Spring Training News & Notes, 3/22: Catching Up With Everyone

Blue Jays: Shaun Marcum will be the Blue Jays' opening day starter.This is the first time in eight years that Toronto has an opening day starter that isn't named Roy Halladay. ... Lyle Overbay will likely be a platoon player this season.

Orioles: Brian Roberts batted both left-handed and right-handed recently and reported no problems. ... Kevin Millwood is having a solid spring in his first season as an Oriole. ... Camden Chat has fun with small sample sizes. Nick Markakis is a nobody.

Rays: The Rays hit seven home runs against the Red Sox on Monday. Do you think their power is ready for the regular season? ... DRaysBay takes a look at golden child Evan Longoria's performance before and after his injuries.

Red Sox: Jonathan Papelbon was 'hit all around the park' yesterday and it doesn't bother the Red Sox's All-Star closer. ... The Red Sox took back Rule-5 draftee Jorge Jimenez.

Yankees: Jesus Montero will start the regular season in Triple-A. ... Alex Rodriguez will meet with federal investigators on Friday regarding a Canadian physician. ... Joba Chamberlain said he 'felt really good' in an intersquad game.

Nationals: Veterans Chris Duncan and Pete Orr were optioned to Minor League camp with young SP Shairon Martis...Ross Detwiler threw for the first time since hip surgery...Craig Stammen expects to make the rotation with a strong spring so far...Jordan Zimmermann and Chien-Ming Wang threw bullpen sessions.

Braves: Jair Jurrjens' shoulder seems fully recovered...Management is high on this squad's chemistry. 

Phillies: The 5th starter job is still up for grabs...LHP Mike Zagurski was optioned to minor-league camp...Brad Lidge threw 25 pitches in a minor league game, hitting 86-89 on his fastball.

Mets: Sources are conflicting on whether the Mets are really interested in Red Sox's Mike Lowell as an option at firstbase...Kelvim Escobar will resume throwing Monday.

Marlins: Clay Hensley and Adam Miller are competing for the 5th starter spot...The Fish sent Rule 5 claim, Jorge Jiminez, back to Boston, in accordance with Rule 5 procedures. 

Twins: Fangraphs offers their take on the Mauer contract, as does legendary Twins blogger Aaron Gleeman. Twinkie Town, meanwhile, responds to some of the less positive responses to the contract.

White Sox: South Side Sox talks Alex Rios. In good news, Bobby Jenks appears less injured than originally thought.

Tigers: It seems like the Tigers have been winning every day. (Wasn't that a Rick Pitino book?) In a story we'll probably see variations of later, former Tiger Granderson wanted to face Verlander yesterday.

Indians: Kerry Wood is injured, and Lets Go Tribe breaks down the implications of the injury.

Royals: Does the Mike Sweeney experience in Kansas City offer an insight to how the Mauer contract might play out? Only time will tell. CBS offers five things to know about the Royals. Greg Schaum profiles team prospect Louis Coleman.

Mariners: Erik Bedard's scheduled Tuesday bullpen has been called off, but the Mariners' team trainer insists this isn't a setback. Bedard remains well ahead of schedule, and will continue long toss while throwing flat-ground bullpens, which put different forces on the shoulder than throwing off a mound...Doug Fister, who was hit by a line drive on Friday, is scheduled to play catch Tuesday, but still has a lot of fluid in his arm...Cliff Lee will spend Monday doing shoulder exercises, and should play catch Tuesday...Garrett Olson is set to play catch Monday after taking a ball off of his left hand...the Jose Lopez/Chone Figgins position switch is final, says Don Wakamatsu...Milton Bradley got ejected for the second time in three days last Friday, but seems to be committed to giving himself a fresh start.

Angels: Ichiro and Hideki Matsui faced off for the first of several times this season...Jered Weaver had another rough outing on Sunday, but did manage to try out a new, tighter slider recommended to him by Joel Pineiro...nagging injuries have prevented the Angels from fielding their entire regular lineup so far.

Athletics: Ben Sheets had a much better start on Saturday than his previous time out, allowing one run in four innings...reliever Jon Meloan has a ligament tear in his right elbow and is prepared to undergo season-ending surgery...Craig Breslow threw from 120 feet as he makes his way towards a bullpen session...the A's cut nine players from Major League camp on Sunday, including Adrian Cardenas, Lenny DiNardo, and Gregorio Petit...Michael Wuertz made his Cactus League debut on Sunday...Justin Duchscherer will make his Cactus League debut on Monday...Rajai Davis and Coco Crisp should both return Wednesday...Andrew Bailey will throw today, while Joey Devine felt good throwing from 80 feet.

