Way-too-early 2019 All-Stars: Manny Machado and Bryce Harper will start for ...?  —  Nobody seems to be having much fun this offseason, so let's take a break from the endless Bryce Harper and Manny Machado speculation and repeat an exercise we tried around this time the past two years: our third annual way-too-early All-Star teams.

Coroner: Fan struck in head by foul ball during Dodgers game died of blunt force injury  —  A California woman died in August as a result of being hit in the head by a batted ball at Dodger Stadium, according to a Los Angeles County coroner's report obtained by ESPN's “Outside the Lines” …

Jerry Blevins gets minor league deal  —  Left-handed reliever Jerry Blevins has agreed to a minor league contract with the Oakland Athletics, a source confirmed to ESPN.  —  The deal includes an invitation to major league spring training.  —  The news was first reported by the New York Post.

Yoenis Cespedes' timeline for return remains murky  —  The timetable for Yoenis Cespedes' return to the Mets will remain an unanswered question until after opening day.  —  The 33-year-old outfielder was limited to 38 games last year.  Dr. Robert Anderson operated to remove bone calcification …

Former Cubs pitcher Ryan Dempster named to Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame  —  Ryan Dempster pitches for the Cubs against the Braves in 2011.  (Nuccio DiNuzzo / Chicago Tribune)  —  Chicago Tribune  —  Former Cubs pitcher Ryan Dempster was one of four people selected Tuesday to the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame.

MLB notes: Pham takes raise request to arbitration  —  Outfielder Tommy Pham asked an arbitration panel for a raise from $570,100 to $4.1 million, and the Tampa Bay Rays argued for $3.5 million.  —  Arbitrators Margaret Brogan, Andrew Strongin and Gil Vernon are expected to decide Tuesday, a day after hearing arguments.

Indians acquire reliever Nick Wittgren from Marlins  —  The Cleveland Indians have acquired relief pitcher Nick Wittgren from the Miami Marlins.  —  CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Indians have bolstered their bullpen less than two weeks before pitchers and catchers report to Goodyear Ballpark in Goodyear …

Phillies supporting Gabe Kapler amid speculation he covered up 2015 incident  —  Gabe Kapler has spoken.  The Phillies manager has told his side of the sordid story that unfolded four years ago near the Los Angeles Dodgers' spring-training facility in Glendale, Ariz. He used his own website …

Cincinnati Reds manager David Bell plans to make some changes at Spring Training  —  Under first-year manager David Bell, it's clear the Reds want to embrace analytics and they want to introduce some changes to the way they conduct Spring Training once pitchers and catchers report to Goodyear, Arizona, next week.

This lesson learned in 2018 could give Rangers' Odor first consistent season of career  —  Twenty-two of the 43 walks Rougned Odor took in 2018 came in July and August, when he hit 13 of his 18 homers on the season.  —  BOB BOOTH  —  A quick rundown of Rougned Odor's career:  —  2014: Pretty good.

AL East prospect guide — Who to watch on Red Sox, Yankees, Blue Jays, Rays, Orioles  —  We already ran down the top 100 prospects in baseball, so now it's time go deeper by division.  Today it's the AL East, starting with the Baltimore Orioles.

Keith Law's 2019 ranking of all 30 MLB farm systems  —  While these rankings are ultimately subjective — this is, after all, my opinion of each system's relative merits — I base them on as broad a collection of information as I can.  I've seen many of these prospects …