Indians sign Belisle to Minors deal By Jordan Bastian MLB.com @MLBastian GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- The Indians have one job open in their and have thrown another interesting arm into the competition. On Sunday, Cleveland signed right-hander Matt Belisle to a Minor League contract that includes an invitation to attend with the big league club.

The signing comes after the Indians added reliever to the fold on the same type of contract on Thursday.

Belisle, 37, turned in a 4.03 ERA with a career-best rate (8.1 per nine ) in 62 appearances last season for the Twins. In 60 1/3 innings, the righty struck out 54, walked 22 and picked up nine saves in 11 opportunities. Over the final three months of the season, Belisle spun a 1.50 ERA with a .458 opponents' OPS in 30 innings.

As things currently stand, Cleveland's bullpen projects to include Cody Allen and relief ace , along with Dan Otero, Zach McAllister, Nick Goody and Tyler Olson. That leaves one job opening, if starts the season with a traditional seven- man 'pen.

Merritt has work to do to crack talented staff By Jordan Bastian MLB.com @MLBastian GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- Ryan Merritt does not need to dissect the Indians' depth chart to understand the uphill battle he is facing this spring. The lefty only needs to look around the room.

Across the clubhouse from Merritt's locker is the stall belonging to ace Corey Kluber, the reigning winner, and those of Carlos Carrasco and . Along the adjacent wall are veteran Josh Tomlin, the hard-throwing Danny Salazar and up- and-comer Mike Clevinger. Merritt is trying to make a reservation at a table that has been booked months in advance.

"I'm really not going to get caught up in what's going to happen a month from now," Merritt said. "I can control today. And, when I show up tomorrow, I can control what I do that day."

The wrinkle in Merritt's situation is the fact that he is out of Minor League options. So, not only is there no room in the rotation at the moment, but Cleveland is unable to send Merritt to Triple-A Columbus without first exposing him to waivers. That would put the lefty up for grabs to other teams who might see a fit for him on their pitching staff. Losing Merritt would rob Cleveland of a valuable depth arm.

So, the Indians will have a decision to make as Spring Training progresses.

Cleveland will keep stretching Merritt out as a starter so he can keep his next-man-up status in the event of any rotation setbacks. Already, Salazar is playing catch-up due to a right shoulder issue. At the end of camp, if the Tribe's rotation is healthy and intact, the Indians could consider stashing Merritt in their bullpen. As it stands, there is currently one vacancy in the relief corps.

The catch there is that manager Francona typically likes to have a reliever with options on the staff to help with in-season roster maneuvering.

"I don't think it's going to come down to how he's throwing the ball," Francona said. "I think it'll be more of how we're situated. Keeping the other starter, knowing that we're a little bit thin in starting after our guys is important. Do we think it's realistic that we can keep him? Things like that, we'll have to take into consideration." More than anyone inside Cleveland's locker room, Merritt knows how swiftly things can change.

Two years ago, Merritt appeared in four games down the stretch for the Indians, but then he retreated to Arizona while the team played on into October. Cleveland was already short Carrasco and Salazar due to injuries in those playoffs, and then Bauer sustained his famous drone- related laceration on his pitching hand. Just like that, Francona and the front office were scrambling for a solution.

Instead of mapping out his offseason, Merritt was flown to Toronto, where he was walked into a packed news conference, and was introduced as the Game 5 starter for the Indians in the AL Championship Series. The wide-eyed rookie was more nervous in front of the media than he was when he took the mound, though. Inside a raucous Rogers Centre, Merritt pitched brilliantly, helping beat the Blue Jays to punch the Tribe's ticket to the .

"After you experience something like that," he said, "'you know that anything can happen at any point."

So, Merritt will continue to get in his daily work, logging bullpen sessions and quietly turning in clean innings like the one he did against the Reds in Friday's Cactus League . The lefty hopes to stay with Cleveland, but also knows that another team might be intrigued by the 1.71 ERA he has fashioned in 31 2/3 career innings in the big leagues.

"I just need to go out there, be myself, compete, try to get better, keep trying to impress," Merritt said. "And then, at the end of the day, if I'm in the bullpen, a starter, or with another team, whatever it is, I'm trying to help my team win. ... I've built so many great memories, so many great friends, here. To stay here with the Indians would mean so much to me."

Yandy to focus on playing third exclusively By Jordan Bastian MLB.com @MLBastian SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Yandy Diaz bounced between third base and the outfield during Spring Training last year, and was deemed an unfinished product defensively. His performance in the batter's box is what forced the Indians' hand, leading to a spot on the roster.

This spring, Indians manager Terry Francona wants to avoid moving Diaz around. During Saturday's 11-2 win over the D-backs, Diaz got the start at third base, and that is the position he will focus on in Cactus League play. Diaz is blocked by All-Star Jose Ramirez at the hot corner right now, but Francona wants to do what he feels is right for the player's future.

View Full Game Coverage "When the guy shows the ability with the bat that he did," Francona said, "he was kind of the obvious candidate to kind of move around a little bit, because we thought he could help us. I do think it was hard on his development. He was trying to master one position, let alone two or three. So, I do think it'll help."

Francona also noted that Diaz is also only recently recovered from a sports hernia that he sustained during winter ball.

