Best fits for Bryce Harper and Manny Machado among their final four*  —  Baseball's winter ball has progressed from a sleepy affair, both sides on opposite ends of the dining hall, to an awkward line dance.  —  The participants are on the floor, eyeing another with hopeful grins …

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.

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 …

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 …

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” …

Meet the bargain free agents the Detroit Tigers missed out on so far  —  Pitchers and catchers report in less than a week across MLB.  (The A's open camp Sunday, the Mariners open Feb. 11, and the Detroit Tigers, among many others, open Feb. 12.)  —  And yet, there are more than 90 players waiting …

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 …

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.

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.

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.

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 …