A second season of free agent speculation is upon us, but it's probably not going to be prolonged. Starter Dallas Keuchel and closer Craig Kimbrel are hot commodities among contenders now that the draft is here. That's because the Astros with Keuchel and the Red Sox with Kimbrel offered each of them a one-year, $17.9 million qualifying offer last winter. Each player rejected the offer and because of that, given the rules established in the labor agreement, any team that signed either of the...

Last December, about a month before he died, pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre helped his son, Mel Jr., with a decision about his job. Junior couldn't decide among several offers about what pitching-coach job to take for the 2019 season. Senior advised Junior to take the Marlins' offer because he was comfortable with team owner Derek Jeter and manager Don Mattingly, given their connections with the Yankees. Senior thought that Junior needed a challenge of building a young staff with plenty of...

Baseball has turned into an all-or-nothing, strikeout-or-hit-a-home run game, but not all players are with the program. Check out the Dodgers' Cody Bellinger. In his previous two seasons, Bellinger has been all or nothing. In 2017, he hit 39 home runs with 146 strikeouts in 480 at-bats. The following season, the numbers were 25, 151 and 557. Now Bellinger, the son of former big league infielder Clay Bellinger, is turning back the clock. He's improved his strike zone discipline, shortened his...

In 2011, outfielder Dwight Smith Jr. was a first-round draft pick by the Blue Jays. Then, after hitting. .268 in seven minor league seasons for the Blue Jays, he was traded March 8 to Baltimore for international slot money the Orioles weren't going to use anyway. When he arrived in spring training in Sarasota, Fla., he was projected as outfield depth on an Orioles roster that was loaded with outfield prospects making impressions. Now, six weeks into the season, Smith is one of the Orioles'...

The Nationals' first month of the season has been mediocre, but they are lucky none of the other three teams expected be National League East contenders are playing well either. The Mets and Braves can score, but each has pitching issues, the Mets in the rotation and the Braves in the bullpen. And the Nationals' bullpen struggles are documented well, although Erick Fedde and the relievers pitched well in a much-needed victory Sunday against San Diego. The Phillies rotation is coming together....

The Nationals aren't the only team in the National League East with bullpen issues. After an offseason of acquiring bullpen arms, NL East teams are having difficult times finding reliable relief arms. And there are still two weeks to go in April. The Nationals' Austen Williams gave up four ninth-inning runs Wednesday in a 9-6 win against the Giants at Nationals Park, meaning the Nationals went into Thursday's game with the highest bullpen ERA (8.04) in the league. The Mets were the...

The answers to questions regarding the top five surprising teams in the early going on the season: Q: What is fueling the Tigers' first-place run in the American League Central? A: Pitching and defense. "This is about throwing the ball over the plate and catching it,'' Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire said to the Detroit Free Press. "But we can't get too high on this stuff. There's a long way to go.'' The Tigers get a big test starting tonight when they play Cleveland in a series they'll...

A week into the season, the Yankees are already on Plan C at shortstop. Gleyber Torres played the position Thursday against the Orioles in the Camden Yards home opener. It worked fine. Torres, batting seventh, hit two home runs in the Yankees' 8-4 victory against the Orioles. His single in the eighth inning gave him a career-high four hits. The Yankees' standing-room-only injured list is the biggest story from the American League East's first week. The Yankees knew their regular shortstop,...

Bryce Harper will be returning to Nationals Park for the rest of his career, just not the way Nats fans were thinking. Harper, 26, will be wearing Phillies gray for three trips a year into Washington, starting Tuesday night. Harper signed a 13-year, $330 million contract with National League East rival Philadelphia, leaving the only major league city he's called home. Harper will wear No. 3 with the Phillies after wearing No. 34 for the Nationals. Harper's jersey is baseball's...

The offseason for the National League East was a steady stream of reinforcements, making it the most competitive division of Major League Baseball's six. Four teams have a chance to win the crown. The biggest offseason splash was the Phillies' trade for catcher J.T. Realmuto. But that was only until halfway through spring training, when they signed free-agent outfielder Bryce Harper. So, how will the Nationals be without Harper, 26, the 2015 NL MVP? And, do the Phillies have enough in their...

