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On this date in 2003, the Tigers signed Jair Jurrjens as a 17-year-old amateur free agent out of Curacao. He made his big league debut with Detroit in 2007 before being traded to the Braves as part of a package for Edgar Renteria. Here's the latest from around the league…

• "They're going to have to ante up … he hasn't been willing to take discount so far," said former Phillies reliever Brad Lidge to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com when asked about Cole Hamels' impending free agency (Twitter links). Lidge also speculated about a fit between his former teammate and the Dodgers.
• A second opinion confirmed that Phillies right-hander Vance Worley does not need Tommy John surgery but will have to pitch with bone chips in his elbow for the rest of the season, reports MLB.com's Todd Zolecki (on Twitter).
• Red Sox GM Ben Cherington told reporters (including WEEI.com's Alex Speier) that he feels David Ortiz has taken his leadership to a new level this season (Twitter link). He said he feels good about the relationship between the team and the DH, who is due to become a free agent after the season.

NBA fan? HoopsRumors.com has you covered this offseason, as teams look to upgrade their rosters through the draft, trades, and free agency. With the draft just over five weeks away and the free agent period to follow shortly thereafter, rumors have already begun to fly. In what figures to be an eventful summer, Deron Williams, Steve Nash, Jeremy Lin, and others will hit the free agent market, while Dwight Howard and Pau Gasol are among the big names on the trade block. You can follow the latest NBA news, rumors, and transactions at Hoops Rumors!

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Bring your A game: DraftStreet is offering $2000 in cash prizes for an exclusive "beat the expert" MLBTR/DraftStreet league using Friday night's MLB games.  The entry fee is $11, but DraftStreet is raising the pressure on me (Tim Dierkes) by offering $10 back to anyone who beats my team, separate from the regular prize pool.

The beat the expert contest is for Friday night's games (the afternoon Cubs-White Sox game is not included), so you have until 6:00pm central time to create your team.  However, there are only 200 slots in this league, so sign up early.  

You're given a $100K salary cap, and each player is assigned a price by DraftStreet.  For Friday, Justin Verlander is considered the most valuable player since he starts against the Pirates, but he'll cost you over $20K.  Your roster will cover these positions: C, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, 3 OF, 2 utility, 2 SP, 1 RP, 1 P and 2 Reserves (14 starters).  You get points based on how your team performs Friday.  For example, you'll get 0.75 points for each strikeout Verlander racks up and 1.5 points if he gets the win.  The teams with the most points get the prize money.  You can apply all kinds of strategy in building your roster, but since we're in direct competition this time I won't divulge my secrets.  Here's my roster in the beginning stages:

Be sure to sign up as soon as possible, before the 200 slots are all taken.  DraftStreet has raised the stakes by putting my fantasy baseball reputation on the line; are you up to the challenge?

An explanation of the many ways to enjoy MLB Trade Rumors:

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• If you want only the hard news in the form of transactions, our transactions page is the ticket.  You can also get only the transactions via Twitter or RSS. 
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Most non-tenders don’t come back to haunt their former clubs, but they definitely have the potential to do so. Valuable players such as Alfredo Aceves, Russell Martin and Edwin Encarnacion have been non-tendered in recent years, to name a few.

Every winter teams non-tender players for a variety of reasons. Sometimes the clubs would rather risk losing the players to rival teams than go through the potentially expensive arbitration process. In other cases, teams don't have 40-man roster spots to spare or they view players as injury risks.

Teams non-tendered 29 players last offseason and a handful of them have added value for their current organizations. Here’s a look at some 2011 non-tenders who are contributing so far in 2012 (minimum 10 innings pitched or 25 plate appearances):

• Jose Mijares, Royals (non-tendered by the Twins) – The 27-year-old has a 2.45 ERA with 8.6 K/9 and 1.8 BB/9 in 14 2/3 innings for the Royals. Mijares could become a midseason trade candidate, as teams are sure to be seeking left-handed relievers this summer.
• Luke Scott, Rays (non-tendered by the Orioles) – You can't fault the Orioles for non-tendering Scott, who struggled through shoulder problems in 2011 and would have earned $6.4MM or more through arbitration. But the Rays are enjoying his power: seven homers and a .238/.296/.514 batting line.
• Joe Saunders, Diamondbacks (non-tendered by the Diamondbacks) – The Diamondbacks non-tendered Saunders, then re-signed him to a one-year deal. He has rewarded them with a 3.43 ERA through 44 2/3 innings.
• Mike Baxter, Mets (non-tendered by the Mets) – The Mets removed Baxter from the 40-man roster at the non-tender deadline before re-signing him to a minor league deal a few days later. He has a .990 OPS as a corner outfielder through his first 31 plate appearances of the season.
• Jeff Keppinger, Rays (non-tendered by the Giants) – The versatile Keppinger has appeared at first, second and third base while posting a .291/.321/.405 batting line with his new team. Manager Joe Maddon finds playing time for Keppinger when the Rays are up against left-handed pitching.

NBA fan?  Our partner site Hoops Rumors has you covered.  Half of the NBA's 30 teams are already looking ahead to the offseason, and the other half will join them as they're eliminated from the playoffs over the next few weeks. This summer's draft and free agent period will be crucial for a number of organizations as they rebuild and retool. Lottery teams will be hoping to land the first overall pick and the chance to draft University of Kentucky star Anthony Davis, while clubs with cap space will pursue top free agents like Deron Williams, Steve Nash, Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, and Chris Kaman. Follow all the latest NBA news, rumors, and transactions at Hoops Rumors!

In an effort to improve diversity and draw more of the country's best amateur athletes to baseball, MLB is in serious discussions with the NCAA to provide additional scholarship funds according to Bryan Fischer of CBSSports.com. Colleges are currently limited to 11.7 scholarships for baseball and many schools are unable to fund even that many.

Baseball America's Aaron Fitt reports that a contingent of NCAA officials met with MLB executive vice president Rob Manfred and MLBPA head Michael Weiner in New York three weeks ago, and "talks are really picking up steam." Colleges had 13 scholarships at their disposal until a 10% reduction in 1991, and American Baseball Coaches Association executive Dave Keilitz told Fitt that it would be a "huge victory" to get back to 13 scholarships soon. "Personally, I'm hopeful it's more ambitious than that," he added.

Colleges are currently allotted 85 scholarships for football and 13 for basketball, drawing some players away from baseball. It's been speculated that the draft spending restrictions implemented by the collective bargaining agreement could push prospects to other sports as well. In addition to scholarship funding, the two sides have discussed moving the College World Series to better accommodate the draft as well as the widespread implementation of wood bats according to Fischer.

MLBTR is increasing efforts to enforce our commenting policy.  The goal is to raise the level of discourse in the comments, part of which involves eliminating inappropriate language and insults.

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If you see comments that fit the above criteria, please flag them and/or contact us.  Bans may be handed out liberally by our moderators, without second chances.  Remaining civil is not that difficult, though, and most commenters have no problems doing so as well as helping rein each other in.  We at MLBTR are grateful for long-time commenters and readers, though this policy applies equally regardless of tenure.  This policy is always available at the bottom of the site, and will be re-posted monthly.

MLBTR is now looking for additional moderators to read through comments and make sure that they're not in violation of our commenting policy.  We're looking for people to contribute throughout the week, including on weekends.  

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