Top News:
Gordon Wittenmyer / Cincinnati.com:
‘I assumed I was coming back’: Joey Votto ‘grateful’ for Blue Jays, chance to prove himself — DUNEDIN, Florida — The practice fields were empty, the big-league side of the Toronto Blue Jays spring training complex quiet except for a groundskeeper who watered a back field and another …
Discussion:
The Athletic, Sportsnet.ca and MLB Trade Rumors
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Keegan Matheson / MLB.com:
Votto agrees to non-roster invite deal with Blue Jays (source) — DUNEDIN, FLA. — Joey Votto is coming home. — One of the greatest Canadian players in baseball history has signed a non-roster deal with the Blue Jays, a source told MLB.com's Mark Feinsand.
Jesse Rogers / ESPN:
Reds' Noelvi Marte suspended 80 games after testing positive for PED — Cincinnati Reds third baseman Noelvi Marte has received an 80-game suspension without pay after testing positive for Boldenone, a performance-enhancing substance, the league announced Friday.
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Charlie Goldsmith / Cincinnati.com:
How Noelvi Marte's suspension will impact the Reds' lineup — GOODYEAR, Ariz — Before Cincinnati Reds third baseman Noelvi Marte received an 80-game suspension for violating MLB's performance-enhancing drug policy, he was in line to receive about six-to-nine starts out of every 10 games.
Discussion:
MLB Trade Rumors
Tim Healey / Newsday:
Mets contemplating moving Brandon Nimmo from leadoff spot — PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Brandon Nimmo, leadoff hitter extraordinaire, soon might abandon that part of his identity. — The Mets are considering batting Nimmo somewhere other than first, he said, and he is very much open to the possibility.
Discussion:
ClutchPoints, New York Post, Yahoo Sports and SNY
MLB.com:
Ranking all 30 farm systems — We rank farm systems twice a year, and while we spend a lot of time breaking them down, evaluating the talents of 5,000 players across 30 different organizations is a fairly impossible task. We often joke that one team congratulates us on placing them perfectly …
Discussion:
Battery Power, Camden Chat, Athletics Nation and Bleed Cubbie Blue
Jordan McPherson / Miami Herald:
Watch Miami Marlins ace Sandy Alcantara throw for first time since Tommy John surgery — Sandy Alcantara said he couldn't sleep Friday night. He was too excited about what was going to happen the next day. — For the first time since undergoing Tommy John surgery five months ago in early October, Alcantara threw a baseball.
Discussion:
ClutchPoints and MLB Trade Rumors
Alice Callahan / New York Times:
Don't Let Daylight Saving Time Ruin Your Sleep — Here's how to feel well rested when the clocks spring forward on Sunday. — Daffodils are blooming, temperatures are rising, days are lengthening — all sure signs of spring. But another, less welcome change is afoot: At 2 a.m. on Sunday …
Discussion:
Boston Herald, KUSA-TV, New York Post, Washington Post, Associated Press and Orange County Register
Laura Albanese / Newsday:
Francis Mendoza, wife of Mets manager Carlos, sacrificed her career as dentist in Venezuela so husband could chase dream — Francis Mendoza spent six years in college following in her father's footsteps. She spent one year working alongside him at his dental practice in Venezuela …
Discussion:
New Jersey Online
Derrick Goold / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Cardinals outfielder Lars Nootbaar sidelined by torso soreness, undergoing evaluations — In today's 10 a.m. “Ten Hochman” video from Cardinals spring training — brought to you by Siteman Cancer Center — Ben Hochman discusses Cardinals outfielder Lars Nootbaar, who arrived to camp on Thursday.
Discussion:
ESPN, The Athletic and MLB Trade Rumors
Jeff Passan / ESPN:
Sources: Red Sox, Brayan Bello agree to 6-year, $55M extension — Right-hander Brayan Bello and the Boston Red Sox have agreed to a six-year, $55 million contract extension, sources told ESPN, locking up the hard-throwing 24-year-old whose changeup is already one of the best in Major League Baseball.
