The Rangers will announce Tuesday that they have agreed to terms with their top five picks from the 2012 First-Year Player Draft during a news conference at 5 p.m. CT.

In the second NL balloting update, released on Tuesday, the eight players currently leading the races to start the All-Star Game each belong to a different team. In the only lead change from last week's first update, Giants catcher Buster Posey jumped over Cardinals backstop Yadier Molina.

Roger Jongewaard, the Mariners scouting director during the time the team drafted Ken Griffey Jr., Alex Rodriguez, Tino Martinez and a number of other Major League players, died Monday of a heart attack at the age of 76.

Two-time Grammy Award winner Zac Brown Band will hold an on-field performance at Kauffman Stadium to kick off the State Farm Home Run Derby on July 9.

The Rangers' pitching staff took another big hit Tuesday when it was determined that Alexi Ogando will be sidelined four to six weeks with a strained right groin muscle.

Octavio Dotel was hoping he would be available to pitch out of the Tigers bullpen Tuesday after missing more than a week with right shoulder inflammation. He wasn't, and so the Tigers added him to the crowd on their disabled list.

After reportedly giving the Blue Jays an ultimatum to either promote him to the Major Leagues or let him go, Vladimir Guerrero was released by the Blue Jays on Tuesday.

The Cardinals and Michael Wacha, the organization's top pick in last week's First-Year Player Draft, have reached an agreement, general manager John Mozeliak confirmed on Tuesday. The agreement will be final once Wacha passes a physical.

The ninth inning is typically a closer's domain. At no other juncture does a game hang in the balance with nearly every pitch. Closers are conditioned to embrace the pressure and external distractions that accompany those situations. For whatever reason, though, that mindset doesn't always translate when a closer toes the rubber while ahead by a comfortable margin or in a tie game.

Laura Ziskin's memory and spirit burn as brightly as ever in our hearts and minds on this first anniversary of her passing. We are all better because of her 61 years on this planet. We know more about cancer, about detection and awareness, how to treat it, and most of all, how to stand up to it.

By committing to Andrew Ethier a reported five-year, $85 million deal, the Dodgers' new ownership group is backing its vow that money will not be an obstacle on the path to excellence.

Rookie center fielder Mike Trout was, once again, the catalyst as the Angels edged the Dodgers, 3-2, to open the 2012 chapter of the Freeway Series at Dodger Stadium on Monday.

Andre Ethier will be a Dodger for a long time. The right fielder and the club have agreed on a five-year extension worth $85 million through 2017.

Each day, MLB.com selects one player from each game whose performance stands out.

As a commercial proposition, the Yankees are completely helpful. They are typically the best road draw of any American League team, and this year is no different in that regard. But as competition, the Yankees have typically not been good news at all for their National League adversaries.

For those wondering why Rafael Soriano didn't enter Monday night's 3-0 Yankees win over the Braves in the ninth inning, the right-hander was held out by manager Joe Girardi because of a blister on the tip of his right index finger.

Backed by a collective effort on the offensive end, Edwin Jackson guided the Nationals to their fourth consecutive victory by silencing the Blue Jays, 6-3, at Rogers Centre on Monday to kick off a three-game set.