Will Nats actually deal Bryce Harper and other deadline questions  —  It has been the perfect storm for a busy month of trades — there are 11 National League teams in reasonable playoff contention, with the second-best and seventh-best teams separated by just 5½ games …

Reliever trade all that's left for Sox at deadline  —  BOSTON — It's been standing by, waiting at his back door all this time.  The last question the Red Sox face as the Tuesday's non-waiver deadlines arrives is also the first one: the bullpen.  —  Here's betting Sox president …

Rangers turn out lights on Diamondbacks  —  Rougned Odor homered leading off the seventh inning Monday night to snap a tie and lift the  —  Arizona Diamondbacks in a back-and-forth game interrupted by a power outage at Phoenix's Chase Field.  —  Shin-Soo Choo hit a pair of homers for the Rangers …

Rays Acquire Tommy Pham  —  10:25am: The Rays and Cardinals have announced the trade.  Mark Feinsand of MLB.com tweets that the Cardinals are sending $500K of international money to the Rays in the deal.  St. Louis is barred from spending more than $300K on any single international signing anyhow …

Back from DL, Paxton pitches Mariners past Astros  —  James Paxton outdueled Gerrit Cole as the Seattle Mariners defeated the visiting Houston Astros 2-0 Monday night in the opener of a three-game series between the American League West's top two teams.  —  Nelson Cruz hit a two-run double for Seattle …

Dodgers experience technical difficulties in more ways than one during 5-2 loss to Brewers  —  Vin Scully had been silenced.  That's when you knew something had gone haywire.  —  There was an omen in the first inning.  The right-field scoreboard was not working properly.

Giants blow three-run lead but beat Padres in 12 innings  —  SAN DIEGO - Still waters really do run deep.  Some of Brian Sabean's biggest trades in his more than two decades helming the front office were not predicted nor even speculated beforehand.  —  So there could be news before Tuesday's 1 p.m. nonwaiver trade deadline.

Braves' Sean Newcomb apologizes to team for inflammatory tweets  —  Braves left-hander Sean Newcomb apologized to his teammates on Monday for racist, homophobic and sexist tweets he sent as a teenager.  —  Newcomb's apology was delivered in a meeting attended by players, coaches, manager Brian Snitker and Atlanta staff.

Next Slide  —  A season which was on the road to being salvaged has ended.  —  Franklin Perez, the Detroit Tigers' No. 1 prospect at midseason, is out for the season.  —  Perez left his start on July 26 with shoulder tightness, which was diagnosed by an MRI test as right shoulder capsular inflammation …

Pirates Acquire Keone Kela  —  The Pirates have officially landed righty Keone Kela from the Rangers, per Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter).  Lefty Taylor Hearn is one of the players in the deal, the Rangers announced.  The other remains a player to be named later.

Yankees Acquire Lance Lynn From Twins For Tyler Austin  —  The Twins and Yankees have announced a trade that will send veteran righty Lance Lynn to New York.  First baseman/outfielder Tyler Austin and minor-league right-hander Luis Rijo are headed to Minnesota.  —  Notably, the Twins will also send some cash in the swap.

Nationals Willing To Discuss Gio Gonzalez, Jeremy Hellickson  —  10:04am: The Nats have pulled back their relief arms but are willing to consider scenarios involving Gonzalez or Jeremy Hellickson, per ESPN.com's Buster Olney (Twitter link).  —  It's not immediately clear why the D.C. organization …

Column: It's time: Michael Kopech and Eloy Jimenez need to take their talents to the South Side  —  Photos of the White Sox outfielder and No. 4-ranked prosepct by Baseball America.  —  Chicago Tribune  —  If only the White Sox had a way to improve an outfield whose three Sunday starters have combined to hit 17 home runs.

We mic'd up former MLB star Doug Flynn at the Bluegrass World Series  —  Scott Utterback, Louisville Courier Journal  —  Wondering what it's like in a dugout full of former Major League Baseball players?  —  The Courier Journal is here to help you out.  —  We stuck on a microphone …