Nats sign veteran reliever Meek  —  6/29/14: Evan Meek strikes out Logan Forsythe to end a bases-loaded jam and keep the game tied in the 5th inning  —  WASHINGTON — The Nationals have signed right-hander Evan Meek to a Minor League contract with an invitation to big league Spring Training.

Sandberg to focus on improving communication  —  Ben Revere, Ken Giles and Ryne Sandberg join the Phillies Caravan on its second stop for the Winter Banquet in Reading, Pennsylvania  —  LAKEWOOD, N.J. — The expectations for the Phillies have flipped completely in one year.

Why Jung-Ho Kang Doesn't Need to be a Brilliant Fielder  —  It's very rare for a Major League club to sign a presumed every-day starter to a contract that will total either 4 years/$17M (a sum that includes a 2019 buy-out plus posting fee) or 5 years/$21.5M (a sum that includes a 2019 team option plus posting fee).

Fenway flawed: Explaining why Red Sox aren't involved in James Shields bidding  —  Photo by:  —  When the offseason began, the widespread presumption throughout baseball was that the Red Sox would pursue a reunion with Jon Lester, but only to a point.  And if the market for the ace lefty went beyond …

Price comfortable with Tigers, ‘all ears’ for extension  —  David Price is comfortable now.  —  And he was comfortable this afternoon, sitting on a cushioned chair behind a table bearing his name tag during the Detroit Tigers' winter caravan kickoff at Comerica Park.

Additional options include Almonte, Cunningham, Terdoslavich and Constanza  —  7/18/14: Jonny Gomes launches a pinch-hit home run to center field, scoring Stephen Drew to give the Red Sox a 5-4 lead  —  ATLANTA — Now that the Braves have restructured their organization through a flurry …

Scherzer pact: Gets $35M per last 3 seasons  —  Max Scherzer will be paid a salary of $35 million per year in each of the final three seasons of his contract with the Washington Nationals — except all $35 million will be deferred without interest, according to a source familiar with the contract.

Phillies have strong interest in Chad Billingsley  —  The Phillies are showing serious interest in free-agent right-hander Chad Billingsley, a major-league source tells CSNPhilly.com.  —  Billingsley, 30, is a former first-round pick of the Dodgers and was a mainstay in that team's starting rotation …

Brewers Exploring Pitching Upgrades  —  1:45pm: GM Doug Melvin tells Jim Bowden on MLB Network Radio that his club hasn't made a play for Shields and has not made a phone call to his camp.  The team's priority, according to Melvin, is upgrading the bullpen, where they'd like to add one or two pieces.

Pitcher's seven-year contract includes opt-out clause that can be exercised after 2017  —  MLB.com's Pete McCarthy and Jim Duquette break down Masahiro Tanaka's decision to head to the Bronx and what he will bring to the Yankees  —  NEW YORK — When the Yankees were invited to exchange pleasantries …

New York Yankees announcer John Sterling among hundreds left homeless when fire consumes Avalon at Edgewater apartment complex in New Jersey  —  The 400-unit Avalon at Edgewater apartments were destroyed when a multi-alarm blaze broke out around 4:20 p.m. Wednesday.