Spring Training News & Notes, 3/9: Catching Up With Everyone

Blue Jays: Toronto, who holds a 5-1 record this spring, was off on Tuesday. The Blue Jays will play the Phillies on Wednesday. ... Jays pitcher Dustin McGowan pitched a simulated game on Tuesday. McGowan is expected to pitch in another simulated game if there is no soreness after shoulder surgery last year. ... SB Nation's Bluebird Banter takes a look at division rivals, starting with the Boston Red Sox.

Orioles: The Orioles aren't doing themselves any favors looking ahead to the 2010 regular season: today's 8-3 loss to the Rays marks the team's sixth-straight loss of the spring. The defense has been a huge concern for Baltimore, as the O's committed five errors on the day. ... Is Matt Wieters the "perfect catch"? I think a guy named Joe would like to make an argument on that topic. ... Brian Roberts, one of the best second baseman in baseball, has a back injury and the team -- specifically Andy MacPhail, president of baseball operations -- is questioning whether or not their All-Star will start the season on the 25-man roster.

Rays: Jeff Niemann became the first pitcher in spring training this year to pitch four innings of work, leading the Rays to an 8-3 victory over the Orioles on Tuesday. Evan Longoria and Reid Brignac led the offense with two runs batted in each. ... Former Rangers third baseman Hank Blalock is going to get another shot and this time it comes with the Rays. Tampa Bay signed the 29-year-old infielder to a minor league deal Tuesday. ... Rafael Soriano is a creature of habit, so he gets to do what he wants. Rays coach Joe Maddon hopes whatever works -- well, works.

Red Sox: Tim Wakefield may be turning 44 this year, but even a three-hour van ride couldn't stop him from keeping the Marlins scoreless in a 9-0 Red Sox win on Tuesday. Wakefield pitched three innings and threw 22 of 30 pitches for strikes. Red Sox outfield prospect Josh Reddick went 3 for 4 with an RBI in the win. ... The Red Sox are in action Wednesday (1 p.m.) against the Rays.

Yankees: The Yankees dropped a slugfest to the Pirates on Tuesday, 12-7. Nick Johnson hit two home runs for the Pinstripes while CC Sabathia was shelled for five runs in two-plus innings of work. ... SB Nation's Pinstripe Alley breaks down what fans know about the Yankees team this early in the spring. One truth? There isn't a single Yankees outfielder that wants to bat above .143 (Randy Winn). ... The Yankees' Mark Newman, senior VP of baseball operations, was arrested for DUI last Monday night.

Diamondbacks LF/1B Conor Jackson went 3-for-3 today, and is hitting .500 after the first week of spring. He struggled badly last season after catching a fungal lung disease which turned into pneumonia, but looks primed to rebound. “You take a lot of things for granted in your life, and one thing for me was the opportunity to play major-league baseball every single day. That was taken from me last year,” said Jackson.

Dodgers Former Dodgers outfielder, Willie Davis, who held the records for most hits and runs for the team since they moved to Los Angeles, was found dead in his Burbank home, the LA Times reports. His death appears to have been of natural causes, at the age of 69. Davis was a two-time All-Star and won the Gold Glove three consecutive years, from 1971-73.

Giants Might we see top-tier catching prospect Buster Posey play some at first or third this year? Worth noting that Pablo Sandoval was mostly a catcher in the minors, but now plays almost exclusively at third. Grant discusses this at McCovey Chronicles, and feels he’d rather see Posey play regularly behind the plate in Triple-A, than get bounced around in the Majors.

Padres Sporting legend Muhammad Ali showed up at the San Diego training camp yesterday. “It was almost eerie seeing him come into the room,” said third-baseman Chase Headley. Will it help the Padres add some, ah, punch to their offense? Boxing’s finest ambassador has been promoting his ‘Athletes for Hope’ charity, and also visited the Giants’ clubhouse in Scottsdale on Tuesday.

Rockies Mixed news for Colorado closer Huston Street. His shoulder felt “surprisingly good” after his bullpen session today. However, ESPN reports Street has been notifed that federal investigators may want to question him about Dr. Anthony Galea, currently under investigation for HGH and another drug

This looks more like a medical report than a baseball report, so let’s get started:

Cubs: Good news! Ted Lilly says he wants to pitch in a Cactus League game, and Lou Piniella says he’ll do that. Lilly was originally not expected back till mid-April. And, Randy Wells threw three one-hit innings in his second spring start; he’s the first Cub starter to go three this spring.

Cardinals: Ryan Franklin was lights-out last year — until late September and, of course, his playoff meltdown. St. Louis sportswriters discuss whether Franklin’s problems are cause for concern.

Reds: Cincinnati.com’s Paul Daugherty tells about his first trip to Goodyear Ballpark, a little about Bronson Arroyo, and says one scout thinks Aroldis Chapman is “the best young left-handed arm I’ve seen since Herb Score”. For Reds fans’ sake, they should hope he stays away from line drives back to the box — that, unfortunately, ruined Score’s career.

Pirates: Andrew McCutchen wants to steal more bases this year. And will Steve Pearce be a backup this year, or force his way into the starting lineup?

Astros: Wesley Wright, a LOOGY for Houston in 2009, used his winter ball experience in the Dominican to stretch himself out to start. The Astros say he’s a strong candidate for the rotation. Also, reliever Brandon Lyon still hopes to be ready by Opening Day.

Brewers: Chris Capuano, a former 18-game winner who hasn’t pitched in the Majors since 2007, is a longshot non-roster invitee. Still, he’s confident he can show Brewers management he still belongs, after a pair of Tommy John surgeries. Meanwhile, Mat Gamel still has shoulder soreness and likely will be held out a few more days. He’s expected to be the primary backup to Casey McGehee.

