MLB Rumors

For Chicago Cubs GM Jim Hendry, for Texas Rangers GM Jon Daniels, and for free-agent outfielder Marlon Byrd, the last 48 hours have made an interesting, interwoven series of impacts upon the tone and tenor of the MLB offseason.

Lost amid the flurry of Monday's higher-profile deals, free-agent outfielder Mike Cameron agreed to a two-year pact with the Boston Red Sox.

Apparently the Boston Red Sox management is in complete panic mode.

Gary Sheffield was quoted in the Boston Globe over the weekend saying he could hit at least 25 home runs if a team gives him the chance to play every day.

He even went so far as to say that he could hit upwards of 40 home runs in the proper situation. 

I hate to say it, Gary, but it's time to hang it up. 

To put the current length of his career in perspective, Sheffield was drafted sixth overall in the amateur draft by the Milwaukee Brewers just four months after I was born in 1986. 

The Wall Street Journal published a story recently about the amount of college education, or lack thereof, in Major League Baseball. 

1. Washington Nationals: Stephen Strasburg, RHP

ESPN's Buster Olney has reported that there have been preliminary trade talks between the Boston Red Sox and the Celevaland Indians. The trade would help both teams as their needs will be partially fulfilled.

The trade has shape up so the Indians would trade their top prospect in Matt LaPorta in exchange for one of Boston's young arms being either Michael Bowden, Clay Bucholtz, or Daniel Bard. This would mean that LaPorta would be traded for the second time in two years.

The Mets are not a healthy group right now. The team struggles to keep a group of nine guys together for more than a couple of days, as the list of injured players continues to grow.

In the last 24 hours, we have had three more additions to the injury report. Ryan Church’s hamstring, JJ Putz’s neck, and Carlos Beltran’s knee have become the latest concerns. Church and Beltran are likely day-to-day, but Putz is out indefinitely.