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At least two players will pull off the insanely difficult task of being a first-ballot Hall of Fame inductee. We will find out for sure when the inductions are announced on Jan. 9. In the meantime, we are left to speculate. This is a fun year to do just that. The list of accomplishments of this group of first-ballot players is amazing. Unfortunately, too many of those accomplishments are tainted by steroids. That is awful for the sanctity of the Hall, but it is fun to debate. Just to refresh your memory, players are eligible for the ballot simply by playing for ten years in the majors and also having been retired for five years. To stay on the ballot, they have to receive at least five percent of the votes. To gain induction, a player must receive at least 75 percent of the vote. Before getting into the favorites, let's take a look ...

The Boston Red Sox should forget about injury-plagued Mike Napoli and just get Nick Swisher on the roster. The potential signing of Napoli in Boston has turned into a saga. This was a move that appeared to be a done deal, but reportedly hit a snag when Napoli had some issues with the physical. ESPN Boston's Gordon Edes dished on that holdup. Since that report, it has come to light that Boston is still determined to land Napoli, just with a revised deal. SI.com's Will Carroll sheds some light with this tweet: Hearing that the Napoli deal back in negotiations, with team asking Napoli to take less years but same AAV. Swisher Plan B.— Will Carroll (@injuryexpert) December 13, 2012 The original deal was reported as a three-year, $39 million deal. That is $13 million a year for the 31-year-old catcher who is coming off a season where he set a new career low with a .227 ...

Free-agent outfielder Shane Victorino has inked a deal with the Boston Red Sox.The news comes to us via Alex Speier of WEEI.com. Sox have agreed with Victorino on 3yr deal— Alex Speier (@alexspeier) December 4, 2012 The 32-year-old veteran was one of the top free-agent outfielders available this offseason, and despite his advancing age, the two-time All-Star still has plenty of value.According to Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal, Victorino's three-year deal is worth $39 million. Victorino and #RedSox: Three years, $39M.— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 4, 2012 Victorino is a three-time Gold Glove winner, and his defense remains above average. He can play any position in the outfield with competence, but he is at his best when roaming in center.He also swiped a career-high 39 steals last season, and he was caught stealing just six times. He remains one of the elite base-stealers in the game. If age is going to rob him of a step, ...

In what would be a surprise move, the Chicago Cubs have reportedly signed coveted Japanese closer Kyuji Fujikawa. Fox's Ken Rosenthal has the scoop: Sources: #Cubs in agreement with Japanese closer Kyuji Fujikawa. Rival executives involved in bidding had expected him to go to #Angels.— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 1, 2012 Fujikawa deal with #Cubs is two years with a vesting option for a third. He likely will be the team's closer.— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 1, 2012 If Fujikawa option does not vest, #Cubs hold $5.5M club option with $500K buyout. A total of $9.5M guaranteed.— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 1, 2012 Rosenthal is as respected and well-connected as any baseball reporter out there, so there is every reason to believe this information, even if, as he points out in his tweet, it comes as a surprise. Fujikawa has been most closely linked to the Angels all offseason. However, if these reports are true, ...

The Los Angeles Angels may be preparing to watch starting pitcher Zack Greinke walk away in free agency. CBS' Danny Knobler reported this juicy rumor: The Angels, once considered the favorite to keep free-agent pitcher Zack Greinke, are now unlikely to sign him, according to sources.Knobler is a respected baseball journalist, so there is every reason to believe this information is coming from trusted sources. Also, it just makes sense. For starters, CBS' Jon Heyman recently reported that "Zack Greinke is headed for a record payday by right-handed pitchers," and Greinke simply isn't worth that kind of coin. He is going to benefit from a pitching-starved free-agent market. Greinke is better served as a No. 2 starter in a quality rotation than a No. 1 starter.Last season, he went 15-5 with a 3.48 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP. He did this while throwing over 200 innings and going for 200 strikeouts against just 54 walks, while spending time with both the Brewers and Angels. Solid ...

