Brebbia earns Cardinals' last bullpen spot; Miller is lone lefty on pitching staff  —  JUPITER, Fla.  • Righthander John Brebbia, who has appeared in 95 games with the Cardinals the past two seasons but never has been on an opening-day roster, is on one now.

Verlander: Astros deal part of ‘new wave’ in MLB  —  WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Justin Verlander thinks the free-agent process is broken.  Still, he says that's not why he decided to sign a new deal with the Houston Astros rather than test the market.  —  “I can't see a better situation,” …

Tigers' Jordan Zimmermann to start Opening Day; Norris likely to bullpen  —  LAKELAND, Fla. — On the final page of a white legal pad, these words written in permanent marker were unmistakable: “SPRING'S OVER.”  —  Of course, manager Ron Gardenhire and his Tigers are not quite there yet.

How Theo Epstein has changed from Boston to Chicago  —  MESA, Ariz. — His colleagues say he's as competitive as ever, but there's little doubt current Chicago Cubs president and former Boston Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein has changed over the years — but that's mostly due to his situation in life.

TV Best Bets: Dodgers, Angels open the 2019 MLB season  —  MLB, OPENING DAYThursday, March 28Baltimore at N.Y. Yankees, 10 a.m., ESPNArizona at L.A. Dodgers, 1 p.m., SNLA/ESPNBoston at Seattle, 4 p.m., ESPNL.A. Angels at Oakland, 1 p.m., FSW  —  Nothing in baseball resonates more than opening day …

Mets' Noah Syndergaard on Jacob deGrom contract negotiations: ‘Pay the man already’  —  PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Noah Syndergaard sent a clear message to the Mets on Sunday.  It's time to get ace Jacob deGrom under contract long-term.  —  “I just think they should quit all this fuss and pay the man already …

The MLB bets we would make in 2019  —  The start of baseball season means it's time for predictions, but we asked our writers to take it a step further heading into Opening Day.  The assignment was simple: Find two bets you would make for the 2019 MLB season, with one sure thing you are positive …

Sonny Gray strikes out 7 in 5 innings as Cincinnati Reds lose in Cactus League finale  —  GOODYEAR, Ariz. - Sonny Gray was sharp across five innings, but the Reds closed their 2019 Cactus League season with a 4-3 loss to the Colorado Rockies in front of 8,469 fans at Goodyear Ballpark.

Stephen Tarpley makes Yankees' Opening Day roster  —  FT. MYERS, Fla. — Stephen Tarpley's audition began long before this spring.  —  The lefty opened the organization's eyes last fall when he came up and struck out 13 batters in nine innings work.  The 26-year-old earned a spot on the postseason roster with that performance.

Yankees still struggling to develop home-grown starting pitching  —  In the spring of 2007, Steinbrenner Field was abuzz with what the Yankees called the dawning of a new era for homegrown starting pitchers.  Brian Cashman, beaming with pride, eagerly unveiled his trio of first round draft picks …

‘You can just feel that energy’: Tim Anderson has visions of a 2019 White Sox breakthrough  —  Photos of White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson.  —  Chicago Tribune  —  The feeling is natural.  Inevitable perhaps.  On the bridge from spring training to the regular season …

Is Julio Pablo Martinez, opening 2019 at Low A, further behind than Rangers anticipated?  —  The Surprise Recreation Campus hasn't been vacated now that the Texas Rangers have broken spring camp and headed to Arlington for their season opener Thursday.  —  In fact, the big-league club makes …

Braves to have two rookie starters in rotation  —  The Atlanta Braves optioned right-handed pitching prospect Touki Toussaint to Triple-A Gwinnett on Sunday, but two other rookie pitchers will be in the defending National League East champion's opening rotation.

Phillies fans are planning a takeover of Nationals Park for Bryce Harper's return  —  Phillies fans are planning a takeover of Nationals Park for  —  Bryce Harper's return originally appeared on  —  Washington, this is your warning.  On April 2, the fans of the Philadelphia Phillies are planning a takeover.

Opening day draws raves at Braves' new spring-training home  —  Hank Aaron was in attendance Sunday for the grand opening of the Braves' new spring home, just 45 miles - and a world away — from where he reported to spring training as a young player in the 1950s.