MLB

Over the winter, I know that general managers were agonizing over one important decision: Do we bring him back, or do we let him go?

When contracts run out, teams have to decide whether or not they should bring back their stars. A few good years doesn’t necessarily guarantee a few more years of success, but if that star has some more time left, it is naturally a good idea to bring him back.

The Philadelphia Phillies have struggled in the early weeks of the 2013 regular season. They are 14-16 thus far, 3.5 games behind the Atlanta Braves for first place in the suddenly tight National League East.

General manager Brian Cashman spent the offseason (and parts of spring training) picking up aging veterans presumably on the tail ends of their respective careers to fill the holes left by the injured stars of the team.

The idea of Alex Rodriguez not being expected to have a big impact on a team for a season is hard to fathom. But after his performance in the 2012 postseason and necessary surgery on his left hip, the expectations for Rodriguez in the 2013 season were slim to none.

If a pitching rotation is like a sandwich, consider this the recipe.

Every sandwich has the same basic ingredients: The bread to keep things together on the ends, the meat in the middle and the cheese and mustard for a little kick on top.

The Los Angeles Dodgers lost to the San Francisco Giants on Friday night, courtesy of a Buster Posey walk-off home run. But more importantly, they may have lost their starting shortstop for a significant period of time.

He is the quintessential jack of all trades, master of none.

Getting rid of him would be like letting nine mediocre players walk away. But he’s open-minded; he’ll try anything once—and he has.

Don Kelly has done it all on the baseball diamond. He just hasn’t done it all that well.

Ah, but what would baseball be without the Don Kelly's of the world?

When pitchers start to develop their craft, the fastball is usually the first pitch they develop. A great fastball can get a pitcher attention among the baseball world and have fans and scouts debating your bright future.

However, just because someone can bring the heat does not guarantee them a long and successful career in baseball. This list consists of six pitchers who could light up the radar gun but were not able to have much success in Major League Baseball.

It’s only a little over a month into the Major League Baseball season—meaning all statistics still represent a small sample size—but many of the game’s top rookies are off to a hot start.

At the same time, there are several highly regarded young players who have struggled—some even mightily—to begin the season. While some of them will be encouraged to work through their scuffles in the majors, others will face an inevitable demotion if they don’t right turn things around in a hurry.

Now a month into the MLB season, it's as good a time as any to take a look at the latest trade buzz around the league.

Phillies Itching to Sell?