No, it's not Christmas in July, but it might as well be the holiday season. For in every front office around MLB, there's a general manager doing laps around his desk with a shopping list of gifts he wants to put bows on and deliver to his team's clubhouse.

The problem is that many of those shopping lists look the same, and there's going to be a mad dash, if not an all-out bidding war, as teams try to add the pieces they need for the stretch.

There are some skills Alex Rodriguez will never lose. He'll always be able to tell us how good he is, how hard he works, how great he can be.

"I've been working really hard, tweaking, running and training," he told reporters, including Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News. "My time will come."

In an era in which teams like the Chicago Cubs and Houston Astros have seen an organizational renaissance after overhauling their minor league systems, the term “rebuild” is thrown around as frequently as pie dough in a pizza kitchen.

Toronto Blue Jays designated hitter and first baseman Edwin Encarnacion will play out the rest of the 2016 season without negotiating any further on a new contract.

Continue for updates.

Starting pitcher Jake Odorizzi has had an up-and-down season for the struggling Tampa Bay Rays, but the 26-year-old righty could potentially be on the move with the trade deadline approaching. 

According to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald, Odorizzi is among the options the playoff-contending Miami Marlins are considering to bolster their starting rotation.

More to follow.

It was all about the Kansas City Royals and the American League at Tuesday's 2016 MLB All-Star Game at Petco Park in San Diego.

A year ago, Mike Trout took home MVP honors, but it was the Royals who took advantage of the home-field advantage to triumph in the World Series.

This year, Kansas City's Eric Hosmer took home the MVP award in the 4-2 win, putting his Royals in an advantageous position to defend the title while giving the American League a dominant fourth win in a row.

With the Oakland Athletics struggling this season and unlikely to reach the postseason, the team could become sellers before the trade deadline. One prime candidate to be traded is veteran pitcher Rich Hill.

Continue for updates.

Fact: Since home-field advantage in the World Series was first awarded in 2003, the American League has won the All-Star Game 11-of-14 times.

Bleacher Report will be bringing sports fans the most interesting and engaging Cold Hard Fact of the day, presented by Coors Light.

Source: B/R Insights

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Welcome to the second edition of Bleacher Report's MLB rivalry series.

In the weeks to come, we'll be highlighting some of the biggest head-to-head rivalries in our national pastime and shining light on the past, present and future of those matchups.

MLB will display a talent renaissance during Tuesday night's All-Star Game, which will be headlined by up-and-coming studs.

The Midsummer Classic starters aren't much older than Sunday's MLB Futures Game participants. In fact, 23-year-old Bryce Harper is younger than 10 of those minor league stars who were fighting to sit at the big kids' table.