Jupiter Jackpot: Goldschmidt to become highest-paid Cardinal in franchise history  —  Cardinals first baseman Paul Goldschmidt takes batting practice at Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter, Fla. Photo by Christian Gooden, cgooden@post-dispatch.com  —  JUPITER, Fla.

Baseball notebook: Mariners win in Tokyo as Ichiro plays, then retires  —  Mariners win in Tokyo as Ichiro plays, then retires  —  The magnitude of the moment — of sharing the field with the towering Ichiro Suzuki in his farewell — left Seattle Mariners teammate Yusei Kikuchi in reverential silence.

What Calhoun's reaction to his demotion to minors might have told the Rangers  —  The biggest news of Rangers spring training was announced Thursday.  Willie Calhoun will not be on the Opening Day roster, and Hunter Pence will be.  —  SURPRISE, ARIZ.  —  To say that Willie Calhoun took …

Michael Fulmer's Tommy John surgery has risks along with rewards  —  The Detroit Tigers' plans for their rotation, both this season and in the future, took a serious hit when right-handed starter Michael Fulmer was diagnosed as needing Tommy John surgery, in which the ulnar collateral ligament …

Mets to honor Tom Seaver with Citi Field address change, statue coming in 2020  —  The Mets are finally going to give ‘The Franchise’ his due.  —  The team announced Thursday that Citi Field is getting a new address to honor Tom Seaver.  —  “@CitiField is getting a permanent address change!” the club tweeted.

Jesse Winker continues quiet spring in Cincinnati Reds 6-3 loss to Seattle Mariners  —  PEORIA, Ariz. - In the second game of day-night doubleheader Thursday to conclude split-squad action, the Reds collected just five hits and committed three errors in a 6-3 loss to the Seattle Mariners.

Phils' Harper hits first HRs; 'Cutch, Realmuto also go deep  —  CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) — Bryce Harper has been playing catch-up since his free agency carried over into spring training.  —  With a week left until opening day, the Philadelphia Phillies' big-money addition looks ready to pay off.

Wieters wins Cards' backup catcher job over Pena  —  PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla.  • _Matt Wieters, signed two weeks into spring training, has won the Cardinals' backup catcher job over Francisco Pena, who had it last year.  Both were on non-roster contracts in camp with potential opt-outs on Friday.

Mets tag Brandon Nimmo as leadoff batter on Opening Day  —  PORT ST. LUCIE — Brandon Nimmo may have a knack for speeding up time.  —  Two weeks ago the outfielder said, “It kind of feels like it's January with the bat.”  —  On March 7, Nimmo was batting .133 with zero home runs.

Joe Maddon toasts the retiring Ichiro Suzuki: ‘He can do whatever he wants on a baseball field with the bat’  —  Chicago Tribune  —  Ichiro Suzuki's retirement Thursday night after 19 major-league seasons and 3,089 hits bought back fond memories for Joe Maddon, who recalled a scene …

MLB Mock Draft … Updated on: 3/21/2019  —  SEE FULL LIST  —  1  —  Adley Rutschman  —  Oregon State  —  Notes:  —  Yes, Andrew Vaughn came out of the gate hot, but let's not forget what the top prospect in the country has done to start the season.

Greg Bird x-rays negative for break  —  TAMPA — Greg Bird and the Yankees got good news Thursday. x-rays in the first baseman's elbow came back negative for a break.  He had been scratched from Thursday's game in Jupiter after being hit in the right elbow with a pitch on Wednesday.

Royals GM Dayton Moore discusses pitching staff, roster as season opener approaches  —  Less than a week remains for the Royals front office personnel and coaching staff to make their final roster decisions.  By the season opener, 12 more players needed to be trimmed from the group of 37 in major-league camp at the start of Thursday.

Astros should win their third AL West title in a row  —  A look at every team in the American League West and their 2019 predicted order of finish.  —  AL WEST  —  The loss of veteran starters Dallas Keuchel and Charlie Morton put a sizable dent in the rotation, but the Astros still …

Trout plays full game a day after landing rich deal  —  SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Los Angeles Angels manager Brad Ausmus likes to have his regulars play nine innings at least once in a spring training game and on Thursday, it was Mike Trout's turn against the Arizona Diamondbacks.