Rangers: Evan Grant projects his Opening Day Rangers roster, with CJ Wilson making the rotation in place of the injured Tommy Hunter...it looks like Derek Holland is off to start in AAA, while Neftali Feliz will be in the Ranger bullpen...Jarrod Saltalamacchia is battling muscle spasms and neck stiffness, which isn't doing his bid for a roster spot any favors...Rich Harden continues to struggle in the spring, with ten walks and an 11.25 ERA through 12 innings...Warner Madrigal will throw from 120 feet Monday as he gets ready for a bullpen session...Ray Olmedo was traded to Milwaukee for catcher Matt Treanor on Monday, providing backstop depth while reducing the utility competition to Joaquin Arias vs. Esteban German.

Diamondbacks Arizona used LF/1B Conor Jackson at leadoff on Sunday – the first time in his life he had played there. However, it’s something you might see a lot more of. Said manager AJ Hinch, "It makes our lineup pretty interesting. As much as (Jackson) gets on base, if I have a left-hander hitting behind him, he’s got the hole open. Conor will run. Even though he doesn’t have blazing speed he’s a very good baserunner." Seems particularly likely against lefties: Jackson’s career OBP is .396 vs. LHP.

Dodgers Eric Gagne was formally released by the Dodgers. Said GM Ned Colleti, "Both sides thought at this juncture it was in Eric’s best interest to see if he can find another opportunity." Gagne has struggled with injury, on a number of teams, pitching only 113.2 major-league innings in total over the past five seasons, after making three straight All-Star teams and winning the NL Cy Young in 2003.

Giants Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum opted to start against the Giants Double-A team on Sunday, rather than travel to Tucson to face division rivals Arizona. He threw 5.2 shutout frames, but did walk five batters in the outing. Said Lincecum, "I feel my stride is where it needs to be. It comes back to leg strength and flexibility. The more I throw, the more my body will get used to that motion again." He added that his unique delivery does take more time to get back under full control.

Padres Starter Jon Garland was skipped on Sunday, his outing spot going instead to Sean Gallagher. "We’re going to give (Garland) a few days just as a precaution," said manager Bud Black. Meanwhile, Adrian Gonzalez is trying to ignore all the talk about his long-term location.

Rockies Colorado’s struggling ace did better over the weekend. Aaron Cook threw five scoreless innings in a minor-league game down in Tucson on Sunday. Cook reckons the 20 pounds he lost in the off-season could be responsible, affecting the timing of Cook’s release. He said afterwards, "It is a relief. You can throw as good as you want in the bullpen or as bad as you want in the bullpen, but when you go out on the mound, that’s when you need to have it."

Cardinals: The team received plenty of good injury news over the weekend, as Matt Holliday is expected to return to action Monday, and Brendan Ryan returned on Saturday. Holliday has missed almost two weeks of action with a strained intercostal muscle, and Ryan was playing for the first time this spring after having wrist surgery in February.

Cubs: Top prospect Starlin Castro opened a lot of eyes with a strong performance this spring, but will have to wait a little longer for his major league debut. Castro was optioned to the minors on Saturday, despite hitting .423/.444/.692 in Cactus League play…Greg Maddux, working as an assistant for GM Jim Hendry, spent Saturday’s game with scouts, learning a bit about their practices and teaching them some things to watch for with pitchers…In injury news, Carlos Silva left Sunday’s game after two innings with tightness in his right quad. He was able to throw in the bullpen to complete his expected outing.

Brewers: Jim Edmonds has surprised many by having a strong spring and becoming a near lock to make the team, and now he’s surprising those same people by raising the possibility that he’ll reject a job as the team’s fourth outfielder. Edmonds told Ed Price that he’s not sure he’s interested in playing a couple of days a week, and told Anthony Witrado he feels a strong pull to spend more time with his family.

Astros: Shortstop Tommy Manzella will be out at least a week after straining his quad running out a ground ball on Saturday. Outfielder Jason Bourgeois also left Sunday’s game against the Red Sox with a strained hamstring, and is listed as day-to-day.

Reds: The normal recovery time for Tommy John surgery would suggest Edinson Volquez should miss the entire 2010 season, but he’s already throwing off a mound in Reds camp, throwing 30 pitches yesterday. He plans to continue throwing bullpen sessions every other day and hopes to be back by mid-July.

Pirates: Zach Duke took a strong step towards opening day over the weekend, pitching five scoreless innings with nine strikeouts in an intrasquad game. Duke was scheduled to throw five innings, but to get him closer to his target pitch count the fifth inning was expanded to six outs.