Jim Bouton, Author of Tell-All Baseball Memoir ‘Ball Four,’ Dies at 80  —  Jim Bouton, a pitcher of modest achievement but a celebrated iconoclast who left a lasting mark on baseball as the author of “Ball Four,” a raunchy, shrewd, irreverent — and best-selling — player's diary that tainted …

Baseball's robot umpires are here.  And you might not even notice the difference.  —  YORK, Pa. — The either long-dreaded or long-awaited arrival of digitally rendered ballpark justice has come to professional baseball.  Robot umpires have arrived.  —  Except, they're not really robots.

Even Baseball's Best Players Are Hopelessly Overmatched in CBA Negotiations  — The best players in the world, selected to represent their sport at this week's All-Star Game, want to fix free agency.  But there's little consensus from these All-Stars about how they're going to do that when the current CBA expires.

Five questions facing the Mets in the second half of the season  —  The Mets' second half begins Friday in Miami against the Marlins, the only team in the National League with a worse record.  Here are five questions that will define the Mets' next two-and-a-half months.  —  How long will the manager last?

Royals Promote Bubba Starling  —  The Royals announced Thursday that they will select the contract of outfielder Bubba Starling prior to tomorrow's game.  A corresponding 40-man roster move will be announced tomorrow.  —  Starling, 27 next month, was the fifth overall draft pick by the Royals back in 2011.

Brewers Sign Shelby Miller To Minors Deal  —  The Brewers have signed right-hander Shelby Miller to a minor league contract, The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal reports (Twitter link).

Kyle Freeland expected to return to Rockies rotation on Saturday against Cincinnati  —  Kyle Freeland is expected to make his return to the Rockies' rotation on Saturday against the Reds at Coors Field, per sources, after the club's opening day starter spent nearly six weeks in Triple-A Albuquerque.

Padres Interested In Matt Boyd  —  You can add Matt Boyd to the long list of starting pitchers on the Padres' radar, as MLB.com's Jon Paul Morosi reports that San Diego is “evaluating” the southpaw as a potential trade acquisition.  Things still seem to be in the exploratory phase, however …

Buy?  Sell?  Diamondbacks, GM Mike Hazen facing ‘complicated decision’ as deadline looms  —  As the days and games fall off the calendar, the decision for Diamondbacks General Manager Mike Hazen seems to grow ever more difficult.  His team cannot sustain a winning streak - or a losing streak, for that matter.

The MLB trade deadline is quickly approaching.  Who are the Marlins' top trade assets?  —  The All-Star Game is over.  The second half of the season resumes on Friday.  —  And while the Miami Marlins look to climb out of the National League cellar on the field, the front office will be busy …

Jacob deGrom gets back at Mike Trout, who pops up  —  Jacob deGrom is becoming something of an All-Star Game regular, having been two seasons in a row and three times in the past five.  In his exhibition encounters with the American League, only one batter has beaten him: the Angels' Mike Trout …