Some links for the afternoon…
- Jay Jaffe of Baseball Prospectus (via ESPN) determines that among contenders, the Yankees, Rays and Rangers will have the toughest opposition the rest of the way.
- ESPN.com's Rob Neyer suspects the Pirates extended offers to Freddy Sanchez and Jack Wilson so they could say they did. Realistically, Neyer says it's hard for the Pirates to pay veteran players fair market value.
- Count Nationals interim manager Jim Riggleman among those who believe teams will continue to trade well into August, according to Tracee Hamilton of the Washington Post.
- Within the piece, acting GM Mike Rizzo hints that Nick Johnson could return to the Nats next year.
- Tyler Kepner of the New York Times suggests we shouldn't expect Chien-Ming Wang to return for a while, "if at all." He experienced tenderness playing catch today.
