Fan News

SALEM, Va. — Children are everywhere.

Some are running on the grass behind the first base stands at Salem Memorial Baseball Stadium. A handful are playing whiffle ball inside a miniature version of Fenway Park, complete with a diminutive Green Monster, near the main entrance. Others are eating ice cream and hot dogs.

A few are even watching baseball.

In the first week of June, James Shields was traded from the San Diego Padres to the Chicago White Sox. On Sunday, the Los Angeles Dodgers sent former top pitching prospect Zach Lee to the Seattle Mariners in exchange for infielder Chris Taylor.

Our mission as the dog days of summer begin is to construct an MLB superteam using the top teammate tandems from around the league.

The team's roster will be built using the following five groups of teammates:

This seemed to be the state of the Boston Red Sox's starting rotation at the outset of 2016: a true ace in David Price, a few guys they hoped could be his co-ace, and a knuckleballer who figured to be neither.

This is yet another reason there's a file marked "Can't Predict Baseball."

San Francisco Giants third baseman Matt Duffy suffered an Achilles strain during his team's game against the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday, per Andrew Baggarly of CSN Bay Area.

Continue for updates.

The New York Mets are reportedly looking at Cuban free agent Yulieski Gourriel, 32, as a possible addition to their injury-plagued infield.

MLB Network's Jon Heyman reported the news Monday.

Continue for updates.

Washington Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg would not make Monday's start against the Los Angeles Dodgers because of an upper-back strain, per Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com. It is unclear when he'll return to the mound. 

The Philadelphia Phillies locked up Mickey Moniak on Monday after taking the outfielder first overall in the 2016 MLB draft on June 9. 

MLB.com's Jim Callis was among the first to report the news, and he provided contract details:

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Kenley Jansen enters the week needing just one more save to pass Eric Gagne for sole possession of first place on the franchise's all-time saves list, per MLB Stat of the Day.

Though only 28 years old and now in his seventh MLB season, Jansen is already set to hold a key record for one of MLB's most storied franchises.

The Chicago Cubs enter Monday's game against the St. Louis Cardinals with a 12.5-game lead in the National League Central, making them just one of four teams in the divisional era (since 1969) to hold a lead of 10 or more games by June 19, per Elias Sports Bureau (via ESPN Stats & Info).