Mets shortstop Jose Reyes has been on a fire as of late, a stretch he believes has come because of his ability to push rumors out of his mind. "I know there's a lot of rumors out there that the team is going to trade me and stuff like that," Reyes said. "If I put that stuff in my mind, I'm not going to perform the way that I want to on the field. So that's why I put it on the side." Reyes is scheduled to become a free agent after the 2011 season and there have been rumors that the Mets could consider trading him before the July 31 deadline.

Bengie Molina would be open to a return to the Giants, but he doesn't think the team will ask. Buster Posey's leg injury has left a void in San Francisco's lineup. Molina said that he would be willing to spend a few weeks in the minor leagues to get into game shape, but he doesn't expect the Giants to call because of perceived hard feelings from the front office. "Can I do it? Heck yeah, I can," Molina said. "You tell me to put a uni(form) on, I'll do it and be fine. But I don't know if that's the right idea. It takes time to get your body to go from workouts to being ready to catch and hit. "If I get it in my mind to do this, I would go. If they need me and want me and they ask me to spend two weeks in the minors, I'd do it. Do I expect them to ask? I'd love to say yes, they will, but I don't think so because of the way things happened at the end."

The Red Sox exercised the $12.5 million option on the contract of David Ortiz for this season rather than sign him to a long-term extension. Could that mean Ortiz's days in Boston are numbered? "The Sox, like the Yankees, are itching to abandon a full-time DH and initiate a rotation at that position, the better to keep older veterans fresh," Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports wrote this spring. New York has used the DH spot to rest Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira often over the season's first six weeks. Meanwhile, Ortiz keeps Boston's spot filled a majority of the time. He has played in 47 of Boston's 49 games this season.

Mets owner Fred Wilpon sparked a debate over the value of soon-to-be free agent shortstop Jose Reyes with his infamous comments earlier this week. Wilpon claimed in an interview with The New Yorker magazine that Reyes wanted "Carl Crawford money," and went on to opine that Reyes "won't get it." Crawford signed a seven-year, $142 million deal with the Red Sox prior the season. "A couple of the execs said they actually favor Reyes over Crawford, but they also apparently considered the injury history that Fred Wilpon stressed in his New Yorker quote," writes Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated. "Said one American League executive: 'I've always liked Reyes more. Switch-hitter. More important position. Younger. More explosive.'" "While a case could be made that Reyes, still only 27, is the more impactful player when healthy, and shortstop is a more important position than left field, the executives all suggested that Reyes' past physical issues will affect his eventual haul."

Agent Scott Boras has shot down any hopes the Royals had of signing rookie first baseman Eric Hosmer to a long-term extension. Boras told Yahoo! Sports he expects massive increases in television revenue to change the landscape of salaries in baseball. "Athletes have to know that you have to look at the market you're in," Boras said. "You can't look at the markets of the past. For players like Hosmer, as you go back and look, as [Mark] Teixeira had his own market and [Prince] Fielder had his own market, Hosmer will have his own. And something tells me it's going to be a rather eventful one." Hosmer, who debuted with Kansas City last week, is not due to become a free agent until after the 2017 season. "The arbitration markets and free-agent markets are going to be vastly different," Boras said. Considering networks handed out a 12-year, $3 billion deal for the Pac-12 TV rights and the NHL was given a 10-year, $2 billion contract, MLB's next deal should dwarf the seven-year, $3 billion contract it signed in 2006. "Sports are not DVR'd," Boras said. "People stay and watch it. They don't flip channels. There's a broader way of understanding the market. There's huge values in sports broadcasting rights."

The Red Sox have made contact with free-agent catcher Bengie Molina, but they aren't ready to make a move on him, according to major-league sources. Molina could become increasingly attractive to Boston if Jarrod Saltalamacchia doesn't continue to improve at the plate and his defensive struggles worsen.

In keeping with club policy, the Yankees have no plans to talk with left-hander CC Sabathia before the end of the season about the opt-out clause in his contract. Sabathia signed a seven-year, $161 million deal with the Yankees after the 2008 season, and within that deal is a clause that would allow Sabathia to walk away from the contract after its third year. "We haven't had any discussions about having any discussions about a contract extension," general manager Brian Cashman said. "We're not focusing on that. ... We fully expect him to be here. "There are no plans to do that during the season."

Eric Hosmer, who made his debut with the Royals last week, is considered the present and future of the franchise. Sam Mellinger of The Kansas City Star writes that the organization should work to lock-up the first baseman sooner rather than later. "If Hosmer is even 90 percent of the player that scouts and executives with the Royals and throughout baseball believe, he'll be worth the risk" of a long-term deal so early, writes Mellinger. Evan Longoria signed an extension six games after his big-league debut with the Rays in 2008. Longoria got a $17.5 million guarantee over six years and a possible $44.5 million over nine years. Hosmer is represented by agent Scott Boras.

Cubs general manager Jim Hendry sent the rumor mill spinning on Tuesday. Hendry twice embraced Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols behind the cage during Tuesday batting practice before a game between the two teams. He dismissed the hugs as an innocent show of affection between two men who have known each other for 10 years. "I've known him a long time. I'm not going to treat him any different and the same with him," said Hendry. Pujols is in the final year of his contract with St. Louis.

Phillies left-hander Cole Hamels will see his three-year, $20 million contract expire at season's end, but he is still two years away from free agency. Since last July 1, Hamels has the lowest ERA (2.38) among all major-league lefties. John Boggs, the pitcher's agent, reports the Phillies still haven't approached them to talk contract. "They haven't engaged us, and that's fine," Boggs told Jayson Stark of ESPN.com. "The most important thing Cole can do is focus on winning games for the Phillies and getting back to the World Series. And we want to keep that focus. At whatever time they think is right, they'll probably make an inquiry. But there's no hurry. When they're ready, they're ready."