AL grades: Which team had the best offseason?  —  With baseball's offseason dealings all but complete, USA TODAY Sports examines the moves of all 30 teams.  The grades for the American League:  —  A+  —  Cleveland Indians: The defending AL champions signed this winter's biggest prized free agent — DH Edwin Encarnacion.

Jose Abreu testifies he ate fake passport on way to U.S. to cover up his part in smuggling operation  —  MIAMI — Chicago White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu told a Miami federal jury Wednesday that he ate a chunk of a fake passport while flying to the U.S. to cover up his illegal travel as part of a Cuban ballplayer smuggling operation.

Mariners Acquire Chase De Jong, Designate Mike Freeman  —  The Mariners announced that they've acquired minor league right-hander Chase De Jong from the Dodgers in exchange for minor league infielder Drew Jackson and minor league right-hander Aneurys Zabala.

Inside the complete overhaul of Jason Heyward's struggling swing  —  MESA, Az.  — Dec. 5, that's when he started, less than five weeks after the Cubs won the World Series.  Jason Heyward was not messing around.  He had moved to the Phoenix area so he could be closer to the Cubs' training facility, and focus on remaking his swing.

MLB announces seven rule changes for 2017, officially kills four-pitch intentional walk  —  By this point, the news that Major League Baseball is doing away with the four-pitch intentional walk is old.  Everyone already knows it's happening.  But that's not the only change that MLB is making for the 2017 season.

Mickey Moniak's first pro injury?  A growing pain  —  CLEARWATER, Fla. - Looking for a reminder of how young Mickey Moniak is?  —  Moniak, whom the Phillies drafted last June with the No. 1 pick, missed the end of the 2016 Gulf Coast League season because of a hip injury.

Ned Garver, 20-Game Winner for the 102-Loss Browns, Dies at 91  —  Ned Garver, the only pitcher in American League history to win at least 20 games in a season for a ball club that lost at least 100 times, achieving the feat for the 1951 St. Louis Browns, died on Sunday in Bryan, Ohio.  He was 91.

Theo Epstein connects off Ryan Dempster in an epic showdown  —  Chicago Tribune  —  While David Ross was practicing his footwork for “Dancing with the Stars,” Cubs President Theo Epstein was moonlighting as a major league hitter this week at Cubs spring training.

Sarasota County endorses initial agreement with Atlanta Braves  —  The letter of intent sets the terms of the financing, construction and eventual management of the proposed spring training stadium in the West Villages in North Port.  —  VENICE — The planned deal for a new Atlanta Braves …

Greg Bird making impact with bat and leadership at Yankees spring training  —  TAMPA - For two days this week Greg Bird hit nothing but ropes, a pair of doubles on Monday, then two home runs on Tuesday, and you could practically hear the sigh of relief from the Yankees' front office.

David Wright Diagnosed With Shoulder Impingement  —  6:20pm: A pair of Mets sources tell Kristie Ackert and Christian Red of the New York Daily News that the news on Wright's shoulder following today's examination is “not good.”  Mets GM Sandy Alderson told reporters today that Wright's shoulder woes …