NY Mets welcome back Jason Vargas to rotation, look to top Marlins again this week  —  Sean Farrell, Staff Writer, @seanfarrell92  —  The Mets are riding high after their three-game sweep of the Diamondbacks.  They have won consecutive games for the first time in a month …

Greg Bird's looming return to Yankees will have a roster impact  —  ARLINGTON, Texas - Lefty-hitting first baseman Greg Bird is “obviously getting a lot closer” to being activated by the Yankees, said manager Aaron Boone, and the decision to activate him might be made after the weekend.

Column: Lots of buzz about Manny Machado, but the Cubs have bigger issues  —  Cubs' Javier Baez on snapping out of a slump: ‘All about adjustments.’ (Mark Gonzales/Chicago Tribune)  —  Chicago Tribune  —  In reminiscing about the 2016 World Series, manager Joe Maddon noted that the Cubs nearly went …

Preston Wilson apologizes for making slavery comment during Astros TV broadcast  —  Preston Wilson apologized Saturday for a reference he made to slavery during the television broadcast of the Houston Astros' game against the Cleveland Indians earlier in the day.

It's your turn to debate this ‘legendary’ Milwaukee Brewers trading card lineup  —  Beckett Media and Topps present their all-time legendary trading card line-up for the Milwaukee Brewers Wochit  —  Mike Caldwell or Teddy Higuera?  Pete Vuckovich or Ben Sheets?

Fortnite: How a video game became baseball's most addictive pastime, from MLB to Little League  —  Along with running, throwing, fielding, hitting and hitting for power, there's another skill invaluable to baseball players beyond the five holy tools: Killing time.

Cleveland's bullpen blues keeping the AL Central in play  —  Two years ago, the Cleveland bullpen led the way when the Indians overcame significant injuries in their starting rotation and won the American League pennant.  —  Now, the fickle nature of relief pitching is holding the AL Central favorites back.

Detroit Tigers thoughts: Scouting Casey Mize; Liriano on trade block?  —  MINNEAPOLIS — Back on the beat after five days on a special assignment, which sent me to Auburn to watch junior right-hander Casey Mize, who is expected to be one of the top picks - if not the top pick - in the upcoming Major League Baseball draft.

Tim Tebow timeline: Has he dispelled doubt on the diamond?  —  From the outset, Tim Tebow's pro baseball journey was going to follow its own unique path.  Making the move to baseball as a 29-year-old in 2016 was a bold step.  Tebow had not played the game competitively since his junior year of high school.

Phillies prospect Roman Quinn out 6 to 8 weeks after finger surgery  —  Roman Quinn will miss close to the next two months of the season after he underwent surgery Monday to repair a torn ligament in his right middle finger.  —  Phillies minor league report: Dylan Cozens leads IronPigs to sweep …

O'Neill starting in third consecutive game; Garcia at SS  —  The Cardinals, coming off a four-game split with the Philadelphia Phillies, host the Kansas City Royals Monday at 7:15 p.m. in the first of three at Busch Stadium.  —  The teams will also meet Tuesday at 7:15 p.m. and on Wednesday …

Kevin Cash keeps thinking outside the box with use of Sergio Romo  —  The most interesting news from the weekend was Sergio Romo's starting consecutive games for the Tampa Bay Rays.  It was pretty unusual for two reasons: (1) Romo's previous 588 career appearances in the majors all came in relief …

Didi Gregorius returns to lineup as New York Yankees visit Texas Rangers  —  New York's Didi Gregorius will return to the lineup on Monday when the Yankees square off against the Texas Rangers in the first of a three-game series at Globe Life Park in Arlington, Texas.

Brewers' Chase Anderson returns to start against Diamondbacks  —  MILWAUKEE — Chase Anderson will come off the disabled list and return to the mound Monday night when the Milwaukee Brewers open a 10-game homestand with the first of three against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Miller Park.

Jerad Eickhoff suffers setback in return to Phillies rotation  —  Jerad Eickhoff's rehab program has been put on hold after he felt a sensation in his fingertips on Sunday during the end of his start at triple-A Lehigh Valley.  —  The Phillies starter is working his way back from a back muscle injury …

Steve Stone on White Sox prospects: Eloy Jimenez is ‘going to be special’ and Michael Kopech ‘has to become a pitcher’  —  Photos of the White Sox outfielder and No. 4-ranked prosepct by Baseball America.  —  Chicago Tribune  —  Steve Stone got promoted to the big leagues in 1971 …