years away from potentially making an impact in the big leagues. We know all too well that minor league success doesn't necessarily translate into big league stardom.

And now for a question that's simultaneously the last thing the St. Louis Cardinals want to ask, and also the first thing they currently can't ignore:

What if Adam Wainwright isn't Adam Wainwright anymore?

In the never-ending game of "who traveled the farthest to see an athlete play," one fan tried to trump others at Citizens Bank Park for Saturday's Washington Nationals-Philadelphia Phillies game by detailing his 4,000-mile trek on a poster.

Baltimore Orioles outfielder Mark Trumbo slugged a pair of home runs during the seventh inning of Friday's 11-5 win over the Texas Rangers, becoming just the second player in franchise history to homer twice in the same inning, per Elias Sports Bureau (h/t ESPN Stats & Info).

New York Mets starting pitcher Jacob deGrom has been placed on Major League Baseball's family emergency list due to complications with his newborn son's birth.

Sooner or later, the lights go out on every MLB superstar.

At the height of a player’s peak, fans can’t picture him ever falling from the throne. Yet the likes of Joe Mauer, Josh Hamilton, Tim Lincecum and CC Sabathia offer cruel reminders that the unforgiving Father Time transforms All-Stars into overpaid veterans who are trying to contribute however slightly.

We saw a lot of old and new during Week 2 of this baseball season, but little in between.

MLB’s youngest grabbed this week’s headlines, whether it was Bryce Harper reaffirming his status as the face of baseball or rookies Trevor Story, Jeremy Hazelbaker and Kenta Maeda continuing stellar freshman campaigns.

We're two weeks into the 2016 MLB season, which means—well, who knows?

The Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers are in first place in their respective divisions, which sounds about right. On the other hand, the Baltimore Orioles and Chicago White Sox are also in first, which fewer would have predicted.

The point is, it's way early.

Here's something we do know: Some players stuffed the stat sheet over the past week, and for that, they deserve to be recognized.

Imagine if the Washington Nationals had started this way last year.

Come to think of it, the Nationals were supposed to start this way last year. Start this way, finish this way, play all year this way.

"The boys are playing as good as you can possibly play," broadcaster F.P. Santangelo said on MASN when the latest Nationals win ended Friday night.

A fan was struck by a foul ball and taken off on a stretcher Friday at Tropicana Field during the seventh inning of the Tampa Bay Rays' 1-0 loss to the Chicago White Sox.