Daniel Descalso, David Peralta Take Clayton Kershaw Deep

Entering Tuesday night's matchup at Chase Field, only two left-handed hitters in D-backs history had homered off Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw. Then two did it in consecutive innings.

Arizona Official Site

MLB Rookie Profile: John Gant

Cardinals add right-hander John Gant to bolster major league bullpen

Minor League Ball

Angel Pagan Holding Out For Right Money

Outfielder Angel Pagan remains a free agent not because he has been unable to secure a major-league offer; he already has turned down two separate guaranteed deals, but is holding out for a certain desired salary, according to a major-league source.

Fox Sports

Diamondbacks Not Shopping Nick Ahmed; Jose Quintana's Asking Price Not Dropping Anytime Soon; Labor Rules Working Against Kelly Johnson & Angel Pagan

The D-backs are not shopping Ahmed, who has two minor-league options remaining. Chris Owings, after a strong camp, is the likely starter after a strong camp. But if Owings got hurt and Ketel Marte under-performed, the D-backs would need a player just like Ahmed.

Fox Sports

Reds, Braves, & Blue Jays Interested In Kelly Johnson

Ken Rosenthal Twitter

Braves Considering Kelly Johnson

Jon Heyman Twitter

Braves Considering Kelly Johnson For Bench

David O'Brien Twitter

Nomadic All-Stars? Eight Players In Reach Of Record

The Detroit Tigers signed reliever Octavio Dotel to a one-year contract on Dec. 9, 2011, signifying a historic day in Major League Baseball history.

MLB Official Site

Phillies, Blue Jays Have Shown Interest In Brandon Moss; Adam Lind, Ryan Howard, & Justin Morneau Receiving No Buzz; Padres Looking At Colby Lewis

If not for the A’s’ surprise late involvement in the Edwin Encarnacion sweepstakes, people close to the situation say the Encarnacion derby might well have dragged into January, meaning the best of a bevy of good-to-excellent sluggers would still be on the market as we hit the new year, with spring training in sight.

FanRags

The Cardinals Snag Three Prospects From The Braves For Jaime Garcia

The Braves continue to rebuild a veteran rotation, sending Luke Dykstra, Chris Ellis, and John Gant to the Cardinals for Jaime Garcia.

Minor League Ball

Fernando Salas & Ty Kelly Makes Mets' Playoff Roster

In a significant surprise, the Mets left first baseman Lucas Duda off their roster for Wednesday's National League Wild Card Game against the Giants at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN.

New York-N Official Site

Kyle Barraclough Escapes Huge Bases-Loaded Jam

So much for a night off for reliever Kyle Barraclough. As much as manager Don Mattingly didn't want to, he felt he had no choice but to use the hard-throwing right-hander in the eighth inning on Thursday night.

Miami Official Site

Cardinals Open Ten-Game Trip With Carlos Martinez At Mets

A year ago, the New York Mets had an eventful first homestand after the All-Star break.

Fox Sports Midwest

Sweep To The Max! Scherzer K's 10 To Erase Mets

Max Scherzer delivered a dominant performance, holding the Mets to two hits across 7 1/3 shutout innings, and Daniel Murphy hit two home runs to guide the Nationals to a 4-2 victory Wednesday night at Nationals Park to complete a three-game sweep.

Washington Official Site

Mets Optioned Ty Kelly To Triple-A Las Vegas

New York-N Official Twitter

His Name Is Spelled A-L-E-D-M-Y-S

Now that the All-Star voting is entirely online, teams can adjust their nominees almost up to the moment the balloting begins. Such last-minute switches, however, are not always easy to pull off.

Fox Sports

Braves Trade Kelly Johnson To Mets

Adam Rubin Twitter

Kolten Wong Needs A Change Of Scenery

Sometimes, a player needs a change of scenery in order to get back on track. That may prove to be the case with St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Kolten Wong.

Call To The Pen

Mets Not Attending Tim Lincecum Showcase

The Mets are not among the teams planning to watch Tim Lincecum throw Friday, according to a club source. There could be as many as 20 teams in attendance to watch the two-time Cy Young award winner’s workout in Scottsdale, Ariz., according to reports.

NY Post

John Lackey Rebounds With Eight Strong Innings

Cubs manager Joe Maddon saw John Lackey having a discussion with Braves catcher Tyler Flowers in the bottom of the fifth inning of Sunday's 4-3, 10-inning loss and didn't feel the need to intervene. Maddon knows Lackey can handle things himself.

Chicago-N Official Site