MLB Bullets Is The Subject Of Rumors

Puig can check out any time he likes, but he can never leave.

• Former Cardinals farm director Chris Correa was sentenced to 46 months in prison for hacking the Astros database. (And please, don't tell me what he did isn't hacking. I don't know if it meets the tech-geek definition of hacking, but it sure meets the definition of hacking under federal law.)
• Michael McCann explains why the sentence was so harsh and what the punishment for the Cardinals might be.
• Mark Saxon looks at what this now means for the Cardinals and what penalties they might be facing.
• As we head into the trade deadline, every GM is going to have to update the contact list because the Twins fired longtime (with a short retirement break) GM Terry Ryan.
• Twins owner Jim Pohlad says the top requirement for the new GM is that they are "loveable." Seriously? I guess the new Twins GM will be Hello Kitty.
• Cliff Corcoran looks at the trade needs of each National League team heading into the trade deadline.
• Grant Brisbee lists three teams that have the hardest decision between "buying" and "selling."
• Andrew Marchand explains why the Yankees need to sell at the trade deadline.
• Pete Caldera asks how much longer will Carlos Beltran be a Yankee?
• Buster Olney thinks that if the Yankees go into "sell" mode, then they need to either trade or simply release Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira.
• Will Leitch says that no team can win them all, and that the Yankees 23-year winning-season streak has to come to an end. Probably this season, but if not, then soon.
• Ken Rosenthal reports that the Dodgers have made outfielder Yasiel Puig available at the trade deadline.
• Claire McNear believes the Dodgers would be foolish to part with Puig right now.
• David Schoenfield lists the trade needs of the Cubs and the Mets.
• The Indians are reportedly considering making a big move, such as trading for Aroldis Chapman or Andrew Miller. (Those names sound familiar.)
• The Rangers are reportedly getting a lot of calls on infielder Jurickson Profar.
• Ronnie Socash looks at what the Angels need to do to rebuild their team.
• Anthony Castrovince has 11 "unheralded" players who might get moved at the deadline.
• Dave Cameron takes a fresh look at the Drew Pomeranz for Anderson Espinoza deal.
• Tommy Tomlinson has a really good profile of Ichiro Suzuki on the cusp of his 3000th hit. It's a long piece that looks both at his youth, his early days in MLB and what he's like today.
• Grant Brisbee looks at what would happen if the MLB season shortened to 154 games.
• Will Leitch reviews "The Baseball Whisperer," a book about an old-time small-town coach and muses about how the game has changed.
• The Dodgers have shut down Clayton Kershaw's rehab after he still felt "discomfort" in his back.
• Robert O'Connell scouts Yu Darvish's last start against the Cubs.
• If the season ended today, Marco Estrada would set a major league record for lowest BABIP in a season.
• Erick Aybar is on pace to have a record-setting season, but not in a good way, writes Eric Eisenberg.
• Craig Edwards projects Carlos Correa out to be a once-in-a-generation-type player.
• Pirates pitcher Jameson Taillon was hit in the head with a line drive, but he stayed in the game.
• Royals pitcher Danny Duffy managed to nail the batter, the catcher and the umpire with one pitch. That takes talent.
• Aroldis Chapman hit 105.1 mph on Statcast, which ties his own record.  Of course, the pitch was a ball.
• Mariners manager Scott Servais knows why the Mariners can't win on Sundays in Seattle: It's the alternate uniforms they wear on Sunday home games. (h/t Big League Stew)
• And finally, Sports On Earth has a tongue-in-cheek biographical film of the San Diego Chicken. (Trigger Warning: tragic Cubs footage included.)

And tomorrow will be a better day than today, Buster.