Kuzul

The 2011 MLB season is barely a week old and trade rumors, needs and possibilities are already swirling around many teams. One thing is certain though, only eight of the league’s 30 teams will make the playoffs, leaving plenty of sellers in the market.

Anyone who knows baseball will tell you that starting pitchers start games, batters put teams in position to win games but the bullpen finishes games and makes wins possible.

Most relief pitchers will pitch less than 60—in many cases even less than 40—innings in a season but they are integral parts of any team. They may not get the call often, but when they do they need to be ready to deliver, make great pitches and shut batters down.

Because of how clutch they need to be in pressure situations, relief pitchers will be one position many contending teams will be looking to address down the stretch.

While none of the teams each of these 11 players currently play for are out of the hunt, each of them play for a team that either typically struggles, play decent in a strong division or is struggling to this point.

Here then are the 11 relievers who could make an impact if traded to a Pennant Contender. These are only speculation, not trade rumors, but at Bleacher Report we will keep you aware if any of these speculations become rumors or reality.

Begin Slideshow

ST. LOUIS, MO—Mere hours after hitting a solo home run in the home and season opener for the St. Louis Cardinals, Matt Holliday will undergo emergency surgery to remove his appendix.

He began feeling severe pain upon returning home after the Cards lost 5-3 in extra innings to the San Diego Padres.

Club GM John Mozeliak was unsure of how long the slugger will be out of the lineup and could only say that they will wait for the results of the surgery before making any roster moves. “It could be something like six or seven days, it could be more,” Mozeliak said. “We don’t know at this point. We certainly will know more later.”

Holliday now admits to feeling soreness as early as Thursday that persisted and became stronger through Friday morning. He was examined by a doctor Friday morning, but the cause of the soreness was still undetermined.

Doctors will be able to remove the appendix before it ruptures, which bodes well for his recovery time. However, the Cardinals are now down to four outfielders in his absence, most notably Colby Rasmus and Lance Berkman.

More information will be made available as the story develops and after his surgery is complete.

Quotes courtesy of stltoday.com.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

It’s that time of year again.

The fields are being cut, the dirt is getting watered, and the mounds are being built up and pounded down.

Spring Training 2011 is upon us, and along with it a whole new flood of young players, free agent signings, offseason trades, and, of course, the prognostication and prediction as to where each team and player will stack up against their peers.

Pitchers will be looked at for their ability to win games and strike players out. Hitters will be analyzed for holes in their swing and their talent in both contact and power hitting. Speedsters and leadoff men will practice their leadoffs and jumps in the hopes of a good season of stealing bases and going first to third on singles.

But who is looking at the fielders?

Every player in the league—minus the 14 designated hitters in the American League—will be taking ground ball, fly ball, bunt, and every other kind of fielding practice that their managers and coaches can devise. Considering that every position player will spend around nine times as long playing defense than offense, it’s a small wonder that we rarely take the time to separate the Gold Glove gems from the solid defensive backstops—and also from the pure Fungo failures.

With Opening Day 2011 a little over a month away, we at Bleacher Report thought it was time to dust off the leather and rank not the 25 worst defenders, but the 25 most overrated defenders.

These are the players whom everyone seems to be watching when they make that one Gold Glove play that runs on ESPN for weeks, but they’re buying a hot dog for the Bill Buckner-esque plays they make time and time again.

Hopefully this year they can get the elf out of their glove, catch a can of corn, and throw it around the horn.

Don’t hold your breath.

Begin Slideshow

With pitchers and catchers reporting to Spring Training next week, teams around the league are looking to shore up their rosters and prepare for the season ahead. In Houston, Astros GM Ed Wade has some big decisions not only in the next few months, but also important choices for the future of the franchise.

Wade made a lot of big deals this offseason, notably bringing in Bill Hall and Clint Barmes for veteran support in the middle of the infield and also signing veteran ace Wandy Rodriguez to a new three year, $34 million contract.

However, a long road lies ahead of the Astros. They have a strong core of talent on their roster but are probably another year or two away from being legitimate contenders for a World Series title.

That being said, many players on their roster could be desired by playoff caliber teams with injuries and teams looking for the missing piece to their Fall Classic puzzle.

The ten players on this list should be seen as untouchable by GM Ed Wade this season—players who should not be cut, traded or lost to free agency by the time the season is over. Each of these 10 players has an important role to play in not only the 2011 season, but also the future of the franchise.

Here then are the 10 players who will be reporting to Kissimmee, Florida in as little as eight days who should be reporting there in 2012 as well.

Begin Slideshow