Bryce Harper shocked in Phillies debut: 'I've never seen that'  —  CLEARWATER, Fla. — Bryce Harper drew big cheers, a pair of walks and a most unusual defense in his spring training debut for the Philadelphia Phillies.  —  Both times the slugger with the biggest contract in baseball came to the plate …

Tanaka named Yankees' Opening Day starter  —  SARASOTA, Fla. — Masahiro Tanaka will be the New York Yankees' Opening Day starter March 28 against Baltimore, taking the spot left open by Luis Severino's shoulder trouble.  —  Yankees manager Aaron Boone announced the decision …

Detroit Tigers' Michael Fulmer's dip in velocity a concern.  Here's why  —  LAKELAND, Fla. — Michael Fulmer's first pitch on Saturday afternoon registered at 92 mph on the Joker Marchant Stadium scoreboard.  —  As progression would have it, the early reading seemed to support his theory of things to come …

Cincinnati Reds lefty Alex Wood suffers setback with more back tightness  —  GOODYEAR, Ariz. - For the second time this spring, Alex Wood felt his back tighten up after pitching on a mound.  He made his Cactus League debut on Feb. 25 and it could be another week before he makes his next appearance.

What the Padres having the top farm system might actually mean  —  The Kansas City Royals' minor league system was ranked by Baseball America as the best in baseball in 2011.  —  Nine of the team's prospects were deemed to be among the top 100 in baseball.  Names like Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas, Danny Duffy.

Having his contract renewed is symptom of a ‘system that is not great,’ says Flaherty  —  JUPITER, Fla.  • By rejecting the Cardinals' calculated salary offer for the 2019 season, Cardinals starter Jack Flaherty forced the team to unilaterally renew his contract, not because he took issue with the club …

Giants give no guarantee to Dereck Rodriguez  —  SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Dereck Rodriguez was like a painkiller for the Giants last year, providing the ailing team with a desperately needed dose of starting pitching after coming up from the minors in late May.  —  While most of the staff …

Billy Hamilton has no hard feelings toward the Cincinnati Reds: ‘I still want them to do well’  —  SURPRISE, Ariz. - Playing against many of his former teammates Friday, Billy Hamilton couldn't stop smiling throughout the afternoon.  —  When players were stretching before the game …

Cubs prospect Adbert Alzolay headed back to Iowa  —  One of the biggest prospects in the Chicago Cubs' system is headed back to Des Moines this summer.  —  Right-handed pitcher Adbert Alzolay was among 14 players assigned to Chicago's minor league camp on Saturday.

Column: ‘I believe in myself’: Javier Baez is getting overlooked again — and that's just the way he likes it  —  Photos of Cubs infielder Javier Baez.  —  Chicago Tribune  —  After Bryce Harper signed with the Phillies, a prominent Las Vegas betting website installed him as a 4-1 favorite …

Pete Alonso still finds ways to stun the Mets  —  Pete Alonso showed the sold-out crowd at JetBlue Park that his barrel is more than a match for the replicated Fenway Park Green Monster.  Alonso annihilated a fastball from reliever Tyler Thornburg well beyond the towering left-field wall for his third homer of spring.

It was a good day for Rangers' right-hander Lance Lynn  —  Lance Lynn filled the zone and worked fast.  —  The Texas Rangers' right-hander struck out four, walked none and allowed one single in four innings against the Colorado Rockies Friday afternoon at Salt River Fields.

UC Irvine caps regular season in record fashion with win against CSUN  —  IRVINE — UC Irvine put an exclamation point on one of the best regular seasons in program history on Saturday night, beating Cal State Northridge 86-74 at the Bren Center to finish league play at 15-1 for the second time in school history.

Sonny Gray look like ace after ripping Yankees  —  Maybe the Yankees did ruin Sonny Gray.  —  The embattled former Bronx Bomber fanned Manny Machado — and looked like the ace the Yankees thought they were getting back in 2017 — during his Reds spring training debut Saturday night.