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Last year, Jason Motte was one of the best and most reliable closers in the game, racking up 42 saves, nearly 11 strikeouts per nine innings, and a 2.75 ERA. He signed a two-year, $12 million contract in January, and was widely expected to have anoth...

On Wednesday, I covered 15 players with compelling backstories who've been invited to spring training with American League clubs. Per that article: "These are the NRIs, the non-roster invitees promised almost nothing — not a job, not a major le...

The Mariners, A's, and Nationals pulled off a three-way trade, one that likely improves just one of the three teams this year, and potentially makes one team worse, both now and in the future. Seattle dealt catcher John Jaso, acquiring first basem...

After months of waiting, Rafael Soriano finally landed a multi-year contract with perhaps the only team for whom such a deal would've made sense — the Washington Nationals. The 33-year-old right-hander will make $28 million over the next two...

The Washington Nationals agreed to terms with pitcher Dan Haren on a one-year, $13 million contract. It's one of those rare cases where we shouldn't assume the deal is entirely done yet. The reason Haren could be had on a one-year deal is the same...

Welcome to the second-annual edition of Grantland's MLB Winter Meetings coverage. We'll be filing frequent updates throughout each day of the meetings, weighing in on signings, trades, and rumors, while also providing as much color as possible from N...

Nine things we learned on a quadruple-header Thursday that sent two teams to the next round and set up two more Game 5s today (making it four Game 5s out of four): 1. The Baltimore Orioles are baseball's home for wayward children ... if each of...

Four games. Twelve hours of glorious playoff baseball. Here's what went down: THE BINDER GETS IT RIGHT If you ever want to drill down to the essence of Moneyball, there's a single mantra that gets spouted in both dugouts and boardrooms. Greg Ma...

Two on, one out, Cardinals lead 2-1 in the bottom of the second of Monday's National League Division Series Game 2 against the Nationals. Jaime Garcia's spot in the order's due up. Cardinals manager Mike Matheny sidled over to Garcia, said a few word...

It started with a friendly holiday greeting from our favorite reverse-Skulleted baseball phenom: Happy Rosh Hashana to all my friends in the Jewish community! Have a happy and peaceful year!- Bryce Harper (@Bharper3407) September 17, 2012 ...

The Washington Nationals are hurting their chances by shutting down Stephen Strasburg. They're also good enough to win it all without him. For that they can thank years of suffering, a fair bit of luck, and multiple shrewd acquisitions ... many of...

We covered the American League's trade deadline fallout on Wednesday. Now, on to the National League. NL WEST SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS Acquired Hunter Pence from Phillies for Nate Schierholtz, Seth Rosin, and Tommy Joseph The Pence trade upgrades...

The 2007 Tampa Bay Devil Rays were an unfathomably ugly team to watch. They ranked dead last in baseball with a 5.53 ERA. Their bullpen also fared worse than anyone else, putting up a stupendously bad 6.16 ERA. The pitching staff was manned with plen...

There is no shortage of reasons to marvel at R.A. Dickey. He's a best-selling author whose book actually deserves that status. He climbs Mount Kilimanjaro for charity. He names his bats after Lord of the Rings swords and steps to the plate to the ope...

Playing in front of a sellout Dodger Stadium crowd, Bryce Harper, just the sixth player to make his major league debut as a teenager in the past nine years, made a big first impression. Which is great, because right now the 2012 Nationals are no diff...

CC Sabathia serves up a grand slam in the first inning of his first start. Joey Votto's hitting a buck-fifty-four through four games. For fantasy players, these are minor annoyances. Sabathia's probably going to be a top starter again this year, and ...