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The Texas Rangers may be allowing their star batter Josh Hamilton to test the free-agent market this offseason, but he should stay with this team regardless of the offers sure to come his way.Hamilton has had one of the more interesting MLB careers to date, with his drug issues almost ending it prematurely awhile back. This is a team that saw potential in him despite his off-the-field issues and has enjoyed some of its greatest recent success after centering the franchise around him.The loyalty card is not one that is often honored in this age of baseball, but it is something Hamilton should sincerely consider. If Albert Pujols can be persuaded to take the money and run, it seems unlikely that Hamilton couldn't be tempted as well; but it's not as if the Rangers don't have money to give.Texas hasn't been throwing Los Angeles Angels-type money around recently, but it ...

The MLB is in postseason mode, but the league is not far away from being in offseason mode, which means some big-name outfielders will likely be on the move. There will be plenty of talent available in this position's free agent pool in 2013, and here are the top guys your team should be aiming for in the outfield.These rankings are based on the likelihood of a player producing with his new club based on his history, consistency and statistics over the past few seasons. For the sake of this piece, outfielders with options to stay with their current clubs were left out because they are less likely to join a new team. 1. LF Josh Hamilton, Texas RangersRegardless of his flirtations with the injury bug and his off-field decisions that could hinder his MLB shelf-life, one of the MLB's top home run threats easily tops this list.After losing the American ...

Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe is reporting that Will Middlebrooks' injury is being diagnosed as a broken wrist, according to a source: Source: Will Middlebrooks has a broken wrist. #RedSox will call up Danny Valencia forSaturday's game.— Pete Abraham (@PeteAbe) August 11, 2012 As Abraham's tweet states, Danny Valencia is the call-up for Boston to replace the rookie third baseman. Valencia was acquired from the Minnesota Twins on Aug. 5 in exchange for minor league outfielder Jeremias Pineda.The former Twin was batting .198 with just two home runs and 17 RBI on the season. The three-year veteran has not been able to deliver the same power he did in 2011, where he launched 15 balls into the stands for Minnesota along with 72 RBI.Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald believes that infielder Nick Punto could also see time at the third base position due to Middlebrooks' injury. Lauber says the ...

San Francisco third baseman and 2011 All-Star selection Pablo Sandoval is being investigated by the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Department over possible sexual assault charges, according to Andrew Baggarly of CSN Bay Area.Sources told Baggarly's employer that the alleged incident took place early in the morning this past Friday at the Seascape Beach Resort. However, those same sources explained that Sandoval was not a registered guest at the resort during that time.Sources who talked with CSN Bay Area claim that the woman in question reported to the authorities that she was too intoxicated to give consent.The investigation is still on going, and it's important to note that Sandoval has not been charged by the police according to sources cited by CSN Bay Area.Sandoval's attorney, Eric Geffon agreed to an interview with CSN Bay Area, explaining:On Friday, June 1, Pablo Sandoval voluntarily met with the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Department ...

Fantasy baseball owners are in large part a patient bunch, but it never helps to see a high-round pick like James Shields get rocked in his first start of 2012.It took 105 pitches for Shields to get through just five innings against the New York Yankees on Friday—a team Shields had done surprisingly well against last year. Shields surrendered six earned runs against the Bronx Bombers, which was just three shy of his 2011 season total against them.With all that being said, though, the Tampa Bay ace was one of the best pitchers in the American League last year, and it's far too early to panic on the guy.Shields is coming off arguably his best MLB season, with a career-best 225 strikeouts and 16 wins through 33 starts in 2011. He's part of the most deadly rotation in baseball— his teammates include Matt Moore, Jeremy Hellickson and David Price—and there's ...

During his last few years with the Chicago Cubs, new Miami Marlins starting pitcher Carlos Zambrano made headlines for his temper tantrums more than his work on the mound, but the change of scenery will bring Big Z back to relevancy in 2012.Zambrano is an interesting name for fantasy managers every season. On one hand, he knows how to strike batters out and is a solid veteran; on the other hand, he can be a monster headache with all his random outbursts and foot-in-mouth type of comments.That being said, the Marlins didn't go out and acquire the former Cubs hurler without thinking they can control the big man. Who better to control Big Z than manager Ozzie Guillen, right? Exactly.While I don't expect Zambrano to pull any more of his usual outbursts during his first year on a new team, if he tries that stuff with Guillen, he's going to get ...

Too often in baseball drafts, I see guys coming off injuries from the previous season being forgot about. And from what I've seen so far, Johan Santana has fallen victim to this phenomena.I realize that Santana is coming off major surgery and hasn't played a regular season inning since 2010, but he's still a great talent and the unquestioned ace pitcher for the New York Mets.Even as a Mets fan, I can safely tell you that wins won't be his strong suit this season. I watched this club squander away countless wins for the former Cy Young winner a few seasons ago, and I fully expect similar events to take place in 2012. That being said, though, Santana is getting back into his old routine, pitching every five days, and his health looks to be at 100 percent so far this spring training."I'm feeling good. It's a process. And I'm ...

With so much going on in the shortened NBA season and the NFL playoffs kicking off, it's easy to get one's mind off of baseball. The smart fantasy baseball manager, however, is paying close attention to the MLB and planning accordingly.With any fantasy sport, it's easy to get caught up in the household names, but it's important to never forget the stats (especially in fantasy baseball). So without any more introduction, here are the five most important stats to key in on when drafting in the months to come.Begin Slideshow

For the past few decades, the Kansas City Royals have been little more than an afterthought in the world of baseball, but behind names such as Eric Hosmer, Billy Butler, Mike Moustakas, Aaron Crow and now Alex Gordon things are on the verge of turning around for the once forgotten franchise.The Royals haven't enjoyed a great amount of success in recent memory, finishing in last place of the AL Central six of the last seven season. Despite the lack of on-field success however, the team has enjoyed a fair amount of early round picks in the past few MLB drafts.With these early round picks, the team's management has chosen some quality players over the years, three of which made their debuts in Aaron Crow, Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas.Crow has been everything the Royals could have asked for in a set-up man, posting a 1.43 ERA and 37 strikeouts in ...