Playing Fact or Fiction with All of MLB's Hottest Week 13 Buzz, Rumors

Just when you thought it was safe to lean back in your beach chair, sipping a cold beverage (adult or otherwise) while listening to your favorite team on the radio, baseball reminds us that we'd best stay on our toes, for things are changing at a rapid pace.

Over the past week, we've seen a front office upheaval, the promotion of one of the game's highest-profile prospects and a rumor mill that is heating up with speculation surrounding players of all kinds, from current (and former) All-Stars to seasoned veterans that can still be useful role players for a contender.

Can we believe reports that an injured star is closer to returning than anyone thought? Has a high-profile starter made his last start? Is money really keeping a contender from pulling away from the pack?

We'll hit on all of that and more in this week's edition of "Fact or Fiction."

Fact: Only a Fool Would Sign Up to Be the Angels' Next General Manager

Ross D. Franklin/Associated Press

Mike Scioscia doesn't answer to the GM in Los Angeles.

Angels owner Arte Moreno might as well go ahead and change Mike Scioscia's job title from "manager" to "general manager," for baseball's longest-tenured skipper—16 years and counting—is the one with all the power in Los Angeles.

Moreno was unable to negotiate a truce between Scioscia and former general manager Jerry Dipoto, whose latest feud was reportedly over Scioscia's use (or lack thereof) of analytics that the front office was passing along, a feud that led to Dipoto's resignation Wednesday after four-plus years on the job, according to MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez.

Scioscia did his best to depict himself as the loyal subject when news of Dipoto's departure broke, feigning surprise at the notion that the two didn't see eye to eye.

"You know how many times I was told 'no' over the course of 16 years? From the general manager?" he rhetorically asked reporters. "A lot more than you're told 'yes.'"

Except it's not really a discussion when the manager has the owner on speed dial, an owner that, as Bleacher Report's Scott Miller writes, is seemingly unable to say no to his skipper:

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Owner Arte Moreno, now in his 13th year of fouling up the baseball operations side of his business, is more adept at creating chaos than championships. And as good a manager as Scioscia has been over the years, as long as he has a direct line to the owner and the owner backs the manager over his GM, chaos will reign and the Angels are doomed.

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Former GM Bill Stoneman, who was with the club in an advisory role, will serve as the team's GM through the end of the regular season, when a search for Dipoto's permanent replacement will take place, per Gonzalez.

Except what self-respecting executive from outside the organization is going to willingly walk into a situation like this, one where he (or she) is clearly third on the team's chain of command?

That person doesn't exist.

Fiction: The Mets Are Going to Trade for a Third Baseman

Associated Press

The Mets believe David Wright's return isn't far off.

The New York Mets have needed to add another bat to their lineup since before the season began, and recent speculation has revolved around third base, where the club has been without David Wright since mid-April due to a back issue that isn't going to disappear.

Names like Oakland's Ben Zobrist and Milwaukee's Aramis Ramirez have been bandied about as potential targets, but the former figures to be too expensive for the club's liking, while the Mets simply don't like the latter, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post.

If not them, whom will the club turn to in order to jolt its moribund offense? It's Wright, who, according to Sherman's Post colleague Mike Puma, could be cleared to begin running and taking ground balls next week.

That news has created a palpable buzz around the club, and it essentially ends any chance of the Mets going out and adding some insurance at the position, just in case these reports are incorrect or Wright suffers a setback.

It's not the right move (or a wise decision) to bank on Wright's return, something that wasn't lost on the Wall Street Journal's Jared Diamond, who tweeted: "A word of advice: Until you physically see David Wright playing baseball for the Mets, assume he's never coming back. It'll hurt less."

But that won't stop the club from doing just that and not pursuing some insurance at the position, just in case Wright suffers a setback. After all, this isn't a team with a lengthy track record of making wise decisions.

See Bonilla, Bobby, for proof of that.

Fact: St. Louis Is Going to Trade an Outfielder

Jared Wickerham/Getty Images

Jon Jay should be the odd man out in St. Louis.

No team ever wants to lose an everyday player, but Matt Holliday's strained right quad has been something of a blessing in disguise for the St. Louis Cardinals, as the team finally got a chance to see what some of their reserves can do with regular playing time.

Randal Grichuk has put on a clinic in the 17 games he started in Holliday's absence throughout June, hitting .313 with 11 extra-base hits (five home runs), 11 RBI, 14 runs scored and a 1.045 OPS. While that's admittedly a small sample size, it's not overly surprising, as Grichuk has long been thought to have the ability to be a quality everyday player.

But when Holliday returns—likely right after the All-Star Game—the Cardinals are going to have to make some tough decisions, as Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch notes:

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On one hand, this is the proverbial 'pleasant problem,' but the depth presents a challenge in the distribution of starts and playing time. 

