Brett Wallace Is Going To Get A Chance

Astros general manager Ed Wade admitted Wednesday the Astros are at this point unlikely to add a left-fielder to either start or split time with Jason Michaels if Carlos Lee winds up at first base. Wade said adding such a player would probably shut the door on Brett Wallace beginning the season at first, and the team isn't ready to make that determination.

Tag's Lines

Sifting Through The Non-Tender Free Agents

Shortly before Christmas 2005, back in the paleolithic days before iPhones and Twitter (can you imagine!), it took a global triangulation of phone calls for the St. Louis Cardinals to pounce on a non-tender free agent.

STL Today

Athletics Part Ways With Edwin Encarnacion

Thursday's anticipated non-tender deadline didn't bring many surprises in Oakland, as the A's declined to offer 2011 contracts to Jack Cust, Travis Buck and Edwin Encarnacion.

Athletics Official Site

Prospectus Q&A: Russell Branyan

Russell Branyan, depending on the specific parameters, is the reigning king of Three True Outcomes. The Seattle slugger has a career TTO of 50.77, which is unmatched among players with at least 3,000 plate appearances. If the minimum is lowered to 2,000 PA, he ranks second behind Jack Cust (53.68) and just ahead of Mark Reynolds (50.09), Rob Deer (49.06), and Adam Dunn (48.98).

Baseball Prospectus

Tyler Greene, Brandon Dickson Named To Pacific Coast League 2010 All-Star Team

The Pacific Coast League revealed its preliminary roster for the 2010 Triple-A All-Star Game on Thursday, with fans, managers and the league office selecting the squad that will take on the International League's best on July 14 in Allentown, Pa., home of the IL's Lehigh Valley IronPigs. MiLB Official Site

Brandon Dickson: Pacific Coast League All-Star
Tyler Greene: PCL All-Star Game Starter

Coco Crisp Back In Action At Leadoff For Athletics

Coco Crisp can officially say he's a career .300 hitter.

"As long as no one asks where," the outfielder said with a smile.

Crisp, who upped his career .299 Minor League average to .301 after two rehab stints with Class A Stockton this week, had plenty to smile about Friday.

Athletics Official Site

Daric Barton A Home Run Short Of Cycle In Athletics Win

Gonzalez got plenty of help from his offense on Monday night, as it tied a season high with 15 hits. Five A's recorded multi-hit games, including first baseman Daric Barton, who fell a home run short of the cycle.

Athletics Official Site

Big Money Release Candidates

Now that we've dove into what's been a great 2010 season thus far, I'd like to look at some highly compensated players that could be looking for new jobs sometime this year. Most of these players have established roles on their teams right now, but a rough stretch could be more than enough to shove these guys to the curb in favor of younger, cheaper talent.

Beyond The Boxscore

Jack Cust Clears Waivers

Susan Slusser Twitter

Jack Cust Dropped From Athletics Roster

In a surprising series of events en route to creating a final Opening Day roster, the A's on Saturday designated Jack Cust for assignment.

Athletics Official Site

Mitchell Report Career Killer

Barry Bonds is sitting by the phone in Beverly Hills waiting for the call that even he by now must know will never come. Roger Clemens is similarly idle, hoping that his next call doesn't come from someone at the federal courthouse.

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