Harper Lee dead at age of 89: ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ author passes away  —  Author Nelle Harper Lee, who won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1961 for her book, “To Kill a Mockingbird,” passed away in her sleep Friday morning at the age of 89, her family has confirmed.  —  “This is a sad day for our family.

Tony Phillips, former A's infielder, dies of apparent heart attack  —  Infielder Tony Phillips, a member of the A's 1989 title team, died of an apparent heart attack at the age of 56, according to former Oakland starter Dave Stewart.  —  “T.P. was like my little brother,” said Stewart …

Cheney woman celebrates 110th birthday  —  “There's days she just gets tickled and tells everyone how old she is,” says Jerri Carver, Flossie Dickey's granddaughter.  —  Flossie Dickey is 110 years old.  To really tell Flossie's story we have to take you back in time to the early 1900's …

In Jim Benedict, the Marlins have added a pitcher whisperer to their front office  —  The Marlins picked up relief pitcher Bryan Morris in a midseason trade with the Pirates in 2014.  He'd had success in Pittsburgh during Jim Benedict's tenure.  —  Steve Mitchell  —  JUPITER, Fla. — Edwin Jackson, bounce-back candidate?

Indians To Sign Juan Uribe  —  The Indians have reached agreement on a deal with free agent third baseman Juan Uribe, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports on Twitter.  Uribe will earn just under $5MM in the deal, ESPN.com's Buster Olney reports on Twitter.  —  This match-up has long been rumored …

Padres Sign Casey Janssen To Minor League Deal  —  10:09am: The Padres have officially announced that they've signed Janssen to a minor league deal with a Spring Training invite.  —  9:36am: It appears possible the Padres have agreed to terms with veteran righty Casey Janssen, perhaps on a minor league deal.

Incumbent dealing with oblique strain, likes addition of Giles to bullpen mix  —  KISSIMMEE, Fla. — Speaking with reporters for the first time since the Astros acquired hard-throwing Ken Giles from the Phillies — presumably to be their closer — relief pitcher Luke Gregerson was adamant Thursday he shouldn't lose his job as closer.

Zack Greinke's Diamondbacks chapter officially begins  —  SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Zack Greinke should be right in his element by Opening Day.  He'll take the mound for the Arizona Diamondbacks, and if past performance is a harbinger of future results, the Colorado Rockies will have difficulty solving …

Maddon wants club to ‘embrace the target’ this season  —  MESA, Ariz. — The theme for 2016, Cubs manager Joe Maddon said, is “embrace the target,” and he'll deliver that message on Saturday prior to the first workout by pitchers and catchers.  Of course, anyone not in Cubs camp by now got a directive from Jon Lester.

Nationals' Papelbon Apologizes for Altercation With Harper  —  VIERA, Fla. — After walking into the clubhouse for the first time at spring training, Jonathan Papelbon smiled and laughed as he embraced former Boston Red Sox teammate Bronson Arroyo and joked Gio Gonzalez about his haircut.

Jerad Eickhoff sidelined with thumb injury  —  CLEARWATER, Fla. - Jerad Eickhoff is unable throw off a mound after suffering a small fracture in his right thumb, but the Phillies insist that the injury will not be prolonged.  —  Eickhoff was hit on the thumb earlier in February …

Bart Hernandez indicted on charges of alien smuggling  —  Bart Hernandez, a baseball player agent who has specialized in representing Cuban defectors, has been indicted on charges of alien smuggling by a federal grand jury in Miami, where he was arrested early Friday by agents from the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI.