MLB

After winning 92 games and a Wild Card berth in 2013, the last thing the Cleveland Indians would want to do is trade away staff ace Justin Masterson, who is currently the lone projected starter with at least one full big league season under his belt. If anything, they need to add another reliable starter to the mix.

You don't come across perfect free-agent fits that often. A lot of players fill needs, but not budgets. Some players fill needs and budgets, but not long-term plans. And so on. You know how it is.

I guess that makes today a special day, for today we have an excuse to talk about a rare perfect free-agent fit: A.J. Burnett and the Orioles.

Earlier this month, Major League Baseball took a rather massive step into the 21st Century when the players union and umpires association both agreed to expand the use of instant replay, and the vote was unanimous among all 30 clubs, too.

It's that magical time of year where websites and prospect writers have gathered all their information to provide readers with the list of top 100 minor leaguers who will impact Major League Baseball in the near future. 

With these lists comes a lot of praise—especially for the work that goes into it—but also a lot of backlash. Fans want to see their favorite prospects appearing on a top 100 list because it provides hope and optimism. 

Everyone has their own opinions and methods for determining why a player does or doesn't make a top 100 list.

At last, the question of whether A.J. Burnett will retire or return to pitch in 2014 has been answered.

The Texas Rangers have shown some interest in MLB free-agent pitcher A.J. Burnett. This being reported by Richard Durrett of ESPN Dallas on Twitter.

There are a number of dark-horse prospects who could make the New York Mets' roster on Opening Day, and with pitchers and catchers arriving to Port St. Lucie, Fla., in the next few weeks, it’s easy to get excited about them already.

Mankind has invented the wheel. Split the atom. Explored space. It stands to reason that, one day, a legitimately unhittable pitch shall be discovered.

Until then, well, at least there's one pitch that's pretty close.

This being the super-slow, please-make-it-stop portion of the offseason, allow me to tell you about a quest I went on. Its mission was simple: Find out which of the seven core pitches thrown in Major League Baseball is the most devastating.

When the Phillies and Yankees arrive for full-squad workouts in Clearwater and Tampa, Fla., respectively, a fountain of youth will be as necessary as cleats, gloves and bats.

According to William Weinbaum of "Outside the Lines" on ESPN.com, Major League Baseball approved pitchers of all 30 teams to use new pad-protected caps on Tuesday morning.

This approval comes on the heels of five separate incidents of pitchers being hit in the head with a baseball between September of 2012 and June of 2013.