Greg Bird moves closer to Yankee return as Aaron Judge continues to struggle in No. 3 spot  —  DETROIT — Greg Bird should get his chance to prove himself soon enough.  —  Maybe they're only minor-league rehab hits with Triple-A Scranton, but the fact that the 24-year-old first baseman …

BAR: So much for an August trade...  The Blog Above Replacement a daily look at the Cincinnati Reds, their minor leagues and whatever else is on the mind of Enquirer Reds beat writers, C. Trent Rosecrans and Zach Buchanan.  You can follow them on Twitter (@ctrent and @ZachENQ), Facebook …

Greg Holland, who Royals tried to re-sign, returns to KC this week as Rockies' closer  —  The last time reliever Greg Holland was at Kauffman Stadium, he wore a dark suit.  It was April 5, 2016, the first week of the baseball season.  Holland emerged from the first-base dugout and collected …

Tigers' Ian Kinsler fined $10K for comments about umpire Angel Hernandez  —  Detroit Tigers second baseman Ian Kinsler was fined $10,000 for his comments about umpire Angel Hernandez, sources tell ESPN's Buster Olney.  —  Last Tuesday, Kinsler called Hernandez a bad umpire who is …

Twins put Sano on DL with shin injury, recall Vargas  —  CHICAGO (AP) The Minnesota Twins have placed All-Star third baseman Miguel Sano on the 10-day disabled list with a stress reaction in his left shin bone.  —  First baseman Kennys Vargas was recalled Monday from Triple-A Rochester …

Rosario adds another learning experience in loss to Marlins  —  Amed Rosario knew Dee Gordon can seriously run, but he learned firsthand just how fast the star lead-off man is at Citi Field on Sunday afternoon.  —  With the Mets down 2-1 in the seventh inning with Miguel Rojas on second base …

Surging Brewers continue Western trek in San Francisco (Aug 21, 2017)  —  SAN FRANCISCO — The Milwaukee Brewers seek to move up in the division standings while the San Francisco Giants endure the first day after being formally eliminated in their division race when the clubs open a three-game series Monday night.

Semien, Cotton send Athletics past sloppy Astros 3-2  —  Houston's struggles this month continue as team is 7-12  —  HOUSTON - Marcus Semien wound up with a Little League home run when Houston kept throwing the ball away to help the Oakland Athletics avoid a sweep with a win over the Houston Astros on Sunday.

Mikie Mahtook ignores his stats, but the Detroit Tigers are noticing  —  Mahtook, the lone Tiger batting over .300 this season, has been one of the best hitters in baseball since June  —  It's not a superstition.  Not something he's consciously aware of.  But when Mikie Mahtook thinks about it …

This time, the ‘stuff’ doesn't translate for Castillo  —  ATLANTA - From what we'd seen in his first 11 starts in the big leagues, it's easy to forget that Luis Castillo is a rookie.  Sunday against the Braves, the rookie looked like a rookie.  —  The stuff was still there - oh was it …

Bartolo Colon becomes third active pitcher to beat all 30 teams  —  Minnesota Twins starter Bartolo Colon became the third active MLB pitcher to beat all 30 teams with a 12-5 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday.  —  “It means a lot to my career,” Colon said through a translator …

Rumor Central: Interest in Asdrubal Cabrera picking up?  —  The New York Mets continued their late-summer housecleaning this past weekend by dealing outfielder Curtis Granderson to the Los Angeles Dodgers and catcher Rene Rivera to the Chicago Cubs.  —  Will infielder Asdrubal Cabrera be the next veteran to go?

Gonzalez pitches 6 scoreless, White Sox hold off Rangers 3-2  —  ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Miguel Gonzalez and Juan Minaya pitched out of trouble just well enough on Sunday.  —  Gonzalez escaped early trouble to finish six scoreless innings and Minaya recorded the final out after giving up a two-run homer …

Rumor Central: Dodgers heavily scouting Shohei Otani?  —  The Los Angeles Dodgers sent a full contingent to scout Japanese superstar Shohei Otani over the weekend, Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times notes.  —  The group, led by president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman …

Acclaimed Toronto Blue Jays prospect Rowdy Tellez has ‘learned a lot’ from disappointing season  —  Tellez's year started with him being touted as the Jays' first baseman of the future.  It is ending with considerably less fanfare  —  BUFFALO — It was another strikeout in a mostly maddening season …

Jorge Soler eclipse: Whatever happened to the former Cub?  —  Jorge Soler with the Royals in July.  —  Jorge Soler's career has not exactly been in the path of totality.  —  Monday's eclipse naturally reminded us of the former Cub, whose career has been partially obscured since he was traded last December.

MLB's 2018 free agent class: Stars hit some bumps on road to riches  —  Make no mistake: The free agent class of 2018 should be the greatest in baseball history.  —  From MVP winners to future Hall of Famers to multiple franchise players, this star-studded cast will likely produce …

Power Rankings: The race tightens atop the American League  —  The name of the game at this point of this season isn't whether the Dodgers are No. 1; they're the unanimous choice of our voters, again.  No, the real drama now might be over who has the claim to be the best team in the American League …