Adding a pitcher before the trade deadline can be the difference between a playoff berth and an offseason of disappointment.

There are plenty of teams in the league that will need a starting pitcher if they want to make the postseason in 2012. Fortunately for those teams, there are a few starters on the trade market who would be able to step in and make an immediate impact on the playoff race.

Justin Verlander of the Detroit Tigers is the best pitcher in Major League Baseball, but that doesn't mean he's a complete player.

Yes, Verlander has a filthy menu of pitches that consistently makes opposing hitters look foolish, but it's the mental aspect that continuously gets the best of him. 

Yankee fans all over the world have been waiting anxiously for the return of Brett Gardner from the disabled list.

Unfortunately, they will have to wait even longer for his return, as Gardner suffered a setback from his rehab assignment, according to Bryan Hoch of MLB.com, feeling pain in his elbow following a minor-league game on Friday night.

The most diminutive player on the field for the Chicago Cubs is showing them where the future of the organization needs to be headed. When Theo Epstein took the job, he already had a plan in place.

The only guesswork was how do you win playing at Wrigley Field? Tony Campana has provided him with the answer.

The Boston Red Sox carried last year’s horrendous momentum into the first month of 2012. The team was struggling for the most part due to their pitching and untimely hitting, and new manager Bobby Valentine was receiving most of the blame.

As of late, the Red Sox have been playing up to their potential. The team has started to put things together especially on the offensive end, but are still just a game over .500.

If you haven't noticed lately, Andy Pettitte is becoming a strikeout pitcher for the New York Yankees. That's strange because on the cusp of turning 40, it's the first time in the Yankee legend's career he's been known for such a distinction.

Sure, the non-waiver trade deadline is just about two months away. That doesn't mean the Boston Red Sox are not kicking the tires on some starting pitchers.

Their competition is, that's for sure.

The American League East division is a rat race right now. Only three games separate the first place Tampa Bay Rays and fifth place Boston Red Sox. Every team has their own respective strengths. (Interestingly enough, all are different.) 

In barely a day's work, teams all across the league have hedged their bets on players that will no doubt resemble the future of their franchises, even if they don't know which they'll be just yet.

While college players have certainly been taken in great numbers, teams always find the will to take chances on the sometimes unpolished high school stars that possess the talent to have a seemingly non-existent ceiling.

For a while at least, Matt LaPorta is back playing for the Cleveland Indians.

He was called up from Columbus when Johnny Damon went on paternity leave. So the question is: will LaPorta stay with the team when Damon returns?  With the team struggling against left-handed pitchers, wouldn't his bat be a big help in the lineup?

When people talk about the minor league prospects in the Cleveland Indians organization, they mostly discuss a small number of players. Names such as Francisco Lindor, LeVon Washington and Chen Lee are the some of the most usual suspects.

While those names are exciting to talk about, there are just as many intriguing prospects that are very rarely mentioned.