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Casey Blake went for an MRI exam on his injured back last week and the Dodgers said they expected him to miss minimal time, but today manager Don Mattingly indicated to Tony Jackson of ESPNLA.com that the veteran third baseman is likely to begin the season on the disabled list. Blake didn’t get many at-bats…

Back-to-back poor outings have Freddy Garcia looking like a long shot to claim the fifth spot in the Yankees’ rotation and yesterday the 34-year-old veteran told Brian Costello of the New York Post that he definitely will not accept an assignment to Triple-A if he doesn’t win the job: If I don’t make the team,…

Michael Cuddyer has been sidelined for the past few weeks after having a wart removed from his foot–the gross picture of which you can see by clicking here–but Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports that he’s now scheduled to make his spring training debut Wednesday against the Orioles. Cuddyer actually played in a minor-league game this…

Journeyman Nelson Figueroa will open the season as the Astros’ fifth starter after competing for the job with 20-year-old top prospect Jordan Lyles, who was sent to the minors today. Lyles was impressive this spring and has a ton of long-term upside, but realistically the Astros are better off letting Figueroa keep the rotation spot…

It started, like many things do, with me mocking my mother on Twitter.

Kansas City announced its rotation and as expected Luke Hochevar will get the Opening Day start against the Angels despite a 5.60 career ERA that includes a 4.81 mark in 18 outings last year. Of course, the Royals being the Royals they don’t really have any clearly better options. Jeff Francis, Kyle Davies, and Bruce…

Often when a pitcher travels to Dr. James Andrews’ office is Alabama for an examination the next news is announcement that arm surgery is needed, but in Frank Francisco‘s case his visit to Dr. Andrews is for a sore right pectoral muscle. That doesn’t mean he won’t need surgery, of course, but an MRI exam…

Last week Ichiro Suzuki donated $1.2 million to the Japanese relief efforts and now Hideki Matsui has joined him, donating around $600,000 to the Red Cross. Matsui’s official donation is 50 million yen (Ichiro’s was 100 million yen), which works out to about $620,000 based on the current conversion rate and represents around 15 percent…

As expected, general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. confirmed this morning that going to the minors isn’t actually a possibility for Luis Castillo even though he signed a minor-league contract with the Phillies yesterday. Instead, he’ll either convince the Phillies to put him on the Opening Day roster or become a free agent again in two…

Jensen Lewis has consistently been one of Cleveland’s best relievers since debuting in mid-2007, posting a 3.68 ERA and 177 strikeouts in 198 innings, but he’s been knocked around in a half-dozen appearances this spring and now Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com reports that the Indians have placed him on waivers. Lewis is under contract for…

Over the weekend Andy Martino of the New York Daily News wrote that Jason Isringhausen had emerged as a realistic bullpen option for the Mets–and perhaps even an eighth-inning setup candidate–after signing a minor-league deal following a tryout last month. Unfortunately injuries have once again threatened to derail Isringhausen’s career, as Andy McCullough of the…

Apparently feeling that their Garrett quota had been surpassed after claiming Garrett Olson off waivers last week, the Pirates have released Garrett Atkins. Atkins is just one season removed from being paid $4.5 million by the Orioles, but that was a terrible signing last winter and he appeared in all of 44 games before Baltimore…

Not that there was much doubt in the mind of anyone but Nyjer Morgan, but Ricky Nolasco made it pretty clear today that he didn’t intend to hit Morgan with a pitch earlier this week: I don’t know what to tell Nyjer. I’m not trying to hit him. What’s happened last year is squashed. If…

One of the benefits of finishing with the worst record in baseball last season is that the Pirates still have the No. 1 waiver priority and they used it today to claim Garrett Olson after he was let go by the Mariners. I once thought Olson had a future as a solid mid-rotation starter for…

Scot Shields was said to be pondering retirement throughout the offseason and the longtime Angels setup man officially called it quits today after a 10-year career in which he threw 697 innings with a 3.18 ERA. Because he never got a chance to be a full-time closer Shields was almost always overlooked during discussions of…

Carlos Guillen‘s slower than expected recovery from knee surgery has opened the door for Scott Sizemore and Will Rhymes to compete for the Tigers’ starting job at second base, but Jason Beck of MLB.com writes that Ryan Raburn has emerged as a contender for the gig as well. Raburn has never started more than 15…

Ichiro Suzuki hasn’t talked to the media about the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, but Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times reports that he donated 100 million yen to the Red Cross’ relief efforts. That works out to around $1.2 million, depending on the current conversion rate. According to Baker the Mariners have also announced…

Today the Astros announced that Brett Myers, not Wandy Rodriguez, will start on Opening Day against Roy Halladay and the Phillies. Myers is coming off a career-year that saw him post a 3.14 ERA and 180/66 K/BB ratio in 224 innings to earn a two-year, $23 million contract extension, but Rodriguez was also plenty effective…

Brad Lidge threw a problem-free bullpen session this morning and afterward told Todd Zolecki of MLB.com that he’s hoping to return to game action within 3-4 days. Lidge has been sidelined for a week with right biceps tendinitis, but said his arm “felt really good” while throwing 35 pitches today and is scheduled for another…

Mike Scioscia has said that Kendrys Morales needs to see game action by Sunday if he’s to have any chance of being on the Opening Day roster, but there’s almost zero chance of that happening with Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times reporting that Morales “still isn’t running full speed.” Morales is 10 months…

Kelsie Smith of the St. Paul Pioneer Press did a terrific job incorporating advanced defensive metrics into a recent article about Delmon Young. She spoke to sabermetricians Bill James and John Dewan while noting that the 30 pounds Young lost last offseason didn’t actually lead to major improvement in his fielding numbers and then used…

Andrew Bailey gave the A’s a scare when he left Monday’s game grabbing his surgically repaired elbow, but Dr. James Andrews found no structural damage and Bailey said today that the “ripping” sensation he felt was likely just scar tissue breaking up. Bailey told Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle that he hopes to…