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During each of the past two seasons, Curtis Granderson has surpassed the 40-home run mark as well as the 100-RBI mark. However, the New York Yankees may be considering trading Granderson, according to Buster Olney of ESPN.

Andrew Marchant of ESPN New York has provided a list of reasons why the Yankees should consider dealing away their star centerfielder.

Granderson has just one year and $15 million left on his contract, so almost any team would be able to afford him. The Yankees would likely ask for at least one top prospect in any deal involving Granderson.

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One of the biggest goals for the New York Mets this offseason was signing David Wright to an extension. Rumors about a possible extension for Wright have picked up recently and salary figures for a deal have become available.

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports has reported that in addition to the $16 million that Wright is due in 2013, the Mets have offered a seven-year contract worth between $119 and $129 million.

The reports of the discussion have seemingly angered Wright, who mentioned to Zach Links of MLB Trade Rumors that the information that came out was inaccurate.

If Wright does sign an extension with the Mets, it will be a major deal and Wright will be worth the money that he is paid.

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In an interview with Peter Abraham of The Boston Globe, Boston Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington hinted that the team could look to significantly increase their payroll this winter.

With all of the salary that the Red Sox got off the books this past summer in their deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Boston can afford to pick up at least one or two big-name free agents, if not more.

While there are a number of different players that the Red Sox can go after this winter, they will have a lot of competition for the top talent. The following players are ones that are likely to start the 2013 season in a Red Sox uniform.

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New Chicago White Sox general manager Rick Hahn will have his hands full this winter as he attempts to turn the White Sox into a playoff team.

Dave van Dyck of the Chicago Tribune has reported that the White Sox will focus on the trade market more than the free-agent market to make any major moves.

While there are a number of priorities, third base stands out as an urgent area of need. AJ Mass of ESPN (Insider required) has suggested that the White Sox could trade starter Gavin Floyd to the Kansas City Royals for Mike Moustakas.

Interdivisional trades may not be common, but this is a deal that would benefit both sides.

Moustakas was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2007 MLB draft and he was immediately labeled with a comparison to Alex Rodriguez by his agent Scott Boras (h/t Conor Nicholl of MLB.com). That comparison is very optimistic, but Moustakas has developed into a good player.

The 24-year old third baseman hit .242 with 20 home runs and 73 RBI during his first full season in the major leagues. There is still a lot of room for Moustakas to continue to develop, and there is a good chance that he becomes one of the elite offensive third basemen in the American League in the next few years.

Additionally, Moustakas is a great fit for the Royals because he will not hit the free-agent market until after the 2018 season. Given these facts, it appears unlikely that the Royals would be willing to deal Moustakas.

However, after their acquisition of Ervin Santana, it appears as if the Royals are interested in making a push for the postseason this year. The starting rotation was one of the Royals’ biggest problems last season and they will need to bring in another starter or two this winter.

Gavin Floyd could serve as a steady middle-of-the-rotation starter for the Royals. He went 12-11 with a 4.26 ERA in 2012, and he will be 30 years old next season. Floyd has one year and $9.5 million left on his contract.

Even though Floyd has a decent amount of trade value, it is hard to see him being dealt straight up to the Royals for Moustakas. Kansas City would certainly demand more than Floyd in return for a potentially perennial All-Star.

Floyd could serve as a center piece for a deal, but at least one other player would need to go to the Royals.

Perhaps the White Sox could sweeten the deal by including a prospect like Carlos Sanchez in the deal. The young middle infielder has been moving quickly through the White Sox system and he earned himself an invitation to the Futures Game in 2012.

Sanchez was ranked as the seventh-best prospect in the White Sox organization following the 2012 season by Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com. Between High-A, Double-A and Triple-A last season, the switch-hitter batted .323 and stole 26 bases. It is possible that Sanchez could make his major-league debut before his 21st birthday this June.

