Jonathan Papelbon

Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Jonathan Papelbon will begin serving a seven-game suspension during Monday's contest against the San Diego Padres.

MLB Public Relations reported the news of Papelbon's punishment:

The 2014 MLB trade deadline is scheduled for Thursday, July 31, and as it is every season, the rumors have started to come fast and furious from all corners of the sport.

With huge names like A.J. Burnett, Jon Lester, Matt Kemp and Jonathan Papelbon potentially on the move, the landscape of baseball could shift if the rumored trades come to fruition before the deadline.

Once you hit the final stretch before Major League Baseball's July 31 non-waiver trade deadline, all of those rumors that have been bantered about for weeks start coming into focus. Not all of them will happen, but it's much clearer who is and isn't available. 

Unfortunately, as we have seen in recent years, the most exciting moves usually just end up being for middle relievers because teams are so reluctant to deal anything that might have future value for the chance to win now. 

As MLB teams head out of the All-Star break, the trade deadline will serve as the make-or-break point for plenty of clubs on the fringes of playoff contention.  The two weeks before the July 31 deadline should bring lots of intrigue and action as teams vacillate between buying and selling on a seemingly daily basis.

Ashley Papelbon, the wife of Philadelphia Phillies closer Jonathan Papelbon, shared this "awkward family photo" of the two on Twitter: 

It looks like we have an early contender for "most festively dressed." Papelbon's incredible outfit is only outdone by his mustache. 

Owners and general managers from all 30 MLB teams will convene in Orlando, Fla., starting on Monday for the four-day winter meetings that could include more big deals.

This past week has been a busy one for offseason MLB player movement, and there are still many high-profile trade candidates who could be moved in the near future. Here are the latest rumblings regarding three of the top pitchers available on the trade market.

A pivotal change could be looming for the Philadelphia Phillies and for once, it isn't all bad.

In recent days, much has been ballyhooed about the Philadelphia Phillies standing in the National League East division. At five games below .500 and nine-and-a-half games from the division leading Atlanta Braves, fans are clamoring for the Phillies to sell their most esteemed pieces in order to gain in the future with highly regarded prospects.

Los Angeles Dodgers phenom Yasiel Puig has made no bones about his desire to make the trip to Citi Field for the 2013 MLB All-Star Game.

I'll take a wild guess and say that about 98.32 percent of rumored trades between now and July 31 won't happen. In fact, a large percentage of those probably weren't even seriously discussed by the teams mentioned.

So while we were all seriously discussing how those players would fit on their new teams and speculating on which prospects were going to be part of the trade package, the general managers involved in the rumored deal were probably working on a deal that was completely under wraps and then surprised the heck out of everybody once it was announced.