Top News:
Jim Callis / Baseball America:
Yankees Sign Hensley For $1.2 Million — The Yankees have signed first-round pick Ty Hensley, a righthander from Santa Fe HS in Edmond, Okla., for $1.2 million. — Hensley originally agreed to a $1.6 million bonus shortly after the draft, matching the assigned pick value for his 30th overall selection.
Discussion:
MLB Daily Dish, Pinstripe Alley and MLB Rumors
RELATED:
Chase Parham / Yahoo! Sports:
Hensley agrees to terms with Yankees — OXFORD, Miss. — Ty Hensley has agreed to terms with the New York Yankees, the right-handed pitcher confirmed to RebelGrove.com on Thursday night. — Hensley, who signed with Ole Miss last November, was the No. 30 overall selection in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.
Discussion:
IT IS HIGH!, River Avenue Blues and Bronx Baseball Daily
Associated Press:
Blue Jays give INF Encarnacion $27 million deal — TORONTO — Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Edwin Encarnacion has signed a three-year contract extension. — The $27 million deal announced Thursday includes a $10 million club option for the 2016 season.
Discussion:
MLB Daily Dish and Bluebird Banter
RELATED:
Ben Nicholson-Smith / MLB Rumors:
Blue Jays Extend Edwin Encarnacion
Discussion:
FanGraphs Baseball, Bluebird Banter and MLB Daily Dish
Jesse Sakstrup / Hardball Times:
What's wrong with Rickie Weeks? — As the second half of the 2012 season begins, there is only one qualified hitter in all of baseball hitting below the Mendoza line. That man is Rickie Weeks, who is batting.199. The Mendoza line is a rather arbitrary cutoff point, but Weeks is struggling by any measurement.
Discussion:
baseballmusings.com
Gordon Edes / ESPN:
Ellsbury expected to rejoin Red Sox in Tampa … ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Line drives whistled off Jacoby Ellsbury's bat. Dustin Pedroia hit a couple of balls into the seats. Will Middlebrooks effortlessly fielded ground balls at third base. Clay Buchholz took part in pitchers' fielding drills.
Discussion:
Over the Monster and Boston Globe
Jayson Stark / MLB:
Source: Phils preparing sizable offer for Hamels — The Philadelphia Phillies are preparing a substantial offer to their soon-to-be-free-agent left-hander Cole Hamels in an attempt to determine whether they can sign him to an extension in the next two weeks, sources told ESPN.com on Thursday.
Discussion:
MLB Daily Dish, Baseball Nation, HardballTalk and MLB Rumors
Yahoo! Sports:
MLB will uphold Rangers' deal with Jairo Beras but suspend Dominican prospect for age fraud — Major League Baseball will uphold Dominican teenager Jairo Beras' $4.5 million contract with the Texas Rangers but suspend him for a year after the league determined he had lied about his age, sources told Yahoo! Sports.
Discussion:
Baseball America, HardballTalk, Lone Star Ball and MLB Rumors
Steve Gilbert / MLB.com:
Upton shutting out trade rumors — CHICAGO — After finishing the first half on a strong note, it seemed odd that D-backs outfielder Justin Upton would have to answer questions about possibly being traded. — But rumors continue to swirl around baseball that Upton could find himself wearing …
Discussion:
AZ Snake Pit
Chris Haft / MLB.com:
Giants unlikely to make splash before Deadline — Club's focus figures to be on adding extra bat off bench, bullpen depth — KANSAS CITY — The Giants' record at the All-Star break mirrors their performance at the same juncture in 2010. Their needs are similar, too.
MLB:
Strasburg addresses possible innings dilemma — If the Washington Nationals make the World Series, don't tell Stephen Strasburg — who is on a team-imposed innings limit — that he won't be able to pitch. — “They're going to have to rip the ball out of my hands,” Strasburg said on MLB Network Radio.
Discussion:
Bugs & Cranks, Federal Baseball and HardballTalk
Keith Law / ESPN:
Top 50 prospects update — Rangers shortstop Jurickson Profar moves into the top spot — At the MLB season's midpoint, just before the signing deadline for drafted players, here is a fresh look at the top 50 prospects still in the minor leagues, including a new name on top.
Discussion:
River Avenue Blues, Over the Monster, Lone Star Ball, DRaysBay and Bucs Dugout
AvengingJM / Avenging Jack Murphy:
Like Curt Flood before me, I respectfully request (consumer) free-agency — To Whom It May Concern: — I do not know the exact parameters of the agreements between the cable television companies (Cox, Time Warner, etc.) and the government of San Diego. I only know that this market …
Derrick Goold / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Berkman will go to Cincy, poised for return — ST. LOUIS • Cardinals first baseman Lance Berkman has successfully lobbied the team to skip a rehab assignment and prove that he can go straight from knee surgery to the major-league roster. — It just won't happen Friday.
Discussion:
HardballTalk