After going 11-3 in the postseason en route to winning the 2018 World Series, the Red Sox are taking aim at becoming the first repeat World Series winner since the Yankees won their third consecutive in 2000. History says the Red Sox have an uphill climb. Since 2000, only the 2001 Yankees and 2009 Phillies returned to the World Series after winning it the previous season. Nine of the World Series champions didn't make the postseason. The Yankees and Red Sox are the favorites in the American...

The Milwaukee Brewers - thanks in part to former Oriole Wade Miley and former National Gio Gonzalez - won the National League Central last season by a game and then came within a victory of winning their the NL pennant, their first pennant since winning the AL pennant in 1982 and losing to St. Louis in the World Series. Miley and Gonzalez are gone, so the Brewers will bank on young pitchers in the rotation. The biggest addition is Yasmani Grandal, a switch-hitting catcher with power. He played...

The Indians rotation is one of the best in baseball, and because of that, they are the pick to win their fourth consecutive American League Central championship. But unlike other years, the Indians' chances are at their most vulnerable. Their bullpen is weaker and their offense took a hit. They have a no-name outfield, although former Rockies outfielder Carlos Gonzalez signed late a minor league contract with Cleveland. So which team has the best chance to catch them? The Twins are that team....

The good news for the Los Angeles Dodgers is that they've been to the World Series two consecutive years. The bad news is that they've watched two teams - the Astros in 2017 and the Red Sox last season - celebrate a championship in Dodger Stadium. The Astros won Game 7, the Red Sox Game 5. The Dodgers vow to win the World Series this season, ending a championship drought that goes back to 1988, the year they beat the Athletics. But first things first: They have to take aim at winning their...

The Astros won their first World Series in 2017 and followed that with a franchise-record 103 victories last season. But they were then beaten in the postseason by the eventual World Series champion Red Sox. "Last year was a disappointment, but we are an organization that's built to win multiple championships,'' says Jeff Luhnow, the general manager who puts the roster together. The Astros' core of players includes a healthy middle infield in Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa. There's also...

Baseball in 2020 will be finally getting rid of the most confusing rule in the game: the waiver rule that allows teams to make trades - even after the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline. What good is a July 31 trade deadline if teams can use a convoluted rule to make trades anyway? In 2019, the old system will stay in place. Teams can make any trades they see fit before the July 31 trade deadline. This season will be the final August that a team can trade a player after he clears waivers. It's...

The Phillies this offseason have strengthened their defense, added to their bullpen and added three quality players - shortstop Jean Segura, catcher J.T. Realmuto and reliever David Robertson - and two former National League MVP outfielders, Andrew McCutchen and former National Bryce Harper, who has a 13-year, $330 million free-agent contract to play for one of the Nationals' division rivals. So, does that make the Phillies, who haven't had a winning season since 2011, the odds-on favorite to...

The most persistent question in the American League East involves the Yankees and World Series champion Red Sox. Which team has the best rotation? Let's say the Red Sox. Which has the best bullpen? No doubt, it is the Yankees. The Blue Jays rotation banks on the health of its two best pitchers, Marcus Stroman and Aaron Sanchez and the rest of the rotation is a work in progress. The Rays rotation has a strong big three. But the Rays will likely continue to pioneer their "opener" ways. In...

The National League East is an arms race, at least with the Nationals and the Mets. The Nationals, who missed the postseason in 2018, traded Tanner Roark and added Patrick Corbin and Aníbal Sánchez to a rotation led by Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg. And, as good as the Nationals rotation is, the Mets rotation has fewer questions. The Mets' offseason focused on fixing their bullpen. Atlanta didn't add to a rotation that helped the Braves win the division next year. The Braves might...

With three new starters, the Cincinnati Reds are shooting for at least a .500 record in the National League Central. The Cubs have experience in their rotation, but check out their ages: Could they have too much experience? The Pirates think their rotation will surprise. The Cardinals' best story is Carlos Martínez and whether he can lead the rotation after injuries put him in the bullpen last year. And the Brewers, the team that lost to the Dodgers in last October's NL Championship...