Nationals: Strasburg. Strasburg. Strasburg. Stephen Strasburg, the first-overall pick in the 2009 draft and the consensus best pitching prospect in the world, made his highly-anticipated Nationals debut today. He pitched 2 innings, allowing 2 runs and no hits, while inducing 4 groundouts and 2 strikeouts. He reportedly hit 97-98 consistently on the radar gun with his 2-seam fastball and ended his work with a 3-2 strikeout looking on a curveball. Federal Baseball has a complete pitch-by-pitch breakdown of Strasburg’s work.

Phillies: Despite pitching a scoreless three innings against the Yankees yesterday, Kyle Kendrick still must earn the Phils’ 5th starter job from presumptive favorite Jamie Moyer…Lefty set-up man J.C. Romero doesn’t expect to be ready for opening day, while Brad Lidge probably will be.

Marlins: Cody Ross and Cameron Maybin have resumed baseball activities. Both are suffering from strained groins and hope to resume running soon…C John Baker is still out with a right forearm muscle strain.

Braves: 3B prospect Van Pope is converting to a pitcher…Manager Bobby Cox joked that he included Jason Heyward in today’s lineup out of fear of getting booed, which can only portend well for the young outfielder’s chances of making the team.

Mets: Two high-profile Venezuelan pitchers made their debuts today, as Johan Santana threw two rusty, but healthy, innings and Francisco Rodriguez, recovering from pinkeye, threw off a mound.

Mariners: A spring training experiment that has switched Jose Lopez to third base and Chone Figgins to second encountered its first real speed bump on Monday, as Lopez struggled on groundballs, but the team isn't particularly concerned...Dustin Ackley experienced some growing pains at second as well, but he's still getting used to the position, and this is par for the course...Felix Hernandez will throw a simulated game Tuesday against live batters...Jack Wilson is out of the lineup Tuesday afternoon, but he's feeling good and ready to return from his hamstring injury...Franklin Gutierrez, who was having some soreness in his shoulder, is playing his second consecutive game and feels close to full strength...Rob Johnson is nearly ready to catch Cactus League games again after having some soreness in his recovering hip.

Athletics: Justin Duchscherer, slowed by a bad back, is slated to throw off a mound on Tuesday, while Joey Devine - returning from Tommy John surgery - should throw within a week...Brett Anderson made a successful Cactus League debut on Monday.

Angels: Both Kevin Jepsen and Scot Shields threw successful simulated games Tuesday morning, as Jepsen works his way back from shoulder soreness and Shields works his way back from knee surgery. Both are nearing a return to game action...Hideki Matsui is set to make his spring debut Tuesday afternoon. He's taking it easy to keep his knees fresh...Torii Hunter remains out of the lineup with a sore right groin. The team isn't concerned, as Hunter simply broke up some scar tissue from an offseason operation, but they will take things easy for the time being...Scott Kazmir will throw two innings in an intrasquad game on Wednesday as he works his way back from a sore hamstring.

Rangers: The Rangers acquired righty reliever Edwar Ramirez from the Yankees for cash considerations. Ramirez has a high strikeout rate and a dynamite changeup, but he's a flyball pitcher with a demonstrated home run problem, so Texas may not be the best environment for him...Josh Hamilton, who was delayed with shoulder soreness, made his spring debut Monday...Jarrod Saltalamacchia, who had shoulder surgery late last season, has been scratched on Tuesday with shoulder soreness, but the team believes it's just aggravated scar tissue...Matt Harrison, who usually threw in the low- to mid-90s, is hitting 97mph, and he credits surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome...Esteban German is impressing and Joaquin Arias is not, as the battle for utility infielder heats up.

Division Wide: Baseball Prospectus has released their 2010 Organizational Rankings. The Indians (3rd) and Twins (6th) check in amongst the highest rated farm systems in the game, while the White Sox (27th) don't. The White Sox ranking is a little misleading however, because Gordon Beckham has already reached the Majors. More towards the middle, we find the Royals (10th) and Tigers (14th).

Twins: Nick Blackburn's non-descript contract extension now looks like it happened months ago, thanks to the season-altering injury to Joe Nathan. Twins blog Twinkie Town has been all over the Nathan injury, complete with gigantic images of what the joint in question looks like and a must-read interview with Will Carroll. Carroll's take in a nutshell: season-ending surgery is inevitable. But life goes on, so here's your roto-fueled update on new closer options.

White Sox: Once hot Cuban signee Dayan Viciedo's life may be about to change. White Sox GM Kenny Williams isn't happy with his effort, and "bust" is now on the tip of everyone's lips. But hey, Ozzie Guillen has never been known to turn on a player, so this should ultimately work out in the end.

Tigers: New Tiger Max Scherzer struggled in his first outing of the spring, which isn't the end of the world, but also isn't fun when Jeremy Bonderman did the same a few days before. Beyond the day-to-day issues, Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski tells local columnist Michael Rosenberg that the Tigers are going to be good for awhile.

Indians: Lets Go Tribe weighs in on the Spring Training stats that should matter to Cleveland fans this month. Meanwhile, supposedly the attitude is different this time around.

Royals: The Royals suffered three major injuries over the weekend, although two were merely to prospects. The primary take-away is that Alex Gordon (3B) will likely miss all of Spring Training. Having BP's 10th ranked system, in year five of the Dayton Moore rebuild, is a slightly bitter pill for KC fans to swallow. In other good news, Keith Law notes that Kyle Farnsworth was "predictably awful" in his first appearance.