Sources: Garza close to being Ranger  —  The Texas Rangers are close to acquiring right-hander Matt Garza from the Chicago Cubs, according to two officials with knowledge of the discussions.  —  The Cubs will receive a strong package of prospects for Garza, who is eligible for free agency at the end of the season, the officials said.

Pirates are looking at ChiSox's Rios, and might like Ramirez, too  —  The surprising Pirates are said to be among the teams seeking to acquire White Sox outfielder Alex Rios, and people familiar with Pittsburgh's thinking suggest they wouldn't be surprised if the Pirates expand the talks to include Sox shortstop Alexei Ramirez, as well.

Yankees president: A-Rod returning Monday  —  Alex Rodriguez will be activated and return to the New York Yankees' lineup Monday night against the Texas Rangers, team president Randy Levine told USA TODAY Sports, provided Rodriguez stays healthy through Sunday.

Jays open second half with three-game set against Rays  —  The Sports Network  —  (Sports Network) - The Toronto Blue Jays try to start their second half off on the right foot tonight when they begin a three-game set with the Tampa Bay Rays at Rogers Centre.

Peter Bourjos suffers a setback  —  Broken bone in Bourjos' wrist hasn't fully healed, meaning the center fielder won't be back before August.  —  X-rays taken this week showed that the broken bone in Peter Bourjos' right wrist hasn't fully healed, a setback that will delay the return of the center fielder by one or two more weeks.

Why baseball is a metaphor for life in America  —  US baseball players have been taking some rare time off this week.  In a gruelling sport with at least 162 games between April and September, the so-called All Star break gives weary bodies a chance to rest.

D-backs sign reliever Camp, release Hinske  —  The D-backs made a move to increase their bullpen depth on Thursday, signing right-hander Shawn Camp and assigning him to Triple-A Reno.  Camp was released by the Cubs on July 7 after being designated for assignment.

Clay Buchholz has another setback  —  BOSTON — Any optimism that Clay Buchholz would be returning to the mound soon faded Thursday as Red Sox manager John Farrell announced that due to lingering soreness that resurfaced on the team's West Coast trip, his scheduled bullpen session was scratched.

D-backs introduce new Luchador  —  Team to give away 20,000 D-backs Luchador masks on July 27  —  PHOENIX - The Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) have introduced the D-backs Luchador as an official mascot of the team.  The popularity of last year's Lucha Libre mask, which was later followed …

Braves searching for a left-handed reliever  —  Over the past couple months, it has been apparent the Braves will attempt to gain bullpen depth before the July 31 Trade Deadline.  But with all indications that Alex Wood will join Atlanta's starting rotation before the end of the month …