MLB

July 31 was a significant day in Red Sox history, as the team underwent perhaps the most dramatic makeover in franchise history, undergoing a fire sale once it became clear the team would not contend in 2014.

A fire sale's ultimate goal is to get a team back to contention, but the way general manager Ben Cherington went about it ran counter to most fire sales. Typically, fire sales consist of stripping the major league squad and pinning hopes on the progression of prospects.

The majority of MLB trades go down prior to the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline, but there have still been some notable moves made during the August waiver trade period.

Starting in 1986, the non-waiver trade deadline was switched from June 15 to July 31, and the August waiver period as we know it today was born.

There have been some memorable waiver trades in MLB history, including a pair of future starters being acquired as prospects in John Smoltz and Jeff Bagwell.

From an update on who could be replacing Bud Selig to the news of another potential wave of performance-enhancing-drug suspensions, it's been a busy week in MLB.

What follows are the 10 biggest takeaways from this week's MLB action. The storylines are ranked in order of their expected impact as the season winds down. The countdown includes headlines from on and off the diamond. While the league zeroes in on Selig's successor, one of the game's most polarizing players is making a dark-horse MVP run.

Updates from Saturday, Aug. 9

Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register confirmed that Hanley Ramirez is not in Saturday's lineup:

Don Mattingly spoke about Ramirez's health before Saturday's game (via Ken Gurnick of MLB.com and Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times):

Yasiel Puig is arguably one of baseball's most intriguing players. It's a rare night when he doesn't do something that catches the eye.

Friday night's game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Milwaukee Brewers was no exception.

In the seventh inning, the outfielder checked his swing against Brewers pitcher Zach Duke which resulted in a broken bat.

Amazingly, the bat never made contact with the ball.

Updates from Saturday, Aug. 9

Bryan Hoch of MLB.com has the latest on Brian McCann's status for Saturday's game:

Hoch also noted that McCann was placed on the seven-day disabled list:

The Detroit Tigers were only 2.5 games ahead of the Kansas City Royals in the American League Central heading into play Friday, but their division title chances may have taken a hit. Jason Beck of MLB.com filled fans in on the latest regarding pitcher Anibal Sanchez:

It has been a special 2014 season for the first-place Los Angeles Dodgers, but they received some unfortunate news Friday regarding starting pitcher Josh Beckett. Ken Gurnick of MLB.com filled fans in on the latest:

With a two-run blast in the ninth inning of Thursday's 7-2 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates, Miami Marlins outfielder Giancarlo Stanton moved into sole possession of third place on his franchise's all-time home runs list, per Lee Sinins of Complete Baseball Encyclopedia.

Los Angeles Angels first baseman Albert Pujols hit his 513th career home run in Tuesday's game against the Los Angeles Dodgers. According to MLB Milestones' Twitter account, that moved him into sole possession of 21st place on MLB's all-time home runs list.