Even if Sanchez is not a fit in a possible deal for Moustakas, the White Sox could package a different prospect with Floyd such as Scott Snodgress or Simon Castro in order to get a deal done.

Moustakas would be an outstanding addition to the White Sox lineup in 2013 and beyond. Acquiring Moustakas would be expensive for Chicago, but it would very well be worth it.

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The New York Mets will be looking to make a number of changes this offseason. Rumors about the players that the Mets are interested in pursuing this winter have already come to light, and there are certainly some interesting players mentioned.

New York has already made what will likely be their two biggest moves of the offseason. Both David Wright and R.A. Dickey had their options for the 2013 season picked up by the Mets (h/t Jon Paul Morosi and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports).

Pitching, outfield help and a catcher will be three of the Mets’ largest priorities this winter. The Mets have a number of pieces in place, and with the right moves, they could be a team that contends for the Wild Card in 2013 if things go right.

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Even though the St. Louis Cardinals have developed a penchant for comebacks when they are down to their last out in postseason series over the past few seasons, Game 3 of the 2012 NLCS against the San Francisco Giants is a must-win game for St. Louis.

After the two teams split the first two games in San Francisco, the series has shifted to St. Louis for the next three games. Since each team has an outstanding pitching staff, momentum is tremendously important.

Following their Game 2 win, the Giants have the edge in this category and they will be looking to build on it.

Things have begun to click for the Giants offensively, as Buster Posey, Pablo Sandoval and Hunter Pence have gotten a lot of support from the likes of Angel Pagan and Gregor Blanco. Pagan has two home runs and five RBI this postseason, while Blanco has driven in four men in the two series.

A Giants offense that is running close to its peak production level should be trouble enough for the Cardinals.

In addition to their offense, the Giants starting rotation lines up very well for the rest of the series.

With Matt Cain heading to the mound in Game 3 for the Giants, the Cardinals are facing a tough matchup. Cain is the ace of the Giants staff, and he will look to swing the series in San Francisco’s favor.

St. Louis has arguably their best pitcher on the mound for Game 3. If the Cardinals cannot pick up a win with Kyle Lohse pitching, then they are in big trouble.

A Game 3 loss would concern the Cardinals because the Giants have starters that could keep them scoreless in any of the games remaining in the series.

Tim Lincecum and Barry Zito will likely be pitching in Games 4 and 5 of the NLCS (h/t Henry Schulman of The San Francisco Chronicle). Chances are that they will be pitching against Adam Wainwright and Lance Lynn.

Lincecum may have struggled this season, but his second half and his performance out of the bullpen this October have demonstrated that he is very close to being back at a Cy Young-level. In three appearances out of the bullpen this postseason, Lincecum has given up just one run on three hits in 8.1 innings.

This is obviously a boon to the Giants’ starting rotation, and the Cardinals will have a difficult time picking up a win against Lincecum if he brings his “A” game.

While Zito performed poorly in his last start of the NLDS, that does not mean that he will be an easy matchup for the Cardinals lineup. Even if the Cardinals are able to pick up one win against Lincecum or Zito after a Game 3 loss, they will be in a precarious situation.

As the series shifts back to San Francisco for what would be the final two games of the NLCS, the Giants would have their two best pitchers ready to take the hill. The feverish AT&T Park crowd will also be behind the Giants in Games 6 and 7 of the NLCS if they happen, and that advantage cannot be overlooked.

Madison Bumgarner put together a disastrous start in the opening game of this year’s NLCS, going 3.2 innings and giving up six earned runs. However, the Bumgarner should be back on his game and he should keep the Cardinals’ offensive production in Game 6 to a minimum.

Should the Cardinals be able to get past Bumgarner and force a Game 7, it will almost certainly be Cain facing off against them. Cain would be working on full rest for a pivotal Game 7.

For a team that has made its living off of late-game and late-series comebacks, the Cardinals could be in deep trouble if they put themselves in a situation where they need one against the Giants.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The St. Louis Cardinals have already experienced what it was like to be without Jaime Garcia earlier this year when he missed time with a left shoulder sprain.  And now, they will be without Garcia for their playoff run.

