Opinion

The New York Yankees waved the white flag at the trade deadline. They shifted into sell mode, abandoned all hope of making the playoffs this season and trained their gaze squarely on the future.

Yeah...about that.

NEW YORK — With most guys, the retirement announcement comes before the ceremony.

No, not with most guys. With everyone.

Everyone but Alex Rodriguez.

As usual, the days leading up to MLB's Aug. 1 non-waiver trade deadline didn't disappoint. Teams completed more than 20 trades, some more significant than others.

Narrowing down that list to only the biggest deals wasn't easy. For example, you could make a case that the Boston Red Sox's additions of closer Brad Ziegler and starter Drew Pomeranz—especially significant moves if your rooting interest lies in Beantown or you're a fan of the Baltimore Orioles or Toronto Blue Jays—deserve to be included here.

There's not a lot of joy to be derived from the New York Yankees' present.

Their 58-56 record is far from an Atlanta Braves-level disaster, but it marks the fourth year in a row they've been mired in mediocrity. And for the first time in a long time, they've accepted they need to make things worse to get better. When New York moved Aroldis Chapman, Andrew Miller and Carlos Beltran at the August 1 trade deadline, its first rebuild in over two decades was on.

While your eyes were glued to the Rio Olympics, another week of baseball action splashed past like Michael Phelps after an umpteenth gold medal.

Lucky for you, we were paying attention at Bleacher Report's MLB Team of the Week headquarters. And here's the result: 10 players—including a starting pitcher and designated hitter—who busted box scores over the past seven days.

Last year, Carlos Correa somehow lived up to the hype after beginning his major league career as baseball's best prospect. After that, it was only fair that there was a huge spotlight on him coming into 2016.

If anyone out there has lost sight of Correa since then, they should know two things: One, it's not your fault. Two, he's still really, really good.

Aaron Sanchez has one of the best ERAs in the American League, and his Toronto Blue Jays have one of the best records in baseball.

And all anyone wants to talk about is whether the Jays should keep starting him.

Just when the New York Yankees allowed us to think we might be done forever with controversies centered around Alex Rodriguez, manager Joe Girardi pulled us back in.

Nothing fun lasts forever. Not even the Boston Red Sox's lineup, which has gone from spectacular in the first half to slump-tacular in the second half. It needs a pick-me-up.

Enter Andrew Benintendi?

The man who drafted Mike Trout had his sights set on Tim Tebow, too.

True story.

Tebow, who says he will conduct a workout for all 30 Major League Baseball clubs later this month, was a year removed from becoming the first sophomore in history to win the Heisman Trophy while playing quarterback at the University of Florida.