With Mets rotation struggling, Jason Vargas must make the most of skipped start to turn season around  —  One of the Mets' most prominent celebrity fans once scripted a character named Vargas into the classic “Bizarro World” episode of his hit sitcom about nothing.

Greg Bird's looming return to Yankees will have a roster impact  —  ARLINGTON, Texas - Lefty-hitting first baseman Greg Bird is “obviously getting a lot closer” to being activated by the Yankees, said manager Aaron Boone, and the decision to activate him might be made after the weekend.

Column: Lots of buzz about Manny Machado, but the Cubs have bigger issues  —  Cubs' Javier Baez on snapping out of a slump: ‘All about adjustments.’ (Mark Gonzales/Chicago Tribune)  —  Chicago Tribune  —  In reminiscing about the 2016 World Series, manager Joe Maddon noted that the Cubs nearly went …

It's your turn to debate this ‘legendary’ Milwaukee Brewers trading card lineup  —  Beckett Media and Topps present their all-time legendary trading card line-up for the Milwaukee Brewers Wochit  —  Mike Caldwell or Teddy Higuera?  Pete Vuckovich or Ben Sheets?

Preston Wilson apologizes for making slavery comment during Astros TV broadcast  —  Preston Wilson apologized Saturday for a reference he made to slavery during the television broadcast of the Houston Astros' game against the Cleveland Indians earlier in the day.

Fortnite: How a video game became baseball's most addictive pastime, from MLB to Little League  —  Along with running, throwing, fielding, hitting and hitting for power, there's another skill invaluable to baseball players beyond the five holy tools: Killing time.

Cleveland's bullpen blues keeping the AL Central in play  —  Two years ago, the Cleveland bullpen led the way when the Indians overcame significant injuries in their starting rotation and won the American League pennant.  —  Now, the fickle nature of relief pitching is holding the AL Central favorites back.

Detroit Tigers thoughts: Scouting Casey Mize; Liriano on trade block?  —  MINNEAPOLIS — Back on the beat after five days on a special assignment, which sent me to Auburn to watch junior right-hander Casey Mize, who is expected to be one of the top picks - if not the top pick - in the upcoming Major League Baseball draft.

Tim Tebow timeline: Has he dispelled doubt on the diamond?  —  From the outset, Tim Tebow's pro baseball journey was going to follow its own unique path.  Making the move to baseball as a 29-year-old in 2016 was a bold step.  Tebow had not played the game competitively since his junior year of high school.

O'Neill starting in third consecutive game; Garcia at SS  —  The Cardinals, coming off a four-game split with the Philadelphia Phillies, host the Kansas City Royals Monday at 7:15 p.m. in the first of three at Busch Stadium.  —  The teams will also meet Tuesday at 7:15 p.m. and on Wednesday …

Phillies prospect Roman Quinn out 6 to 8 weeks after finger surgery  —  Roman Quinn will miss close to the next two months of the season after he underwent surgery Monday to repair a torn ligament in his right middle finger.  —  Phillies minor league report: Dylan Cozens leads IronPigs to sweep …

Alex Reyes to join Cardinals rotation upon recovery from Tommy John surgery  —  Cardinals pitcher Alex Reyes is nearing a return from last year's Tommy John surgery, and he will rejoin St. Louis' rotation.  —  General manager Michael Girsch stated Monday that Reyes, who has not pitched in MLB since 2016 …

Kevin Cash keeps thinking outside the box with use of Sergio Romo  —  The most interesting news from the weekend was Sergio Romo's starting consecutive games for the Tampa Bay Rays.  It was pretty unusual for two reasons: (1) Romo's previous 588 career appearances in the majors all came in relief …

19-year-old Nats phenom Juan Soto homers on first pitch of his first start  —  We know about storybook endings, but how about storybook beginnings?  For now, 19-year-old Washington Nationals rookie Juan Soto is giving us the latter.  Soto, promoted to the big leagues Sunday …

Didi Gregorius returns to lineup as New York Yankees visit Texas Rangers  —  New York's Didi Gregorius will return to the lineup on Monday when the Yankees square off against the Texas Rangers in the first of a three-game series at Globe Life Park in Arlington, Texas.

Brewers' Chase Anderson returns to start against Diamondbacks  —  MILWAUKEE — Chase Anderson will come off the disabled list and return to the mound Monday night when the Milwaukee Brewers open a 10-game homestand with the first of three against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Miller Park.