Kuzul

The saga of Sammy Sosa could have gone much differently had the Cubs traded him to the Yankees in 2000. At the time, Sosa was coming off of two historic seasons in which he hit 66 and 63 home runs, respectively. According to the Chicago Tribune, the offer from the Yankees was tempting to Cubs officials. MacPhail strongly considered trading Sosa to the Yankees. Rumors persisted that New York had offered an enticing package of second baseman Alfonso Soriano, outfielders Ricky Ledee and Jackson Melian and right-hander Jake Westbrook.The Cubs instead opted to sign Sammy to a six-year, $110 million deal. But try to imagine a 24-year-old Alfonso Soriano at second base and a 22-year-old pitcher named Jake Westbrook joining the back end of a Cubs rotation that would feature Kerry Wood, Mark Prior and Carlos Zambrano.Makes you wonder...   The final four years of Sosa's tenure with the club were often exciting, ...

The Washington Nationals want Stephen Strasburg to be there for them in the postseason, but potential innings limits are hurting those chances.Strasburg is 13-5 with a 2.90 ERA and 166 strikeouts in 133.1 innings this season. If the reports that his limit is between 160-180, that leaves him with less than 50 innings of work for the rest of the season.   That leaves him with about eight starts if he averages six innings each time out. Realistically, the Nationals will not let him start eight more regular-season games. If they can reach Game 7 of the World Series, they hope that will be Strasburg's last start of the season.In order to do that, they will need to shut him down at some point to keep his arm ready for the postseason and the future.How should the Nationals approach this dilemma?Everyone seems to have an opinion, and GM Mike Rizzo denies ...

The Cubs minor league system is playing better than expected in 2012. Let's take a look at guys who are healthy and making their way up the pipeline towards Chicago.There's been a lot of focus on the usual suspects—Anthony Rizzo and Brett Jackson—but some of the teams best prospects are just getting started and are off to good starts.This list won't focus on every top prospect, but noteworthy ones who are playing well. If you like my prospect posts, check out my profile or take a look at the Cubs' top 10 prospects for the month of July. Begin Slideshow

Anthony Rizzo is far and away the most exciting player in the Cubs organization. Rizzo is hitting .353 with 14 home runs, has a .416 OBP in 150 at-bats and is getting hot again, hitting .350 in his last 10 games with seven home runs, 14 RBI, four extra-base hits and a K-BB ratio of 6-to-4. There is no doubt Rizzo will be joining the Cubs in the very near future. Their upcoming schedule forces the front office to consider the options.Should they call up Anthony Rizzo now with the Padres and Red Sox looming, or ride out Alfonso Soriano's little burst of life until a more fluid situation presents itself?While I'd love to see Rizzo in Chicago tomorrow, you know the Red Sox and Padres have a detailed dossier on Rizzo. His two former organizations know what he is capable of, and I'm sure they would love to see him do well ...

It's no secret that the Rays' catching duo is one of the weakest in the league, with Jose Molina and Jose Lobaton holding down the fort. Both players are hitting under .230 thus far, and both would conceivably be backups on other teams.Despite not a lot of depth in the catching department, there are still several options outside of the organization that could be brought in as short-term solutions. And some of those short-term solutions could be long-term answers.Let's explore who the Rays could pursue.   Begin Slideshow

Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com is reporting that the Padres have traded starting pitcher Mat Latos to the Cincinnati Reds for pitchers Edinson Volquez and Brad Boxberger, first baseman Yonder Alonso and catcher Yasmani Grandal.The trade is drawing mixed reviews on the Reds' end, and rightfully so, considering the team surrendered one of its best pitchers and two of its top offensive chips. Here's B/R senior writer Cliff Eastham's take on it:Latos for Yonder Alonso would have been a good deal; Latos for Alonso and Edinson Volquez would be too much. Having the other two (Yasmani Grandal and Brad Boxberger) thrown in for good measure is just ridiculous.The Reds are giving up a lot, but besides Alonso, who is blocked by Joey Votto for the foreseeable future anyway, none of those players would have been contributing to the 2012 Reds.Let's take a look at who the Padres acquired and what their ...