The Yankees have been searching the trade market all season long for a veteran backup who can play third base, so they could occasionally rest Alex Rodriguez. They even went as far as nearly making a deal with the Boston Red Sox for Mike Lowell.

However, it seems possible, though a long shot, that they already have a capable backup in their minor league system: Brandon Laird.

Laird, 22, is a minor league third base prospect who was recently promoted to Triple-A Scranton after spending most of 2010 with Double-A Trenton.

You may remember about a month or so ago, former Chicago Cubs pitcher Mark Prior had a workout in front of several major league scouts and general managers. By all accounts, Prior was just "OK" in that throwing session.

On Tuesday Prior showed just how serious he is with his most recent comeback attempt. The former second overall pick in the MLB draft pitched a scoreless sixth inning for the Orange County Flyers of the independent Golden Baseball League. According to the manager of the Flyers, Paul Abbott, Prior will be used as a setup man.

Dave Cameron, of FanGraphs.com, posted an interesting <a href="http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/beltres-market-value/">article</a > this morning projecting the value of Adrian Beltre on the free agent market at 3 years, $45 million.

Will David Ortiz earn a stay in Boston? Will the New York Yankees have enough to hang on to the American League East? Can Ted Lilly save the Dodgers' fanbase from the McCourt divorce?

The 2010 trade deadline came and went Saturday afternoon with a flurry of both major and minor activity.

These rankings are based on a 300-point system, 150 for offensive production and 150 for pitching production.The maximum amount of points any team can receive in a given category is 30 points (1 point for each team). For instance, if the Tampa Bay Rays lead the league in home runs they will get 30 points for that category.

The 5 offensive categories used:

The 5 pitching categories used:

Greeting sports fans, and welcome to this special analysis of the trade deadline moves and their impact on fantasy players.  There was a flurry of activity leading up to the July 3 non-waiver deadline, with some teams taking advantage and improving their teams, while others stood by idly and didn’t make any moves. 

The St. Louis Cardinals' run at an 18th National League pennant took a serious hit Tuesday, when the team learned that rookie third baseman David Freese re-injured a sore right ankle in a rehab start with Double-A Springfield, and will miss the rest of the 2010 season.

After injuring the ankle on June 27, Freese was expected to help rejuvenate a limping Cardinals offense sometime this month. Instead, it appears St. Louis will have to do without him.

But without adding another bat, another National League Central crown seems unlikely.

Philadelphia, PA- Just when you thought it could not get worse for the Philadelphia Phillies the injury struggles increased and, pending results, could send another Phillie to the overloaded disabled list.

What was thought as a minor sprain for Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard could turn into something more severe as Howard was sent back to Philadelphia yesterday to meet with team doctors.

As of today, the New York Yankees are in first place in the ultra competitive American League East with a record of 66-39—not to mention they have the best record in baseball.

At first glance, it looks pretty good, right?

The Yankees have dropped three out of four games to division rivals: two against Tampa Bay and one against Toronto.

Yesterday's loss to Toronto put the Yankees in a tie with Tampa for the division lead.

Please be sure to check out Mets Paradise and our forum for everything Mets!

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I was watching this team play baseball yesterday in what was a must-win game for the Mets. They knew how big these next six games were going to be. They needed to show in last night's game that they were ready to do anything to win and that they would not go down without a fight. But they didn't do that.