Revived Gerrit Cole enjoying fresh slate with Houston Astros  —  SportsPulse: The Houston Astros looked primed to repeat as World Series champs.  Recent history suggests otherwise.  USA TODAY Sports  —  CONNECT  —  WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — When agent Scott Boras met with Gerrit Cole for lunch recently …

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.

Kelly ready to prove his point in Memphis  —  • Carson Kelly, who rarely dodges a media request, was reported to have nothing to say late Sunday afternoon after being told he was being sent to Class AAA Memphis after a three-for-30 spring.  —  “I didn't want to go crazy,” …

Mets facing St. Louis Cardinals three times before season-opening series  —  The recent trend has been for the Mets to start the season with a division foe, but they will instead face the Cardinals next Thursday when the season opens.  —  While that pairing is certainly an intriguing matchup …

Where else Yankees' Giancarlo Stanton cash could've gone  —  TAMPA — The Yankees upgraded a strength rather than address a potential weakness in the offseason because they believed Giancarlo Stanton was a better risk at 10 years and $265 million than Yu Darvish at close to half that commitment.

Seung Hwan Oh gets work visa, to make Blue Jays debut  —  DUNEDIN — With the red tape out of the way, Seung Hwan Oh is finally ready to make his Blue Jays debut on Wednesday afternoon.  —  Actually, the South Korean right-hander has been ready for a couple of weeks, but without a work visa …

Brewers — including Hank as The Beast — re-enact ‘The Sandlot’ in video  —  Even before the start of the season, the Milwaukee Brewers have their first hit.  —  Milwaukee released a 2-minute, 35-second video celebrating the 25th anniversary of the movie “The Sandlot” last weekend …

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.

Fantasy Baseball: A dozen sleepers you can draft in the late rounds to make a difference  —  So we are well into fantasy baseball draft season, and there are plenty of articles out there advising you on what to do in the opening rounds to shape your team.  —  This is not one of them.

Where is Nationals reliever Koda Glover? … WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — As the final days of spring training slide by, and necessary decisions about bullpen personnel slide nearer, Koda Glover remains momentarily irrelevant.  Once considered the Nationals' future closer, more recently considered …

Rays' Matt Andriese: A starter in bullpen land  —  PORT CHARLOTTE — If Matt Andriese had a team-issued business card it would read: Multi-inning/high-leverage relief pitcher.  But before handing it to you, he would take a pen and add one more role: starting pitcher.

Isaiah Thomas is open to staying with the Lakers even in a backup role … As Isaiah Thomas answered fan questions on Twitter on Sunday, many of the messages led to reciprocal positivity.  —  Lakers fans were telling him they wanted him to stay a Laker next year, and he was telling them he would love that.

For starters: Rays vs. Red Sox  —  No rain in the forecast today for the Rays.  Just sunny skies and those Red Sox, who are making the ride up I-75 for the 1:05 p.m. start at Charlotte Sports Park.The Rays are running out a lineup that

Next Slide  —  LAKELAND, Fla. — The Detroit Tigers may leave Florida with a dozen pitchers and 13 position players to start the 2018 season.  —  Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire acknowledged on Tuesday that's the split he'd prefer to have heading north, before adding that no final decision has been made.

Yankees' plan to help Gary Sanchez limit mound visits revealed  —  Last Thursday, Gary Sanchez used a wristband during a spring training game for the first time.  —  It was a concept the Yankees discussed last year in an attempt to offset sign-stealing and limit the number of times Sanchez …

Turner's broken wrist will not need surgery  —  Los Angeles third baseman Justin Turner's broken left wrist is expected to heal without surgery, according to Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts.  —  Turner was hurt Monday when hit by a pitch from Oakland's Kendall Graveman.