Orioles, right-hander Alex Cobb agree to four-year deal  —  SARASOTA, Fla. — With fewer than 10 days to go until Opening Day, the Orioles are nearing their biggest upgrade of the offseason: a deal with former Tampa Bay Rays right-hander Alex Cobb, according to an industry source.

Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner suffers broken left wrist  —  GLENDALE, Ariz. — The reigning National League champion Dodgers are going to be without their red-headed slugger on Opening Day, and possibly for a while after.  —  Justin Turner has a broken left wrist after being hit …

Aaron Boone's opening day Yankees lineup will be seasoned by analytics  —  TAMPA, Fla. - Yankees Universe has been getting some loud hints about manager Aaron Boone's opening day lineup, though nothing is official yet.  —  All spring, Boone has been pondering different lineup combinations with his coaches.

Cincinnati Reds right-hander Michael Lorenzen dealing with injury  —  Reds right-handed pitcher Michael Lorenzen struggled in his second start of spring training Thursday against the Chicago White Sox The Enquirer/Adam Baum  —  GOODYEAR, Ariz. - Right-hander Michael Lorenzen's quest to make the starting rotation is probably over.

How Giancarlo Stanton Negotiated His Way to the Yankees to Create Baseball's Scariest Lineup  —  Created with Sketch.  — By acquiring Giancarlo Stanton, the Yankees created a lineup that will take power to new heights.  —  As midnight approached on Thursday, Dec. 7 …

For Astros, spreading the wealth begins with Jose Altuve's $151 million deal  —  Houston's payroll is set to climb to fifth this season at about $168 million, and it likely will continue increasing if the club expects to retain its core players.  —  WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - As a fairly young team …

Arizona Diamondbacks spring training - 2018 … In his first official at-bat of the spring, Alex Avila launched a home run to right-center field in Goodyear.  It remains his only hit in Cactus League play.  If anyone with the Diamondbacks is even remotely worried about this, that would make them far more concerned than Avila.

Rays OF Mallex Smith's hamstring passes test  —  SARASOTA — OF Mallex Smith's chances of being ready by opening day took a positive step Tuesday when he had five at-bats during a minor-league game.  —  “Everything came out with flying colors,” manager Kevin Cash said.

Column: Now that White Sox have sent Michael Kopech down, when will he be back up?  —  Chicago Tribune  —  The White Sox did the expected Tuesday, reassigning Michael Kopech to minor-league camp to prepare for his season at Triple-A Charlotte.  —  Kopech might have the best arm of any pitcher in camp …

Yankees grab Anyelo Gomez in MLB Rule 5 draft  —  Anyelo Gomez is a Yankee once more.  —  After being taken from the Yankees by the Braves in the MLB Rule 5 draft in December, Gomez is now back with New York after the Yankees snagged him Tuesday in the same manner.  He will be assigned to Class AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre:

Athletics Agree To Terms With Brett Anderson  —  The Athletics have agreed to a contract with veteran lefty Brett Anderson, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle.  It's a minors deal, but other terms are not yet known.  —  If the deal becomes official …

Mets comfortable with Adrian Gonzalez, who hits first homer in win over Cardinals  —  JUPITER, Fla. —Spring training results only mean so much, but veteran Adrian Gonzalez knew he had yet to hit a homer entering Tuesday.  —  The first baseman finally ended the drought by blasting a solo shot …

Voit stars but Cardinals fall to Mets 8-7  —  JUPITER, Fla.  • St. Louisan Luke Voit, making a late bid to crack the opening-day roster, tripled home two runs and his pinch-runner scored a third in a three-run sixth inning as the Cardinals overcame the New York Mets, temporarily, on Tuesday.

Clay Buchholz, Royals finalize minor league contract  —  SURPRISE, Ariz. (AP) — Right-hander Clay Buchholz is the Kansas City Royals' latest reclamation pitching project.  —  The two-time All-Star and the Royals have finalized a minor league contract on Tuesday, and he would get a $1.5 million …

NFL sets new definition for controversial catch rule … The NFL is about to have a new catch rule.  The league's rule-making competition committee is poised to change the controversial rule by eliminating two provisions that were particularly confounding over the years to players …

This was the biggest conversation Jon Daniels and the Rangers had at the beginning of winter  —  Rangers GM Jon Daniels appeared on 105. 3 The Fan's G-Bag Nation recently to talk about his ballclub heading into the start of the season.  Here are some of the highlights.

Mark Leiter Diagnosed With Mild Flexor Strain  —  Phillies righty Mark Leiter has been diagnosed with a mild flexor strain, according to Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com (via Twitter).  He will be shut down for two to three weeks before attempting to ramp back up.

Nationals option top prospect Victor Robles to minors  —  WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Top Washington Nationals prospect Victor Robles has been optioned to the minors.  —  Robles, 20, who is ranked as baseball's fourth-best prospect by ESPN's Keith Law, will begin the season at Triple-A Syracuse …