Top News:
Steve Adams / MLB Rumors:
Yankees Acquire Alfonso Soriano — Alfonso Soriano is heading back to the same team with which he began his Major League career. After stops in Texas and Washington and an extended stay in Chicago, Soriano has come full circle by officially waiving his no-trade rights to approve a trade to the Yankees.
Discussion:
Bleed Cubbie Blue, FanGraphs Baseball, whygavs.com, River Avenue Blues and MLB Daily Dish
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ESPN:
Alfonso Soriano traded to Yankees — The trade of Chicago Cubs outfielder Alfonso Soriano to the New York Yankees was finalized Friday after he officially waived his no-trade clause. — The Yankees have Soriano in Friday's lineup, where he is listed as batting fourth and playing left field.
Discussion:
SI Wire, TSN.ca, Red Reporter, The Strike Zone and MLB
Bob Nightengale / USA Today:
Soriano back in pinstripes after trade with Cubs
Soriano back in pinstripes after trade with Cubs
Discussion:
River Avenue Blues, DRaysBay and MLB Rumors
Carrie Muskat / MLB.com:
Cubs give emotional goodbye to veteran Soriano
Cubs give emotional goodbye to veteran Soriano
Discussion:
Bleed Cubbie Blue
Greg Johns / MLB.com:
Morse closing in on return to Mariners lineup — SEATTLE — Michael Morse was scheduled to play nine innings in right field for Triple-A Tacoma on Thursday night in his fourth rehab game, and a decision could come soon on when he'll rejoin the Mariners, according to interim manager Robby Thompson.
Discussion:
U.S.S. Mariner and HardballTalk
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Associated Press:
Mariners place Mike Zunino on DL — SEATTLE — The surging Seattle Mariners have received a major blow as young catcher Mike Zunino has been placed on the 15-day disabled list with a fractured hamate bone in his left hand. — The Mariners announced the diagnosis on Friday.
Discussion:
Lookout Landing and MLB Daily Dish
ESPN:
Sources: Clinic gave high schoolers PEDs — CORAL GABLES, Fla. — The clinic operator at the heart of a Major League Baseball investigation into performance-enhancing drugs provided them to numerous high school students, according to former associates of Tony Bosch and documents obtained by “Outside the Lines.”
Discussion:
SI Wire and CBSSports.com
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T.J. Quinn / ESPN:
Biogenesis Whistle-Blower Speaks Out
Biogenesis Whistle-Blower Speaks Out
Discussion:
The Crawfish Boxes, HardballTalk, SI Wire and CBSSports.com
NY Daily News:
Mets playing better than Yankees right now - and without the drama — The Mets are just the Mets. They aren't very good and won't be very good in the near future, but they aren't performing terribly at the moment. Their biggest stars, David Wright and Matt Harvey, actually make it onto the field.
Discussion:
Amazin' Avenue
Matthew Cerrone / Metsblog:
Final Score (Game 1): Mets 11 Nationals 0 — The Least You Should Know: — The Nationals have more losses than the Mets. — Jenrry Mejia returned for a spot-start and tossed seven shut-out innings. He struck out seven batters, walked no one and surprised everyone.
Discussion:
Amazin' Avenue
Jon Heyman / CBSSports.com:
Outfield is the main focus, but Rangers mull Michael Young return — Seen as the most likely Phillies player dealt, Michael Young is a Texas clubhouse favorite (USATSI) — The Rangers are focused on outfielders at the moment, but they've talked at least internally about the possibility …
Discussion:
SI Wire, The Good Phight, MLB Rumors, HardballTalk and Lone Star Ball
Ted Berg / USA Today:
Pete Rose to cheaters: Baseball will catch you — COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — All-time major league hits leader Pete Rose has been banned from baseball since 1989, but no one can stop him from keeping a close eye on the game. And Rose, who says he watches two or three games a day …
Discussion:
SI Wire and HardballTalk
Scott Ferguson / TSN.ca:
JAYS' TRADE DEADLINE PLANS FOR NEXT WEEK A MYSTERY — The Toronto Blue Jays made a couple of deals heading up to the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline a year ago and both were designed to shore up the bullpen. — They dealt outfielder Travis Snider - a former first-round pick …
Discussion:
Bluebird Banter and Canadian Press
Steve Adams / MLB Rumors:
Jake Peavy Rumors: Friday — Jake Peavy made what could have been his last start as a member of the White Sox yesterday, beating the Tigers after he allowed four runs on four hits and two walks with seven strikeouts in seven innings. He was done in by a trio of homers, but Peavy also fired 118 pitches …
Discussion:
Trade Deadline 2013, CBSSports.com, Lookout Landing and Talking Chop
Jayson Stark / ESPN:
Stiffening PED penalties — Would players consider lifetime bans or voiding of contracts? — Let's have a warm hand, ladies and gentlemen, for Jared Michael “Skip” Schumaker. He spoke the two words this week we never thought we'd hear a baseball player utter: — “Lifetime ... ban.”
Discussion:
MLB Rumors
Ben Badler / Baseball America:
Mets Add International Slot Value From Angels — The Mets have added to their international bonus pool by acquiring an international slot value from the Angels in exchange for outfielder Julio Concepcion and righthander Andres Perez. — The Mets will receive the Angels' No. 2 slot value …
Discussion:
Metsblog, MLB Daily Dish and Amazin' Avenue
RELATED:
Steve Adams / MLB Rumors:
Mets Acquire Angels' No. 2 International Bonus Slot
MLB.com:
Phillies place Brown on seven-day concussion DL — ST. LOUIS — Domonic Brown sounded pretty optimistic he would be back in the Phillies' lineup Friday in Detroit. — But he will not be back until next Wednesday at the earliest. — The Phillies placed Brown on the seven …
Discussion:
The Good Phight
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Bob Dutton / Kansas City Star:
George Brett resigns as Royals' hitting coach — Hall of Fame icon George Brett promised the Royals on May 30 that he'd commit for one month as their interim hitting coach. On Thursday, after eight weeks in the role, he stepped away from that duty. — “I just felt it was time for me to move on …
Discussion:
SI Wire, CBSSports.com and Royals Review
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