The show must go on in another forgettable Blue Jays season  —  There is no mercy rule in baseball, the games and the drama must go on.  —  For the 2018 Toronto Blue Jays, the post-all-star break still has 67 games to be played, most of them with minimal consequence beyond future development.

Indians Acquire Brad Hand, Adam Cimber For Francisco Mejia  —  In a sudden and abrupt development, the Indians and Padres announced a blockbuster trade Thursday that will send one of baseball's best relievers, Brad Hand, and emerging setup man Adam Cimber from San Diego to Cleveland in exchange …

What would it take for the Cubs to pull off a deGrom blockbuster?  —  CHICAGO — It's a dilemma every general manager grapples with at one time or another: Do you make a trade from a strength to shore up a weakness while hoping and praying that moving those parts doesn't create a new hole to fill?

What it means to be in first place coming out of the All-Star break  —  As baseball enters its second half, the Red Sox, Indians, Astros, Phillies, Cubs and Dodgers lead their respective divisions.  But how much does that really matter?  We look back to see what history tells us.  —  EDITOR'S PICKS

Nationals players express concerns about Dave Martinez's handling of the pitching staff  —  The Washington Post  —  Relievers are the canaries of major league rosters, the first players tossed into the mine, the first to get a sense of a manager's strategic know-how and feel its effects.

Cubs' Brandon Morrow placed on DL with biceps injury  —  Chicago Cubs closer Brandon Morrow is going back on the 10-day disabled list, this time with right biceps inflammation.  —  The move is retroactive to Monday.  Chicago kicks off MLB's second half of the season against the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday (ESPN, 7 p.m. ET).

Winning isn't the only thing: Realistic second-half goals for all 30 teams  —  Before the season, we wanted to define what success would look like for every major league team this year.  We believe in a broad definition of success, and we tried to appreciate that a single great memory …

Keith Law's midseason top 50 prospects update  —  A handful of promotions earlier this season have shuffled the top of my rankings, which now feature five players signed as international (July 2nd) free agents in the first five slots.  The list also skews quite young, with teenagers constituting more than 20% of the players here.

No Javier Baez or Willson Contreras as Cubs open 5-game series against Cardinals at Wrigley  —  Photos from the Cubs-Cardinals game at Wrigley Field on Thursday, July 19, 2018.  —  Chicago Tribune  —  The question: Would Joe Maddon opt to rest any of his All-Stars on their first day back from D.C.?

Orioles get quantity, but no future stars, in Machado trade  —  The Orioles missed their ideal window for trading Manny Machado, which would have been last offseason so the acquiring team would have gotten a whole year of playing time plus the potential to get a draft pick as compensation when he hits free agency this winter.

Shohei Ohtani Cleared To Begin Throwing Progression  —  Angels starter/DH Shohei Ohtani has been cleared medically to resume throwing, per a club announcement.  The news came on the heels of his examination after six weeks of rest following stem cell and platelet-rich plasma treatment.