There could be trouble in St. Louis aside from the team’s inability to lock up Albert Pujols.  Staff ace Adam Wainwright has reportedly injured his elbow, and the initial prognosis is not encouraging.  Wainwright injured the elbow on Monday and will head back to St. Louis to have it officially examined by team doctors.  “There’s a problem with the ligament,” Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak told the New York Daily News.  ”But it doesn’t look good.”  Whispers of Tommy John surgery have already begun to circle, which would be devastating news for the ball club.

Read More

ESPN’s Keith Law has put together a list of rookie players that could potentially make an impact in the major leagues in 2011.  Topping the list is Philadelphia Phillies youngster Dominic Brown.  Brown has been considered one of the best prospects in the game for the last couple of years and absolutely tore up minor league pitching.  “Brown should win the right field job in Philadelphia given the team’s alternatives and the risk that its aging lineup will underperform (although it’s looking pretty good in the run prevention department),” Law writes.  ”But if Brown heads back to Triple-A, one thing he could stand to work on is his defense in right field.  He has the athleticism to be plus there, but his reads out there need work and he’s had throwing issues at least since I first saw him play, wasting his arm strength by throwing off the wrong foot.”

Read More

The New York Yankees are a contender in the American League, as usual. But a lot of people doubt that they have the pitching to beat out the Red Sox.  CC. Sabathia is the staff ace and one of the best hurlers in the majors.  He’s followed by youngster Phil Hughes, who has always had a lot of talent and put together a break-out season in 2010.  However, Hughes faded down the stretch and will have to figure out what went wrong.  Third in the rotation will be A.J. Burnett, who struggled mightily in 2010 and needs to have a bounce-back campaign.

Read More

The Toronto Blue Jays have locked up slugger Jose Bautista to a five-year deal that will pay Bautista more than $60 million.  Bautista is coming off a 2010 season in which he led the major leagues with 54 home runs.  Bautista had not been a huge power hitter before last season, making some people skeptical that he can approach that number again.  However, the Jays figured that he was worth the risk.  “If we can’t bet on him, we can’t bet on anybody.  That’s what it really came down to,” Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos said at a news conference on Thursday.

Read More

The Milwaukee Brewers have signed second baseman Rickie Weeks to a four-year deal worth nearly $40 million dollars and could balloon to $50 million with an option for a fifth year.  Weeks is coming off a 2010 season in which he played in 160 games after having injury problems for most of his young career.  “We are thrilled that Rickie has chosen to remain a Brewer,” general manager Doug Melvin told the media in the wake of the deal.  ”He has become one of the best leadoff hitters in the game today; possessing speed, plate discipline and power.  His aggressive style sets the tone for our offense.”

Read More

Baseball prospectus predicts that the Minnesota Twins will win the American League Central in 2011, which would be the team’s third consecutive division title.  “Despite losing more big league players than they added this offseason, the Twins appear to be the most well-rounded club in the division with a solid rotation, good lineup and possibly reliable bullpen,” writes BP’s R.J. Anderson.  The Twins are certainly a well-rounded club, with a solid lineup and a dependable rotation.  The team is also getting closer Joe Nathan back after the reliever missed all of the 2010 season, which should add some stability to the bullpen.

Read More

C.C. Sabathia says he’s happy in pinstripes, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that he won’t exercise the opt-out clause in his contract after the 2011 season.  Sabathia has four years and $92 million left on his deal following this upcoming MLB season, but could leave that on the table in search of another monster contract that would likely be his last.  Originally it looked like there was very little chance that the Yankee ace would consider opting out.  However, now that doesn’t seem so certain.  “I have no idea [if I will opt out],” Sabathia told reporters in the Yankees clubhouse yesterday. “It is still in my contract.  Anything is possible.”

Read More

ESPN’s Jayson Stark seemed to like the Los Angeles Dodgers’ offseason most out of all the National League West teams.  “Best thing they did: Moved ultra-aggressively to bring back free agents Ted Lilly, Hiroki Kuroda and Vicente Padilla, while signing Garland for a mere one year, $5 million guarantee,” Stark writes.  ”So rotation depth — a big issue last summer — is now one of this team’s biggest strengths all of a sudden.”  The Dodgers have the potential star players in place, but their lack of depth really seemed to hurt them in 2010.  While none of these additions include elite talent, they are savvy moves that fill holes.

Read More

Though reports were positive about Michael Young’s attitude when the Texas Rangers signed third baseman Adrian Beltre, that might not be the case now.  Young has supposedly requested a trade from the team as an alternative as being the club’s designated hitter in 2011.  The team’s acquisition of Mike Napoli might have pushed Young over the edge, as now it seems he’ll lose playing time at both first base and DH.  Young is the team captain in Texas and has been one of their best players for a long time now.  He was a big part of leading the team to the World Series last season.

Read More

New Red Sox first baseman Adrian Gonzalez arrived at Boston’s training camp more than a week before he had to report, a good sign going forward for his relationship with the organization.  Gonzalez was acquired in the offseason via trade from the San Diego Padres, from whom Gonzalez has produced gaudy numbers over the past few seasons.  Gonzalez will likely be the biggest power punch in the Boston lineup in 2011 and he should enjoy making the transition from San Diego’s Petco Park to Boston’s Fenway Park.

Read More