If the players are healthy, two things are absolute: Holliday is the full-time starter in left field; Heyward is the full-time starter in right field. Obviously, they'll need the occasional day off. But other than that, Holliday and Heyward will be on the flanks. 

That leaves Jay, Grichuk and Bourjos in the mix for starts in center field.

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With the way Grichuk has been swinging the bat—he's been nearly as productive as Holliday, per FanGraphs' wRC+ metric—there's no possible way that manager Mike Matheny can move him back into a reserve role.

That leaves Peter Bourjos and Jon Jay as reserves, and the Cardinals really only have a need for one of them, as prospect Stephen Piscotty is only a phone call away at Triple-A Memphis.

Fiction: The Yankees Will Pull CC Sabathia from the Rotation

Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images

CC Sabathia isn't moving to the bullpen.

Sentiment is growing among fans and prognosticators alike that the pitcher formerly known as CC—Carsten Charles Sabathia—should be pitching out of the Yankees bullpen.

There's plenty of numerical evidence to support that stance, including these damning splits provided by Hardball Talk's Craig Calcaterra:

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But if you look at his numbers and divorce them from his paycheck and reputation, you realize that the big lefty in the Yankees uniform is basically a relief pitcher at this point. Check out his splits per number of pitches in a game:

• Pitches 1-15: .234/.294/.404
• Pitches 16-30: .317/.339/.426
• Pitches 31-45: .318/.333/.523
• Pitches 46-60: .333/.357/.718

Put differently, once Sabathia gets past 45 pitches, everyone he faces turns into Lou Gehrig who gets on base a bit less but hits for more power than the Iron Horse did. And that’ before you look at his righty-lefty splits, in which he allows a stingy .458 OPS vs. lefthanded hitters but a fat .954 OPS vs. righties.

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In essence, the numbers suggest that Sabathia should become the world's most expensive left-handed specialist.

Nobody disputes that Sabathia isn't the same pitcher he was two or three years ago. Injuries, wear and tear on his arm and the strain his girth puts on his body have all conspired against him, leaving Sabathia looking like a shell of the perennial Cy Young Award contender he once was.

But the Yankees aren't about to give up on him as a starting pitcher. "That's not something that we're considering at this moment," general manager Brian Cashman told ESPN New York's Wallace Matthews. "We're going to continue to give him every opportunity to work through this for the foreseeable future."

Translation: Only an injury will keep Sabathia from taking the ball every five days for the rest of the season.

While it's not ideal, the Yankees really have no choice. Sabathia, who is due the balance of his $24 million salary, is on the books for $25 million in 2016 and has a $25 million option for 2017 that vests so long as one of the following three things doesn't happen, per Cot's Contracts:

• He does not end 2016 on the disabled list with a left shoulder injury
• He does not spend more than 45 days in 2016 on the disabled list with a left shoulder injury
• He does not make more than six relief appearances in 2016 because of a left shoulder injury

There's simply no possible way that the Yankees are going to pull Sabathia from the rotation and stop trying to recoup any significant value from the rest of his contract.

Ultimately, paying $50 million to a failing starter, as painful as it is, would be an easier pill for the club to swallow than paying $50 million to a reliever.

Fact: Toronto Will Go All-In at the Trade Deadline

Jason Miller/Getty Images

A package built around Daniel Norris would get the Blue Jays what they need.

The running narrative in Toronto for most of the regular season has been that GM Alex Anthopoulos is furiously working the phones in an attempt to bolster both the rotation and bullpen, but that the club has no room in its budget to add the impact arms it sorely needs.

But there's a way to get around those financial constraints, and I'm not talking about including Dioner Navarro (and the roughly $3 million he has left on his contract) in a potential trade—though that is a possibility.

It's something that Anthopoulos himself alluded to while talking to Jeff Blair and Kevin Barker on Sportsnet 590 The Fan (via Sportsnet's Shi Davidi): "It’s better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price than a fair company at a wonderful price."

In other words, the Blue Jays are willing to pony up the prospects it would take to acquire a front-line starter and a shutdown closer—and have the team they're dealing with pick up a chunk of the salary remaining on those contracts.

With team president Paul Beeston leaving after the season, there's no guarantee that his replacement will even want to keep Anthopoulos (or manager John Gibbons) around—he or she won't be beholden to either one and may want to bring in their own people.

The future for Anthopoulos is now—and if he has to pony up a package that includes Daniel Norris, Jeff Hoffman, Dalton Pompey and Max Pentecost to get the players (and salary relief) he needs, so be it.

He has nothing to lose if he believes such a move will give the club a legitimate chance at a World Series crown. At this point, swinging for the fences and falling short is far better than popping up to the third baseman in foul territory.

Unless otherwise linked or noted, all statistics courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com and FanGraphs and are current through games of July 1. All contract information courtesy of Cot's Contracts.

Hit me up on Twitter to talk all things baseball: @RickWeinerBR.