Shohei Ohtani has mixed results in first pitching start with Angels  —  Shohei Ohtani didn't quite dazzle in his spring pitching debut with the Los Angeles Angels.  —  Maybe things will change when he swings the bat for the first time in a Cactus League game.

Pitcher Hector Santiago glad to be ‘back home’ with White Sox  —  Chicago Tribune  —  Until he took the mound for Saturday's Cactus League game against the Mariners, it hadn't really hit home for Hector Santiago that he was back with the White Sox.  —  “You put your uniform on in spring training …

Mets' Dominic Smith returns to lineup, ready to move on after benching  —  PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Dominic Smith guessed that he kept waking up every 25 minutes as he tried to sleep Friday night.  After being late for a team meeting Friday and being benched, Smith did not want to make the same mistake Saturday.

Detroit Tigers will get most from Francisco Liriano via bullpen, trade  —  Watch as the Detroit Tigers' pitchers and catchers warm up with a game of catch on the first day of spring training on Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2018, in Lakeland, Fla. Video by Anthony Fenech/DFP  —  LAKELAND, Fla. — Francisco Liriano has experience starting.

Inside the Rays' plan to prove the tanking truthers wrong  —  PORT CHARLOTTE - The Rays know tanking.  —  “We tanked in 2006 and '07, if you want to call it that,” principal owner Stuart Sternberg said.  “We were the original tankers.  Or tankees.  It seems to be all the fad now.”

Reds sign reliever Oliver Perez to minor league contract  —  GOODYEAR, Ariz. — The Cincinnati Reds have signed left-handed pitcher Oliver Perez to a minor league contract.  —  Perez spent the past two seasons with the Washington Nationals.  He made 50 appearances with the Nationals last year, pitching 33 innings with a 4.64 ERA.

Rays prospect Brent Honeywell to have Tommy John surgery  —  PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. — Brent Honeywell, the top pitching prospect for the Tampa Bay Rays, has a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right arm and will have Tommy John surgery, sidelining him for the entire season.  —  EDITOR'S PICKS

As a sign of the times, Cardinals shifting signals, breaking habits  —  PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla.  • As the first inning of his first spring start went sideways this afternoon for Carlos Martinez, the Cardinals starter hit one batter, walked two batters, needed 31 pitches to get three outs …

Spring recap: Cubs 6, Rangers 1  —  Chicago Tribune  —  After fouling a pitch off his foot, Anthony Rizzo smacked a two-run, opposite-field home run in the fourth inning and Willson Contreras followed with a solo shot to lead the Cubs to a 6-1 victory Saturday over the Rangers before 14,821 fans at Sloan Park.

Source: Martinez's immediate readiness to play not in question; medical experts involved  —  FORT MYERS, Fla. — J.D. Martinez and the Red Sox are indeed sorting through a medical matter, but one that a baseball source with knowledge of the situation said would not have any effect on Martinez in the immediate future.

‘Lost season’ brings Trayce Thompson to an uncertain future with Dodgers  —  GLENDALE, Ariz. — Trayce Thompson's future is uncertain.  But at least it's not his recent past.  —  “He's probably one of the happiest to turn the page on 2017,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts says of Thompson's difficult year.

Phillies 3B Will Middlebrooks leaves game after collision  —  Veteran infielder Will Middlebrooks, who signed a minor-league contract with the Philadelphia Phillies last month, left Saturday's spring training game with what appeared to be an injury to his left ankle or leg.

Clint Frazier, Estevan Florial — both are different points in development — show why Yankees have such high hopes for them  —  BRADENTON, Fla. — Clint Frazier's “legendary bat speed” and Estevan Florial's five-tool potential are attributes that people within the Yankees' organization often say are “easy to dream on.”

WATCH: Dansby Swanson in the majors, so far  —  Braves shortstop Dansby Swanson has only a little more than a full season in the majors on his resume, and the results have been so-so overall.  —  Carrying the high expectations that come with being the first player taken in an MLB draft …

Cubs' infield combinations on Joe Maddon's mind as Ben Zobrist heals  —  Chicago Tribune  —  As Ben Zobrist attempts to gradually recover from back tightness, Cubs manager Joe Maddon continues to experiment with infield combinations.  —  Maddon was impressed with Tommy La Stella's barehanded stop …