When Manny Ramirez signed a minor league contract with the Texas Rangers earlier this week it didn't seem as though he could offer much help to the team as a 41-year-old.

That might not be the case.

If the fans don't vote Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig into the 2013 All-Star Game it will be a great disservice to the July 16 exhibition. 

The 22-year-old dynamo wasn't named to the initial rosters for the game in New York. But he is included in the list of National League players that fans can vote in, per the MLB's Twitter. 

According to Jody Jackson of Fox Sports Arizona, Arizona Diamondbacks center fielder Adam Eaton has been activated from the disabled list and will be in the starting lineup tonight versus the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Major League Baseball appears to be nearing a conclusion in its quest to suspend New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez and Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun for their connection to the Biogenesis Clinic. 

Prodigious Washington Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper sent a text message to manager Davey Johnson in which he implored to be put into the starting lineup. It was a rather bold statement by the 20-year-old star, as he told Johnson, "Play me or trade me."

The No. 1 overall pick of the 2013 draft, Mark Appel, made his professional debut on Friday for the Single-A Tri-City Valley Cats in the New York-Penn League. I attended the game and have several observations of the long-awaited arrival for the most highly touted pitcher in this year's draft.

Saturday evening marked the release of the 2013 MLB All-Star roster for the American and National League squads.

Since the fans get the final say, there are bound to be disagreements, but there were several players who were particularly undeserving of such gaudy status.

In some instances, the league's lowly teams have to send at least one player, and that resulted in a rather strange selection. However, there were others who didn't quite do enough to be deserving of a nod to the Midsummer Classic.

Most of the 2013 MLB All-Stars were revealed on Saturday, but another phase of the selection process is just beginning. Thanks to the Final Vote, fans can choose additional players for the American and National League rosters.

These are the 10 talented candidates vying for your affection:

The Oakland Athletics, which are currently tied for first with the Texas Rangers in the American League West and also have the fourth most wins in the majors, only have one All-Star representative: Bartolo Colon.

Homer Bailey is basically Nolan Ryan.

OK, maybe that's a bit of a stretch. But the Cincinnati Reds right-hander and the Ryan Express now have something pretty cool in common, and it also serves as clarification for a certain something else: the fact that Bailey is a lot better than you might think he is.