Opinion

The Pittsburgh Pirates dropped their third straight game via walk-off fashion Sunday afternoon as Kolten Wong's solo shot in the bottom of the 14th inning led the St. Louis Cardinals to the weekend series sweep. 

Albert Pujols’ discomfort was mild, but it was enough to cause serious concern. 

When the future-Hall of Fame first baseman grabbed his left hamstring Wednesday night, the Los Angeles Angels’ panic needle moved, even if they would not admit it publicly. And when he had to be removed from that game and missed the following two, it undoubtedly brought on worry.

Now the New York Yankees can fear the worst.

A heavy part of their 2015 success is contingent on the health, and therefore effectiveness, of Masahiro Tanaka. The narrative rightfully flowed as something like this: Whichever way their Japanese ace goes, so too shall the Bombers.

Hanley Ramirez is having a blast with the Red Sox, smacking eight home runs so far in his first month with the team.

He made his "I See You" goggles famous during his time in Los Angeles with the Dodgers, and they seem to fit just fine now in Boston.

There's a new Mike Trout roaming the baseball landscape early in 2015. And so far, he looks suspiciously like the old Mike Trout, who most everyone knew and loved as the game's best player.

That's the takeaway you get when looking at Trout's numbers. In 19 games, the Los Angeles Angels Angels center fielder is slashing .318/.432/.545 with four home runs, five stolen bases and a .978 OPS.

To say the Houston Astros have been bad since arriving in the American League West is an understatement of Texas-sized proportions.

In 2012, the year the Astros ditched the senior circuit, they lost 111 games. It was their third consecutive 100-loss season. 

Last year, Houston finished 70-92, enough to avoid the cellar but still 28 games off the pace.

It's a good thing the Los Angeles Dodgers have arguably the best one-two pitching punch in Major League Baseball with Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke atop their staff. They're going to need it.

Every start Cole Hamels makes is an audition. And with each performance, his audience appears to be growing.

If that is indeed the case, they must be liking what they're seeing.

Sometimes it's just not working.

It seems that every year we have struggling teams making moves with the future in mind. This year is no different, as there are a handful of squads in need of a complete roster rebuild.

Let's take a look at a few of those organizations.

Cincinnati Reds 

The Los Angeles Dodgers made headlines this offseason with a flurry of personnel moves. Three weeks into the 2015 season, these recent additions have provided varying contributions.

Although the sample size is still relatively small, we’ve decided to hand out an April report card for the newest Boys in Blue.

This evaluation follows the order in which Los Angeles acquired these players during the winter.