Fan News

In baseball, holding the top pick in the draft has proven to be more of a curse than a blessing.

Former San Diego Padres 2004 No. 1 overall draft pick Matt Bush has agreed to a plea bargain that will see the 26-year-old spend three years in prison in connection to a DUI hit-and-run incident, according to Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times.

Josh Hamilton is off the market and I'm OK with that, but not everyone feels the same way.

In fact, based on the response from most of the people I've spoken to and read, the Mariners' whiffing on Hamilton is a bit of a problem.

Upon hearing the news, a good friend and long-time M's fan sighed, "It's going to be a long winter and summer at the rate things are going."

Most of the big free-agent names in Major League Baseball are off of the board now, allowing teams that came up short in the Josh Hamilton, Zack Greinke and B. J. Upton sweepstakes to try and find a consolation prize.

It appears the New York Mets have wasted no time in killing any goodwill with the fans by signing David Wright long term. With the trade of NL Cy Young Award winner R.A. Dickey potentially looming (per ESPN), we are once again reminded that the Mets have a talent for making the worst out of a good situation.

By signing Josh Hamilton, the Los Angeles Angels fortified their lineup with a third legitimate American League MVP candidate. Teammates Albert Pujols and Mike Trout share the same distinction.

Do their individuals odds improve or worsen in each other's company?

Here's my breakdown of the 2013 AL MVP race. According to these rough projections, one player is significantly favored over his peers.

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It would appear the Toronto Blue Jays and New York Mets have agreed on players for an R.A. Dickey trade, but according to Jon Heyman of CBS, stranger things have happened than a trade like this falling through. 

The Boston Red Sox just bolstered their 2013 starting rotation by signing free-agent right-hander Ryan Dempster to a two-year deal. Despite his addition, the team still need more starting pitching depth, but the answer may already be on their roster in the person of Alfredo Aceves.

After highlighting the hottest and coldest position prospects of the offseason leagues earlier this week, it’s once again time for the weekly recap of pitchers. As I mentioned in the previous installment, there are very few big-name pitching prospects still active across the Dominican, Mexican, Venezuelan and

• MLB
• Prospect Pipeline
• Rankings/List