In the three weeks that John Lackey has missed with a biceps injury, the Boston Red Sox have gone 12-5 and have shown signs of being a serious contender to win the American League East. But while Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz have been brilliant, the rest of the rotation hasn't. 3 to Watch says Lackey's return on Sunday could make a difference. ...more

The top of the lineup looks great, and so does the top of the rotation. But the back of the bullpen could be a problem. ...more

The Tigers went to the World Series last season, but when they looked at their team they thought that it might have been just a little too quiet. That was going to change in 2013 with Victor Martinez coming back after missing a full season recovering from knee surgery, but the Tigers wanted even more. So they signed Torii Hunter, too. ...more

The Tigers realize now that they have little choice but to try to acquire a closer on the trade market this spring. They also realize that it won't be easy to find one. ...more

The Angels and Tigers are both headed into the trade market after the signings of Josh Hamilton and Anibal Sanchez created a surplus for each team. Could a Peter Bourjos-for-Anibal Sanchez deal address both teams' needs? It could, but that doesn't mean it necessarily will happen. ...more

The Tigers didn't want to pay $80 million for Anibal Sanchez. But they also didn't want to look at their rotation without him. When you're in win-now mode, you pay up and you worry about the consequences later. ...more

Many teams expressed interest in Rick Porcello at last week's winter meetings, but the Tigers can't trade him -- at least not yet. That could change if they're able to re-sign free agent Anibal Sanchez. ...more

The Tigers just committed $26 million over the next two years to Torii Hunter. They still hope to re-sign Anibal Sanchez as well. They seem unlikely to meet his current asking price, but with Mike Ilitch as owner, you never know. ...more

Baseball is in the early stages of testing Kevlar inserts that could go inside caps and help protect pitchers from head injuries. Head injuries have become a growing concern, one that got even bigger when A's pitcher Brandon McCarthy required brain surgery after he was hit by an Erick Aybar line drive in early September. ...more