MLB

Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun has lost a great deal of credibility as well as more than one-third of a season in the wake of his 65-game suspension for a violation of Major League Baseball's joint drug prevention and treatment program.

The New York Mets are still in rebuilding mode.

This long, torturous rebuilding process, though, seems to be nearing its end. Big-name prospects like Matt Harvey and Zack Wheeler are already contributing to the major league team, and many more prospects are on the way in the next couple years. 

The Boston Red Sox have reportedly agreed to a seven-year, $100 million contract extension with superstar second baseman Dustin Pedroia.

Rob Bradford of WEEI.com broke the news on Tuesday:

Pedroia and Red Sox have agreed in principle on extension. Starts in 2015 goes to '21. Comes down to approximatey 7 years for $100 million

The July 31 non-waiver trade deadline is approaching, and the Oakland A's are in a position similar to where they were at this time last year.  Back then, the A's were just in the playoff hunt, but this year, they find themselves as division leaders at the deadline.

The Arizona Diamondbacks have won 11 of Patrick Corbin's last 12 home starts, which is important to consider when making your MLB picks Tuesday, as they continue a four-game series with the Chicago Cubs at Chase Field.

The Los Angeles Angels have dropped four of their last five games against the Minnesota Twins, which is important to consider when making your MLB picks as the two teams meet up at Angel Stadium.

Courtesy of SBR Forum, the Angels are minus-175 home favorites in the pro baseball odds, with the betting total sitting at 8.5 in the market.

Let's take a closer look at this American League matchup from a betting perspective, while offering up a prediction along the way. 

With the Cubs trade of Matt Garza to the Texas Rangers on Monday, the player viewed by many as the prize of the 2013 trade deadline has been moved, and that could have a domino effect on the rest of the market.

For teams looking to add an impact arm, there is no real home run option left, and the best available starter now looks to be White Sox right-hander Jake Peavy.

Things have really come together for the surging Tampa Bay Rays in the past month. With yesterday's big win in Boston, they've won six straight games and a franchise-record 21 of their last 25.

Let's take a look at how the Rays came from being last place in the AL East to just a half game out of first place and having the third-best record in baseball.

The Pitching

New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez has missed the entire 2013 season thus far with a hip injury, but it remains to be seen if his potential involvement with performance-enhancing drugs will cause Major League Baseball to block his comeback attempt.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The MLB trade deadline is just eight days away, yet many teams are still undecided about being buyers or sellers.

Since five teams in both the American and National League make the playoffs, even some teams that are hovering around .500 believe they still have a shot at playing in October.

Here are a few teams on the cusp of contention who may be in line to make a big move or two before the July 31 deadline.