Mariano Rivera is not going to let an injury dictate the end of his stunning career. While recovering from major knee surgery, the iconic closer told the New York Yankees that he wasn't ready to hang up the cutter just yet. George A. King III of the New York Post passed along this quote from Yankees GM Brian Cashman: "Rivera contacted us and wants to play."This is fantastic news for the Yankees, the game of baseball and sports fans everywhere.Rivera, 42, is baseball's all-time leading saves leader. The career Yankee has accumulated those saves over an 18-year career, and he has been the team's closer since replacing John Wetteland in 1997. Rivera's consistency and longevity have been amazing, and he's done it all with really only one pitch: the cutter.Baseball was not the same this season without that physics-defying pitch. The injury occurred in early May. Rivera, as was his routine, was shagging fly ...

The New York Mets have reportedly made the easy call of picking up the contract options of third baseman David Wright and starting pitcher R.A. Dickey.Fox Sports' Jon Morosi shares the news.  As expected, #Mets today formally picked up contract options on David Wright and R.A. Dickey, sources told @ken_rosenthal and me. @mlbonfox— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) October 30, 2012 It would be shocking if this report did not prove to be true. Morosi and Rosenthal are trusted reporters, and beyond that, the moves make sense. Wright's option was for $16 million, and the Mets had until Wednesday to exercise that option. As CBS Sports' Jon Heyman reports, the two sides have been working on a long-term deal and will likely continue to do so. But there was no scenario where they were just going to let him walk. Wright is the face of the franchise and an outstanding third baseman. The 29-year-old is also coming off a ...

The St. Louis Cardinals exploded for a 12-4 victory on Monday over the Washington Nationals to even the series at one game apiece. The win was especially vital, as the series now shifts from St. Louis to Washington D.C. for the final three games of this best-of-five series. Chris Carpenter is scheduled to take the hill for the Cardinals against the Nationals' Edwin Jackson. Carpenter did not make his season debut until late in September due to shoulder issues, and he did not face the Nationals this season. Jackson, a former Cardinal, has two starts against St. Louis this season.He had an eight-inning, one-run outing on Aug. 30 and a 1.1-inning, nine-run outing on Sept. 28. The Nationals are hoping his next outing will be more in line with the Aug. 30 affair. Game 3 is scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 10 at 1:07 p.m. ET.Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Arizona Diamondbacks' center fielder Chris Young returned to the lineup on Tuesday, but he did not last long. He re-injured his quad on the first play of Arizona's crucial game with the San Diego Padres. The USA Today's Bob Nightengale passed along the news Twitter style.  Chris Young makes nice running catch on 1st play of game, but re-injures quad, and out of game #Dbacks— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) September 19, 2012 Adam Eaton took over for Young in center field and Gerardo Parra entered the game for Young and took Eaton's spot in left. Young had been out of the lineup since injuring his quad on September 15, and apparently he was not yet ready to return. Hamstrings and quads are tricky injuries. They are two injuries that cannot be rushed back. If they are, you get what happened to Young. Now, this doesn't mean the Diamondbacks' medical staff was negligent. Young very well could have ...

Roger Clemens' solid comeback start with the Sugar Land Skeeters may have the legendary pitcher hungry for more. Deadspin's Erik Malinowski has the report: A source close to the Skeeters tells Deadspin that Clemens has already penciled in September 7 as his next (and final?) start for the club. This is certainly not a shock. Given even a semi-decent performance, it seemed obvious that the "Rocket" would make a push to keep pitching.So when the 50-year-old toed the rubber and delivered 24 strikes on 37 pitches in 3.1 innings of shutout baseball for the Skeeters, all questions turned to when, not if, Clemens would pitch next.However, Roger wasn't going to make this conclusion cut and dry, which seems appropriate since nothing is cut and dry regarding Clemens. The Houston Chronicle's Alan Blondin captured this post-start quote from Clemens addressing whether or not he would be pitching professionally again. "Not at this point. That could change in a couple days, but ...