If you read only one thing…..

Two consecutive Friday nights bring Josh Hamilton news. Who knows what kind of a fantasy prospect Josh Hamilton is at this point, but as a human interest story it is most compelling. Hamilton chased the big bucks and bright lights of Los Angeles (and five years, 125 million dollars) and it can only be called a disaster. They said you could never go home again, but it looks like Hamilton will do exactly that.

The Angels are working on a deal that will send Hamilton (and all but 15 million dollars of his remaining salary) to Texas in exchange for, well, um, nothing. I suppose saving 15 million (and perhaps more if rumors of a deal on the side are true) is better than releasing him outright, but the Angels come out looking very petty and small in all of this. Hamilton thrived personally and professionally in Arlington, so maybe going back is what the doctor ordered. Still, any deal involving this much back room dealing can fall apart at any time. Stay tuned….

Just as we expected….

I’m not sure we could say we expected this, but it appears as if Brandon Moss has finally shown up in Cleveland. He hit two home runs tonight with seven RBI in a Cleveland rout of the Tigers. Danny Salazar also turned in a fine performance on the mound as the Indians appear to be flush with starting pitching if nothing else.

My twitter timeline (@sbarzilla) had an interesting question in it: should we get on the Mark Teixeira bandwagon? The once great first baseman hit two more home runs to give him seven home runs in the early going. The expert consensus appeared to be no, but it is good to see Teixeira performing like he did before a rash of injuries robbed much of the last two seasons from him.

But we didn’t see this coming….

When the Yankees and Mariners made a deal three seasons ago, both sides hoped that they had taken the next step. Michael Pineda went to the Yankees in exchange for Jesus Montero. Both players struggled in their first couple of seasons. Pineda couldn’t stay healthy and Montero couldn’t stay away from the buffet table. Pineda is now 3-0 on the young season with a 3.86. I suppose it’s better late than never.

Brock Holt is one of those guys you couldn’t help but like. He bumped around a bit until he appeared to find a home in Boston last season. He’s one of those guys that can play everywhere and yet there always seems to be someone better in front of him. He played shortstop and left field tonight against the Orioles and just turned in two hits and had three RBI. He’s hitting .424 on the young season even if he can’t find a consistent home on the diamond. He’s one of those guys that will find his way into the lineup somewhere.

The Rest of the Details

Save Chances

• Koji Uehara (converted)
• Matt Andriese (converted)
• Steve Cishek (converted)
• Trevor Rosenthal (converted)

Lineup Moves

• N/A

Injuries

• N/A

Rumors and Transactions

The aforementioned Josh Hamilton trade may not make waves at this point in his career, but it will be good for him in the long run. Hamilton had a good support system in Texas and neither he nor the Rangers have been right since he left. Additionally, the Rangers officially called up Wandy Rodriguez to join their rotation in time for his start tonight.

The Dodgers designated Xavier Cedeno for assignment immediately after acquiring him. Sergio Santos had a clause in his contract that stated that he had to be called up by May 1st or be released. So, the Dodgers sacrificed Cedeno to keep around the former White Sox closer. Cedeno will likely be looking for another team yet again.