Meet Mason Saunders, the secret rodeo identity of Madison Bumgarner  —  The picture is a bit blurry.  —  The photo is of two men standing in front of a backdrop featuring the logo of Rancho Rio Arena in Wickenburg, Ariz. They've just won $26,560 in a team-roping rodeo competition …

Some first-game adventures for Rays, Pete Fairbanks  —  Loss to Red Sox comes down to suspenseful final out; relief candidate got into and out of jams.  —  FORT MYERS — The Rays' first spring training game took a couple of interesting turns.  —  Especially at the end …

Fans heckling Astros at spring opener get signs confiscated  —  MLB, Houston Astros, Washington Nationals  —  Fans hoping to heckle the sign-stealing Houston Astros at the team's spring opener were met with quite the coincidence.  —  They got their signs taken.

Union prefers Rays stay put but could approve Montreal plan  —  Tony Clark says “strong preference” is a full-time Tampa Bay stadium, but he adds it's not impossible the players union could agree to the sharing plan.  —  PORT CHARLOTTE — Baseball's players union would prefer the Rays find a full time …

James Paxton still optimistic he'll be back in May  —  TAMPA — James Paxton is “optimistic” he could begin his throwing program in 10 days if his rehab continues to go smoothly.  The Yankee left-hander had surgery to repair a disc in his lower back earlier this month and was projected to be rehabbing for three to four months.

Mike Foltynewicz, Mike Soroka will pitch later this week  —  The last two Braves All-Star pitchers, Mike Soroka and Mike Foltynewicz, will be making their spring debuts this week.  —  Foltynewicz will start Tuesday against the Twins.  Soroka will pitch sometime later, according to manager Brian Snitker.

David Ortiz, Derek Jeter already recognize greatness in Red Sox' Rafael Devers  —  FORT MYERS, Fla. — Rafael Devers understands most questions in English before they're translated into Spanish by Red Sox communications manager Bryan Almonte.  —  But on Friday morning at JetBlue Park …

The most interesting non-roster player for all 30 MLB teams  —  The rites of spring: pitchers and catchers, Jose Altuve's tattoo and, of course, non-roster invitees.  This is one of my favorite articles to write every season, going through all the non-roster players and pulling out an interesting name for each franchise.

Royals counting on Mike Montgomery to help anchor starting rotation  —  Last summer, the Kansas City Royals took advantage of Salvador Perez's season-ending surgery and turned that bad break into an experienced addition to the pitching staff with an eye towards this year's starting rotation.

White Sox Extend Leury Garcia's Contract To Include 2021 Team Option  —  The Chicago White Sox signed Leury Garcia to a one-year, $3.5MM guaranteed deal today, per MLB.com's Scott Merkin.  The deal includes a $3.25MM base salary for 2020 with a $3.5MM team option for 2021.

Marlins hope ‘continuity’ between pitchers & coach results in improvement on the mound  —  Mel Stottlemyre Jr. knew the challenge he had ahead of him last season.  —  He had a young, impressionable pitching staff to work with and was in his first season as the Miami Marlins' pitching coach.

Braves relievers embrace high expectations  —  If the Braves capture their third consecutive National League East title, if they finally reach that elusive NL Championship Series (or further), it means a well-compensated bullpen lived up to its billing.  —  This spring differs from recent years …