Maybe Brandon Finnegan will become a star someday. The former first-round draft pick is still only 23.But when Johnny Cueto was throwing a two-hitter in Game 2 of the World Series last year, Kansas City fans couldnt have cared less about Finnegans future.Thats the nature of the stars-for-prospects deals that take place every year around the trade deadline. Its a high-risk, high-reward endeavor for a contending team thats giving up future value to boost its World Series hopes. And for the teams dealing away the big-name players, the pressure is still on -- those trades can become an embarrassment if the prospects they receive in return dont pan out.The Royals sent Finnegan to Cincinnati last year in the deal that brought Cueto to Kansas City. Cueto didnt even pitch all that well down the stretch, but a couple terrific performances in the postseason helped the Royals win the World Series. Even if Finnegan turns into a standout, Kansas City will always have that championship.Of course, its easy to say a trade was a success if a team wins the World Series. Anything short of that, and hindsight becomes more complicated.In another deadline deal last year, the New York Mets acquired slugger Yoenis Cespedes, sending pitcher Michael Fulmer to Detroit. Cespedes helped the Mets to their first postseason appearance in a decade and a National League pennant to boot. Fulmer would have to have a special career for Mets fans to think the deal wasnt worth it -- but this year the right-hander is 9-2 with a 2.50 ERA with the Tigers, so at this point, both teams have reason to be happy with how things turned out.The Tigers were on the other end of a trade like that back in 1987, when they acquired Doyle Alexander from Atlanta for John Smoltz. Alexander went 9-0 for Detroit that year and the Tigers edged Toronto in a stirring race for the AL East title. But as Smoltz began putting together his Hall of Fame career, Detroit fans had to weigh that one division title against what they missed out on afterward.When a team trades away a star, its usually because its season was going nowhere, so theres less urgency to see an immediate return on the deal. Still, these trades can represent missed opportunities if prospects dont pan out. When Oakland traded Rickey Henderson to Toronto in 1993, the Athletics received former first-round pick Steve Karsay, whom As general manager Sandy Alderson called one of the top pitching prospects in baseball.Karsay was never a difference maker for the As, although he did bounce around the majors for a while as a reliever.For sellers, the ideal scenario is what Cleveland pulled off in 2002. The Indians traded Bartolo Colon to Montreal when the Expos were chasing a playoff spot while facing possible contraction. The Expos gave up Cliff Lee, Grady Sizemore and Brandon Phillips, and although Cleveland didnt have Phillips for all that long, both Lee and Sizemore became stars for the Indians.Here are a few developments from around baseball this past week:MOVING UPAt this time last year, the Detroit Tigers were trading away some of their top players as their four-year run atop the AL Central ended with a thud. Now the Tigers have a six-game winning streak on deadline day and are one game back of a wild card. This run has come against good competition, too. Detroit swept three games each from Boston and Houston.The Tigers can look forward to getting Jordan Zimmermann and J.D. Martinez back from injuries as they try to mount a challenge to first-place Cleveland.FANTASY FOCUSNow that Aroldis Chapman and Andrew Miller are elsewhere, Dellin Betances has a chance to earn plenty of saves for the New York Yankees. Fantasy owners who picked up Betances while hoping for this scenario have been rewarded.Ditto for anyone who grabbed Pittsburghs Tony Watson. Hes now in line to close for the Pirates with Mark Melancon out of the way.LINE OF THE WEEKStephen Strasburg allowed three hits in seven scoreless innings Wednesday, helping Washington beat Cleveland 4-1 in a matchup of division leaders.---Follow Noah Trister at www.Twitter.com/noahtrister Danny Drinkwater Chelsea Jersey . The Cincinnati Reds remain perfect with their speedy rookie outfielder in the starting lineup. Davide Zappacosta Jersey . Belfort (24-10) needed just 77 seconds to down Henderson in the headlining bout of Saturdays "UFC Fight Night: Belfort vs. Henderson" event at Goiania Arena in Goiania, Brazil. The fight served as a rematch of the pairs 2006 meeting, which Henderson won by decision. http://www.chelseafcproshop.com/Kids-Antonio-Rudiger-Jersey/ .com) - The women will also have a new champion at the Australian Open. Eden Hazard Jersey . By having more great seasons. Manning was the only unanimous choice for the 2013 Associated Press NFL All-Pro team Friday. Olivier Giroud Jersey . The Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling "puts an end to my dreams of being a top player," the 27-year-old Troicki said in a statement. "I worked my entire life for it, and it has been taken away from me in one afternoon by a doctor I didnt know," said Troicki, whose ranking peaked at No.DENVER -- Tyler Chatwood pitched six strong innings, Nolan Arenado hit a go-ahead single and the Colorado Rockies beat the Chicago Cubs 4-3 on Sunday to win the three-game series. Chatwood (6-3), who went the distance last time out but was a tough-luck loser to Zack Greinke and the Los Angeles Dodgers 1-0, allowed seven hits and two runs, one earned. Starlin Castro had four hits for Chicago, matching a career high, and Anthony Rizzo homered. Edwin Jackson (6-11) settled down after a rough start to go seven innings, allowing five hits and four runs -- three earned. All the damage off him came with two outs. Jackson, whose three-game winning streak was snapped, struck out five and walked two, both in the sixth. With two outs, he walked Carlos Gonzalez and, after Gonzalez stole second, issued a free pass to Michael Cuddyer. Arenado followed with a single to shallow centre that Junior Lake fielded on the run. Gonzalez beat his errant throw home, which sailed over the head of catcher Welington Castillo. The ball bounced off the backstop and rolled into the Rockies dugout, allowing Cuddyer to score from third. Arenado also came home but the umpires sent him back to second, ruling the ball dead when it rolled into the dugout. Rex Brothers, in the closer role with Rafael Betancourt (appendix) on the disabled list, allowed a leadoff double in the ninth by Castro, who scored on Alfonso Sorianos groundout. After walking Cody Ransom, Brothers struck out Lake for his fifth save..dddddddddddd Like Jackson, Chatwood had a shaky first inning but managed to get out of it unscathed. With one out, Castro and Rizzo hit successive singles. After Soriano grounded into a fielders choice, Nate Schierholtz drew a walk to load the bases before Chatwood fanned Lake, blowing a 95 mph fastball past him for the third strike. Chatwood couldnt escape trouble in the sixth, though. Rizzo started the inning by homering into the left-field bleachers for his 14th of the season. One out later, Schierholtz and Lake hit back-to-back singles and both advanced on Chatwoods errant pickoff throw, leading to Schierholtz scoring on Darwin Barneys sacrifice fly as Chicago tied it at 2. Colorado took a 2-0 lead in the first on an RBI single by Gonzalez and a run-scoring double by Cuddyer. NOTES: Chicago continues its 10-game road trip Monday at Arizona where Matt Garza (6-1), who remains the subject of trade speculation, is scheduled to pitch the series opener against Tyler Skaggs (2-1). ... Colorado resumes its 10-game homestand Monday, opening a four-game set against Miami with Drew Pomeranz (0-3) taking the mound against Tom Koehler (1-5). ... Chicago was unbeaten in four consecutive series (2-0-2) before Sundays loss. ... Gonzalezs sixth-inning stolen base was his 100th as a member of the Rockies, tying him with Juan Pierre for fifth on the clubs all-time list. ... Castro had his 10th career four-hit game and first since Sept. 19, 2012, against Cincinnati. ' ' '