Top News:
Anthony Castrovince / MLB.com:
Opening Night draws curtain for World Series rematch — Hmmm. Kansas City Royals vs. New York Mets. Why does that sound familiar? — Oh, right! — Technically, Opening Night at Kauffman Stadium is just Game 1 of 162. But tonight's 8:37 ET Interleague arrangement …
Discussion:
Yahoo Sports, Royals Review, Amazin' Avenue and Bleed Cubbie Blue
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David Pinto / baseballmusings.com:
Games of the Day — The 2016 MLB season gets underway at 1 PM EDT as the Cardinals visit the Pirates. The Cardinals won the NL Central in 2015, with the Pirates just two games behind. Both lost the third place Cubs (three back of the Cardinals) in the NL playoffs.
Discussion:
Amazin' Avenue, AZ Snake Pit, Bucs Dugout and Yahoo Sports
Andrew Both / Reuters:
Hard-Luck Cubs Open Season as World Series Favorites — (Reuters) - The Chicago Cubs made huge strides last year, and a series of off-season moves have raised expectations among their legion of fans that this might finally be the year they end their 107-year World Series drought.
Discussion:
Pinstripe Alley, Bleed Cubbie Blue and Yahoo Sports
Yahoo Sports:
Source: Gregory Polanco, Pirates agree to five-year extension — Gregory Polanco and the Pittsburgh Pirates agreed on a five-year contract extension with two club options that locks in the prime years of the young outfielder, something with which the Pirates have found significant success in recent years …
Fox Sports:
Pollock emerges from ‘nightmare,’ Diamondbacks move on — PHOENIX (AP) A.J. Pollock emerged as one of baseball's best players a year ago. Now the Arizona Diamondbacks All-Star center fielder is out for the foreseeable future after fracturing his right elbow in a head-first slide at home plate in an exhibition game Friday night.
Discussion:
AZ Snake Pit and baseballmusings.com
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Jeff Todd / MLB Trade Rumors:
A.J. Pollock To Undergo Surgery For Fractured Right Elbow — SATURDAY: There hasn't been any timeline provided on Pollock's return, but Pollock himself says he hopes to come back at some point this season, MLB.com's Steve Gilbert writes (Twitter links). Also, Diamondbacks manager Chip Hale …
Discussion:
Yahoo Sports, AZ Snake Pit and MLB Daily Dish
USA Today:
Taylor Teagarden - shown in Al-Jazeera documentary - suspended for violating drug policy — Taylor Teagarden, a free agent catcher who was named in the same Al-Jazeera report that connected Peyton Manning and baseball stars Ryan Zimmerman and Ryan Howard to anti-aging clinics, was suspended 80 games by Major League Baseball on Friday.
Discussion:
ProFootballTalk
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Charlie Wilmoth / MLB Trade Rumors:
Brewers Sign Carlos Torres — 10:49am: The Brewers have announced that they've signed Torres to a one-year big-league deal. To make room on the 40-man roster, they've moved outfielder Rymer Liriano (face) to the 60-day DL. To clear active roster space, they optioned Cravy to Triple …
Discussion:
Brew Crew Ball, JSOnline, MLB Daily Dish, Al's Ramblings and Talking Chop
Rick Hummel / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
CARDS MISS SHOT AT LIRIANO — The Cardinals had their shot at Pittsburgh lefthander Francisco Liriano on Sunday. But they couldn't pull the trigger in the third, fourth, fifth and sixth innings as they stranded eight runners in that time. — The latest misfire came in the sixth …
Discussion:
Bucs Dugout
Charlie Wilmoth / MLB Trade Rumors:
Alex Presley Will Not Make Brewers, Has 48-Hour Window To Be Added Elsewhere — Alex Presley has been told he will not make the Brewers' Opening Day roster, MLBTR has learned. There will now be a 48-hour period in which other teams can decide whether they want to add Presley to their active rosters …
Discussion:
Brew Crew Ball and Al's Ramblings
Zach Links / MLB Trade Rumors:
Nationals Release Reed Johnson — The Nationals have released outfielder Reed Johnson, as Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com tweets. The Nats also cut Sean Burnett on Sunday morning, though Burnett had already decided to opt-out of his deal. — Johnson, 39, inked a minor league deal with the Nats in November.
Discussion:
Federal Baseball
ESPN:
Introducing ... the best and worst defensive teams, plus most improved and teams that got worse — Last week, I laid out MLB's best and worst defensive players, according to Baseball Info Solutions (BIS) projections for the 2016 season, and while the defensive skill of some younger players …
Discussion:
Dallas Morning News