MLB

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Before long, Chris Sale is eminently capable of doing at least two things (and, probably, much, much more).

Winning his first American League Cy Young Award. He's finished in the top six in each of the past three seasons, including third last year. Mark it down: He will win. Oh yes, he will.

Being voted Big League Pitcher Most Likely to Fly Away.

Look, up in the sky! It's a bird, it's a plane, it's…whoa, is that thing wearing a Chicago White Sox cap and spikes?

When MLB rosters expand from 25 to 40 players on September 1, there will be a few slam dunks in terms of likely call-ups. 

But there are also some unlikely prospects using the season's final months to campaign for a late-season cup of coffee in the big leagues. Over the next few slides, we'll identify a handful of surprising names making a compelling argument for a September promotion. 

There are three different types of "surprises" on this list: 

September baseball is right around the corner, and several teams still have excellent opportunities to make a playoff run. However, not all teams will be as lucky, and some recent slumps by the Washington Nationals, Minnesota Twins and Tampa Bay Rays might be too much to overcome.

Only a handful of games separate teams vying for wild-card spots, and most of those teams play each other at least one more time the rest of the way. Look for the teams with the most consistencies slowly begin to make a move to the top.

With the exception of the American League Central, where the Kansas City Royals are boat-racing the field, the rest of MLB's division titles and wild-card chases are up for grabs as the stretch drive ramps up.

With 17 teams within six games of a postseason trip, the future is now for more than half of baseball. Looking around the league, there are all sorts of encouraging signs for those October hopefuls.

The non-waiver trade deadline has come and gone, but the Toronto Blue Jays might have one more big addition left up their sleeves.

Yes, Troy Tulowitzki and David Price were huge pickups, and since they arrived north of the border, the Jays have streaked to the forefront of the playoff chase.

But right now, we're talking about a guy who's been there all along, waiting in the wings: Marcus Stroman.

Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig was forced to leave Tuesday's game against the Oakland Athletics with a leg injury.

Continue for updates.

Puig Replaced by Crawford

Tuesday, Aug. 18

The Dodgers reported Puig left Tuesday's game with a tight right hamstring. 

The Boston Red Sox needed a new leader. Dave Dombrowski needed a new job. Sometimes, these things work out.

With two outs and Oakland Athletics third baseman Danny Valencia at the plate with a 1-2 count, Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw offered a fastball he thought would end the third inning.

But the pitch was deemed too far outside.

Colorado Rockies star Carlos Gonzalez left Tuesday night's game against the Washington Nationals with a knee injury that seems to be minor at this time.

Continue for updates.

Alex Rodriguez padded his record for most grand slams in MLB history Tuesday night, when he crushed the ball just right of center field for a go-ahead blast.