Following his start in Game 2 of the 2012 NLDS, which lasted just two innings, the Cardinals placed Garcia on the disabled list with rotator cuff strain and inflammation in his left shoulder (h/t Joe Strauss of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch).

This injury will have a big impact on the Cardinals’ playoff run moving forward.

Garcia would have played a major role for the Cardinals this postseason, but the Cardinals are not necessarily worse off without him.

During the 2012 season, Garcia had a 7-7 record and a 3.92 ERA over 20 starts. Almost all of the Cardinals other starters had a better year than Garcia.

Lance Lynn had been lights out as a starter during the regular season, but he was on the Cardinals playoff roster as a reliever. During the regular season, Lynn was fourth in the National League with 18 wins and he posted a 3.78 ERA in the midst of an All-Star campaign.

As a result of Garcia’s injury, Lynn will now shift back into the Cardinals’ starting rotation, according to Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com. Rookie pitcher Shelby Miller has also taken Garcia’s spot on the NLDS roster. This will make getting past the Washington Nationals in the 2012 NLDS a bit more difficult.

There is no denying that this move hurts the Cardinals bullpen. Lynn pitched fairly well in the pen during the Cardinals’ World Series run last year.

However, the Cardinals starting rotation arguably gets better by making Lynn a starter once again. If he could put together a few six inning shut out performances then the bullpen will not be needed as much, which would make his shift a lot easier to handle.

The key wild card that could determine how this injury impacts the Cardinals is Miller. He is just 22 years old and he has only appeared in six MLB games.

With that being said, Miller was rated as the eighth best prospect entering the 2012 season by Baseball America and he did pitch well in the month of September (via Baseball-Reference).

Sending a young, starting pitching prospect to the bullpen has worked out well for teams in the past.

In 2008, David Price was just 22 years old when he made five appearances in September. He was dominant enough to convince the Tampa Bay Rays to put him on their postseason roster.

Price delivered in the playoffs. Between the 2008 ALDS and ALCS, Price made five appearances and allowed just one earned run in 5.2 innings while striking out eight.

If Miller is able to replicate the performance that Price had, then the Cardinals will be in a good position to defend their title in 2012.

Between Lynn and Miller, the Cardinals could be able to replace Garcia without much of a problem. While losing Garcia is tough, the Cardinals have the pieces that can help them to overcome the loss.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Game 3 of the NLDS between the Cincinnati Reds and the San Francisco Giants was a pitchers’ duel. It was an exciting matchup that went into extra innings.

The San Francisco Giants were facing elimination and they needed a win to keep their World Series hopes alive.

San Francisco was able to pick up a 2-1 victory in extra innings to stay alive and cut the Reds’ series lead to two games to one. Now, the Giants will look to bring the series to a decisive Game 5 with a win on Wednesday.

Here is how Game 3 graded out in Cincinnati.

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With just a few weeks left in the 2012 MLB season, games become more important with each passing day. At this point of the season, every game is a must-win for playoff contenders.

Teams hope that they have their best pitchers on the mound during these last few weeks of the year and that their starters show their top stuff.

There are a number of great pitching matchups that are lined up for next few weeks and fans should expect to see at least a few pitchers’ duels.

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Once MLB free agency begins this winter, a number of teams will be going after Josh Hamilton. He is the crown jewel of the 2013 MLB free agent market, and Hamilton will draw an incredible amount of attention.

Hamilton has been to the MLB All-Star Game in each of the past five season, and he has not disappointed with his production in 2012. There are few players in baseball that have the offensive abilities that Hamilton possesses.

There is no doubt that Hamilton will be looking for a mega-deal this winter, and there could be teams out there that would give him blank checks. However, some teams will have no way of affording Hamilton.

Here are the early chances that each team has on signing Hamilton this winter.

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