Opinion

After watching teams such as the Oakland Athletics and Los Angeles Dodgers find success in signing international talent, the Philadelphia Phillies have decided to try their own luck.

Now that Matt Garza has traded in his deep-dish Chicago pizza for Texas barbecue, perhaps the biggest remaining question before the 2013 MLB trade deadline will be whether a certain hurler on the South Side will do the same.

With the MLB trade deadline less than a week away, Cardinal fans are wondering what magic general manager John Mozeliak has up his sleeve.

The last two seasons, Mozeliak has pulled the trigger on moves that directly impacted the Cardinals stretch run to the postseason. 

The Milwaukee Brewers completed a deal that sent reliever Francisco Rodriguez to the Baltimore Orioles for prospect Nick Delmonico on Tuesday, according to Dayn Perry of CBSSports.com.

The Philadelphia Phillies are not managed by Bill Parcells, but they are the living embodiment of one of the former National Football League coach's most famous truisms.

"You are what your record says you are" is a phrase tough guy wannabes and other unpleasant people like to throw around with great self-satisfaction to point up the shortcomings of everyone but them.

Right now, the only things casual baseball fans probably know about Chase Whitley are that he is a part of the New York Yankees farm system and that his name is sort of close to Chase Utley. 

At the very least, they should (hopefully) know the latter.

Yasiel Puig can do no wrong.

At least that's what some folks in the media and Los Angeles Dodgers fans thought when he broke into MLB.

But now one has to wonder if the Puig honeymoon is over, and if he'll start to be seen as someone who may not be the next greatest thing.

With the MLB trade deadline fast approaching, we thought we'd let our experts weigh in with their own thoughts on the biggest time of the year for baseball.

Tune in to the video above to see what Dennis Eckersley and Cal Ripken Jr. have to say, and make sure you sound off with your own opinions in the comments section below!

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Pittsburgh Pirates closer Jason Grilli was placed on the disabled list, but his absence won't derail the team's playoff chances.

When I heard the news that Major League Baseball had finally suspended Milwaukee Brewers slugger Ryan Braun for using performance-enhancing drugs, forcing him to sit for the remainder of the 2013 season, my first reaction was, "Huh, that really sucks for the Brewers, I guess."

While some may feel a sense of accomplishment or an overwhelming feeling of karma catching up to a guy who cheated and defiantly lied about it time and again, I felt, "Huh." Apathy.