Brewers Sign Jared Hughes  —  The Brewers have announced that they've signed righty Jared Hughes to a one-year deal.  Hughes will receive $950K plus a possible $250K in incentives based on games pitched, as Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel tweets.

Rangers send a clear message to Keone Kela with minor-league demotion  —  The Rangers' surprising demotion of Keone Kela on Friday stemmed from the way the reliever conducted himself during a recent “B” game, according to major-league sources.  —  Several of the Rangers' senior players took exception …

Bumming out the DBacks  —  Madison Bumgarner is perfect through four innings as the Giants lead the Diamondbacks 1-0.  Bumgarner threw just 40 pitches, 30 for strikes.  Five of the 12 outs came via the strikeout.  Bumgarner also drew a walk in his first plate appearance, and just homered leading off the fourth.

Third spot the charm for Phillies' Odubel Herrera?  |  David Murphy  —  THE BEST HITTER in the Phillies' lineup has yet to find a home.  Odubel Herrera's first two seasons in the majors have seen him log more than 50 plate appearances in five of the top eight spots in the batting order …

Melvin Upton Jr. Won't Make Blue Jays  —  8:07pm: The Giants are content with their current outfielders, meaning they're not inclined to go after Upton, according to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle.  However, Schulman doesn't rule out a trade, noting it could come down to the caliber …

Yadier Molina's $60 million contract is money well spent for the Cardinals  —  It's a sign of the times that the average fan will react to Yadier Molina's three-year, $60 million extension with disdain, thinking that the Cardinals paid too much.  —  Molina is indeed likely to decline during the contract …

Raiders GM Reggie McKenzie: Lions CB D.J. Hayden needed ‘fresh start’  —  PHOENIX — Part of Reggie McKenzie wanted D.J. Hayden back with the Oakland Raiders, and if the money had been different it might have happened.  —  But McKenzie also knew that, for Hayden to reach his potential as a cornerback …

Does anyone have what it takes to tame the Cubs?  —  Can anyone take down the Chicago Cubs?  A year ago, they were the darlings of nearly every preseason prediction.  —  They lived up to the hype and held off the Cleveland Indians to win their first World Series title since 1908.

Indians Extend Roberto Perez  —  The Indians have signed catcher Roberto Perez to a four-year extension worth a guaranteed $9MM, reports Jordan Bastian of MLB.com (Twitter links).  The deal includes club options for the 2021 and '22 seasons.  A client of MDR Sports Management …

NFL held an owners-only meeting in Arizona  —  Every league meeting includes a variety of sessions attended by a variety of people.  Last week in Arizona, one specific session included only the owners.  —  Unusual but not unprecedented, the owners-only meeting (technically an executive session …

Giants DFA Ray Black, Ian Gardeck  —  The Giants have designated right-handers Ray Black and Ian Gardeck for assignment, according to the club.  —  The 26-year-old Black has thus far spent his entire professional career with the Giants, who selected him in the seventh round of the 2011 amateur draft.

The No. 1 concern of every MLB general manager  —  In my 15 years as a general manager, I was always asked going into a season what my No. 1 concern was.  To answer, I almost always went to talking about my concerns about our players' health or the state of the team's starting rotation.