Bryce Harper shocked in Phillies debut: 'I've never seen that'  —  CLEARWATER, Fla. — Bryce Harper drew big cheers, a pair of walks and a most unusual defense in his spring training debut for the Philadelphia Phillies.  —  Both times the slugger with the biggest contract in baseball came to the plate …

Tanaka named Yankees' Opening Day starter  —  SARASOTA, Fla. — Masahiro Tanaka will be the New York Yankees' Opening Day starter March 28 against Baltimore, taking the spot left open by Luis Severino's shoulder trouble.  —  Yankees manager Aaron Boone announced the decision …

Detroit Tigers' Michael Fulmer's dip in velocity a concern.  Here's why  —  LAKELAND, Fla. — Michael Fulmer's first pitch on Saturday afternoon registered at 92 mph on the Joker Marchant Stadium scoreboard.  —  As progression would have it, the early reading seemed to support his theory of things to come …

Cincinnati Reds lefty Alex Wood suffers setback with more back tightness  —  GOODYEAR, Ariz. - For the second time this spring, Alex Wood felt his back tighten up after pitching on a mound.  He made his Cactus League debut on Feb. 25 and it could be another week before he makes his next appearance.

Billy Hamilton has no hard feelings toward the Cincinnati Reds: ‘I still want them to do well’  —  SURPRISE, Ariz. - Playing against many of his former teammates Friday, Billy Hamilton couldn't stop smiling throughout the afternoon.  —  When players were stretching before the game …

Giants give no guarantee to Dereck Rodriguez  —  SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Dereck Rodriguez was like a painkiller for the Giants last year, providing the ailing team with a desperately needed dose of starting pitching after coming up from the minors in late May.  —  While most of the staff …

Having his contract renewed is symptom of a ‘system that is not great,’ says Flaherty  —  JUPITER, Fla.  • By rejecting the Cardinals' calculated salary offer for the 2019 season, Cardinals starter Jack Flaherty forced the team to unilaterally renew his contract, not because he took issue with the club …

What the Padres having the top farm system might actually mean  —  The Kansas City Royals' minor league system was ranked by Baseball America as the best in baseball in 2011.  —  Nine of the team's prospects were deemed to be among the top 100 in baseball.  Names like Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas, Danny Duffy.

Column: ‘I believe in myself’: Javier Baez is getting overlooked again — and that's just the way he likes it  —  Photos of Cubs infielder Javier Baez.  —  Chicago Tribune  —  After Bryce Harper signed with the Phillies, a prominent Las Vegas betting website installed him as a 4-1 favorite …

Cubs prospect Adbert Alzolay headed back to Iowa  —  One of the biggest prospects in the Chicago Cubs' system is headed back to Des Moines this summer.  —  Right-handed pitcher Adbert Alzolay was among 14 players assigned to Chicago's minor league camp on Saturday.

Why Rougned Odor's hitless game has Chris Woodward thrilled  —  Rougned Odor has walked three or more times in a regular-season game only twice in his five-year career.  —  The Texas Rangers second baseman walked five times against the Orioles on Aug. 2 (he also homered) and walked three times in a game in 2017.

UC Irvine caps regular season in record fashion with win against CSUN  —  IRVINE — UC Irvine put an exclamation point on one of the best regular seasons in program history on Saturday night, beating Cal State Northridge 86-74 at the Bren Center to finish league play at 15-1 for the second time in school history.

Pete Alonso still finds ways to stun the Mets  —  Pete Alonso showed the sold-out crowd at JetBlue Park that his barrel is more than a match for the replicated Fenway Park Green Monster.  Alonso annihilated a fastball from reliever Tyler Thornburg well beyond the towering left-field wall for his third homer of spring.

Searching for his A-swing, Clint Frazier finds his way again in Yankees' camp  —  Yankees' Clint Frazier takes BP before game against the Orioles on Saturday night at Sarasota  —  SARASOTA, Fla. - Clint Frazier's boundless energy has returned, and now he's darted over to Aaron Judge's corner locker …