Bryce Harper's free agency reaches final stages and Phillies might no longer be favorites  —  PHOENIX — The Los Angeles Dodgers don't really need him, but suddenly badly want him.  The San Francisco Giants may not win with him, but he can be their greatest one-man marketing act since Barry Bonds.

Mets' Amed Rosario hoping plate adjustments will lead to power surge in 2019  —  PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Amed Rosario roped a double in his first at-bat Wednesday against Miami.  One inning later, he just missed a homer, settling for another double.  —  “I do think I'm going to have a lot …

Rangers high on Gallo in center, but how far does outfield defense drop when DeShields sits?  —  Delino DeShields had the good fortune Thursday of not having to make the trek from the Surprise Recreation Campus to Tempe Diablo Stadium to play center field for the Texas Rangers.

Cincinnati Reds' Curt Casali making progress after surgery, about week away from playing  —  GOODYEAR, Arizona - Cincinnati Reds catcher Curt Casali isn't sure when he'll get in a spring training game, but he's pretty certain he'll be ready for Opening Day.  —  Casali had surgery on his left hip the day after the season ended.

Diamondbacks' Rubby De La Rosa hits 99 mph in return to mound  —  Diamondbacks 5, Padres 5 (nine innings)  —  On the mound: RHP Rubby De La Rosa, seeing game action for the first time in 18 months after undergoing a second Tommy John surgery in 2017, threw a scoreless inning with one walk.

Danny Farquhar ready to leap another hurdle in Yankees camp  —  Miguel Andujar takes batting practice on Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2019 in Lakeland, Fla.  —  TAMPA, Fla. - Danny Farquhar's comeback will reach another milestone on Saturday.  —  The right-handed reliever is scheduled to pitch …

Detroit Tigers Opening Day roster projection 1.0: No Daniel Norris?  —  LAKELAND, Fla. — The guard is up.  —  After more than two weeks in Tiger Town, the spring training optimism has crept in.  The Detroit Tigers, in large part, look fine.  Their prospects on the back fields look even better.

Mariners veterans know the deal: Jerry Dipoto could trade them at any time  —  The Mariners clubhouse is teeming with young players who are deemed the future of the organization.  That's what happens when you spend the offseason shipping out one established player after another …

Players association concerned over Blue Jays ‘manipulation’ of phenom Vlad Guerrero Jr.  —  DUNEDIN, Fla. — The free Vlad Guerrero Jr. movement is not just a groundswell limited to frustrated Blue Jays fans anxious to see the top-rated prospect in all of baseball make the team at the end of spring training.

Two Yankees pitching prospects get obliterated in spring training … LAKELAND, Fla. — Four runs in the first inning off Michael Fulmer was the end of the positives for the Yankees in their 10-4 loss to the Tigers at Publix Field on Wednesday.  Four innings later a heavy rain stopped the game.

Big Mac Chat: Rangers minor league pitcher/social media czar Tim Dillard is must-watch  —  He has pitched a total of 73 games in the Major Leagues, his last appearance in the bigs came in 2013, and Tim Dillard is your hero because he remains on the mound.  —  He is 35, and is a most welcome …

Split decision: Padres closer Kirby Yates ‘saved career’ with new pitch  —  Imagine the mental anguish of hitting 30 as a big-league pitcher, wondering if your fragile roots in professional baseball soil would hold and coming to the realization you urgently need to reinvent yourself.

Gleyber Torres is the Yankees' backup plan at shortstop  —  LAKELAND — Gleyber Torres came up through the minors as a shortstop, and now he is getting his chance to play there somewhat regularly.  It's a bit like going home.  —  “The one thing about Gleyber is he's a natural shortstop.

How to become a big league bullpen cart driver in five easy steps  —  WASHINGTON — Last August, the Nationals became the third MLB team to bring back the beloved bullpen cart, joining the Arizona Diamondbacks and Detroit Tigers, who launched the throwback trend early in the 2018 season.

Remember the '90s?  The 2019 Yankees seem to  —  TAMPA, Fla. — Gone are the days when the New York Yankees would in one calendar year single out a slew of baseball's best free agents and pledge bank-busting contracts to them.  —  As general manager Brian Cashman likes to say, the game has changed.

Craig Kimbrel to the Braves?  It's complicated.  —  ATLANTA — There's a reason I've waited to address the Craig Kimbrel issue.  It's because I've gone back and forth, and I hate being a fence-straddler.  (As faithful readers know, I'd rather be wrong — and often am — than uncertain.)

Brock Holt became Boston Red Sox's loud leader after ‘honest’ meeting with Alex Cora last spring; 'The previous two years I wasn't as vocal.  I wasn't as outgoing'  —  FORT MYERS, Fla. — Red Sox super utility man Brock Holt asked manager Alex Cora to meet with him last spring and explain whether …