Top 50 MLB prospects  —  Cubs' Kris Bryant unseats Byron Buxton as baseball's top prospect  —  From left to right: Buxton, the former No. 1; Bryant, the new top dog for the Cubs; and stud SS Correa.  —  At the MLB season's halfway point, and in the wake of the deadline to sign draftees …

Ben Cherington on D&C: 'I didn't do a good enough job building a complete offense'  —  Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington joined Dennis & Callahan on Thursday morning to discuss the contract negotiations between the team and Jon Lester as well as the state of the club.

TYLER CHATWOOD OUT FOR ROCKIES REST OF SEASON, WILL HAVE TOMMY JOHN SURGERY  —  The Denver Post  —  Tyler Chatwood (32) of the Colorado Rockies delivers a pitch in the first inning against the Boston Red Sox Sept. 24, 2013 at Coors Field.  (John Leyba, The Denver Post)

Mariners, Rays Discussing David Price, Ben Zobrist  —  Though no deal is imminent, the Mariners have been engaged in ongoing discussions with the Rays regarding lefty David Price and utilityman Ben Zobrist, reports Jon Morosi of FOX Sports (Twitter links).  Meanwhile, talks have stalled with the Phillies regarding Marlon Byrd.

Agent: Dodgers' Kemp open to trade if not playing every day  —  Matt Kemp isn't asking the Dodgers to trade him.  But he isn't necessarily opposed to the idea, either.  —  The outfielder's agent, former major-league pitcher Dave Stewart, told FOX Sports on Wednesday that Kemp again wants …

Blue Jays Claim Brad Mills From Athletics  —  The Blue Jays have claimed lefty Brad Mills off waivers from the Athletics, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter).  Mills was designated for assignment on July 7 to make room for trade acquisition Jason Hammel.

Rangers Designate Carlos Pena For Assignment  —  The Rangers announced that they have designated first baseman Carlos Pena for assignment.  That move, along with yesterday's trade of Jason Frasor to the Royals, clears 40-man and 25-man roster spots for Geovany Soto and J.P. Arencibia …

Diamondbacks' Derrick Hall would be ideal commissioner  —  Maybe we've got it all wrong.  Maybe Derrick Hall hired the smartest guy in the room for personal reasons.  —  Maybe he hired Tony La Russa to be his successor, as a parting gift to Ken Kendrick and not as the new DH (designated henchman) for Kevin Towers and Kirk Gibson.

Mets' Travis d'Arnaud has rediscovered his swing since trip to minors  —  Travis d'Arnaud found relief almost immediately, and looking back at it now, that might have been the most critical part of his turnaround.  —  He had just gone from a clubhouse in San Francisco to one in Colorado Springs …

Mets expect Citi Field attendance to increase in second half  —  Mets home attendance appears likely to rise over last season, when the team experienced the franchise's lowest home total since 1997, a club official said this week.  —  “Halfway through the year we have our slight uptick in attendance already …

Nationals' Anthony Rendon: 'I don't watch baseball — it's too long and boring'  —  Of the Nationals' All-Star snubs, Anthony Rendon's was the biggest — though missing out on the game probably didn't matter much to the second-year infielder.  —  After playing in 89 of the Nationals' 93 games …