"We just felt like, 'Let's simplify it a little bit,'" Francona said of the plan for Diaz.

Last spring, Diaz .458 (22-for-48) with 34 and a 1.252 OPS in 20 Cactus League games for the Tribe. In 49 games for Cleveland in '17, Diaz was inconsistent. He turned in a .263/.352/.327 slash line in 156 at-bats. He started 37 games at third, three in left field and served as the five times. Francona felt Diaz held his own at third.

"He had a game or two in the outfield that was a little rough," Francona said. "But, I thought he played like an average Major League , which is plenty good."

Worth noting • Francona enjoys having players whose success stories give examples for other players. One case is left-hander Tyler Olson, who went to Triple-A Columbus after a solid showing last spring, and appeared blocked by veterans Andrew Miller and Boone Logan. By the second half, an injury to Logan opened the door for Olson, who turned in a 0.00 ERA in 30 appearances for Cleveland. "He had a really good spring last year," Francona said. "That's what we tell them: 'Do the best you can. Embrace being a part of what we're doing. Compete. And, it might not be on your timetable, but if you can really help, you'll get your chance.' And he's the perfect example."

• is a by trade, but is primed to open this season at that spot for the Tribe. Under the circumstances, and with outfield jobs up for grabs, Francona plans on giving Naquin time at all three outfield spots this spring. Naquin started in left field in Saturday's game against the D-backs and hit a two- .

"We're going to put him at all three," Francona said. "You'd just hate for a guy to come down to the end and us have to make a decision based on, 'Oh man, we didn't play him there.' That would be bad, in my opinion."

• Jason Kipnis, who was dealing with lower-back tightness in recent days, hit during live practice on Saturday. Francona indicated that, barring any setbacks, Kipnis will make his Spring Training debut on Sunday against the Reds.

• Francona said there is nothing new regarding right-hander Danny Salazar, who is working his way back from right shoulder inflammation. Salazar continues to work through the flat-ground portion of his throwing program, building up to long toss.

Up next Right-hander Trevor Bauer is scheduled to make his Cactus League debut on Sunday, when the Indians take on the Reds in a 3:05 p.m. ET tilt at Goodyear Ballpark. Homer Bailey is slated to start for Cincinnati. Cleveland will tentatively have , Ramirez, Edwin Encarnacion and in the lineup. The game will be available on MLB.TV.

Cleveland Indians get first exhibition victory of 2018 with 11-2 win against Joe Noga CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Tyler Naquin hit a two-run home run and the got RBI hits from Giovanny Urshela, Eric Haase and Greg Allen on Saturday in an 11-2 win against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Salt River Fields. Naquin, who appeared in 19 games for the Indians in 2017, homered to right off Diamondbacks Jared Miller in the top of the third. Erik Gonzalez, who had singled earlier in the , scored. Shawn Morimondo started and pitched two innings, allowing a run on one hit for Cleveland. Nick Goody and Tyler Olson were among seven other Indians to appear in the game. Olson, who did not allow an in 20 innings of work for the Tribe last season, gave up an RBI to Diamondbacks in the fourth inning. Cleveland put six runs on the board in the top of the ninth behind a two-run homer by Nellie Rodriguez, back-to-back homers by and Haase and a sac fly by Brandon Barnes. Rob Refsnyder added an RBI single to close out the scoring. Shaffer's home run was his first of the spring. He led the Indians organization with four spring training home runs in 2017. Cleveland Plain Dealer LOADED: 02.25.2018 Cleveland Indians: Yandy Diaz, Danny Salazar, Trevor Bauer -- Terry Pluto Terry Pluto CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Cleveland Indians make interviews from Goodyear, Arizona available to the media nearly every day. I was listening to Trevor Bauer discussing why he likes the Tribe. "We have a very talented and deep lineup." "We have a very talented pitching staff." "We got hammered by injuries last season, and we still had a very good year." OK, some of this is spring training optimism. As Tribe manager Terry Francona said, "Every manager thinks the glass is at least half-full this time of year." But it's also based on fact. recently rated its top 100 major-league players. The Indians have six on the list, four in the top 31. Here they are: 11. Corey Kluber 15. Francisco Lindor 26. Jose Ramirez 31. Carlos Carrasco So the Tribe has two starting pitchers and two premier infielders among the top 31. The only other team with four players ranked that high is : Jose Altuve (2), (9), (19) and (27). Overall, the Astros had seven players on the list, including (66), Andrew Bergman (69) and Keuchel (71). For the Indians, the others in the top 100 were Edwin Encarnacion (76) and Andrew Miller (81). You can probably make a case for Bauer being in the top 100 -- or 20 percent of players. He was 17-9 with a 4.19 ERA in 2017. He was 10-2 with a 3.01 ERA after the All-Star break. I like how his walk totals have dropped the last three seasons from 79 to 60. In 2015, those 79 walks led the American League, so this is real progress. The point made by Bauer and other Indians is a focus on losing Jay Bruce, Carlos Santana, Bryan Shaw and Joe Smith in free agency can miss the point of the team's current talent. Virtually every prediction has them winning the Central Division. Baseball Prospectus projects the Indians and Yankees to both win 96 games. In the American League, only the world champion Astros (99) are supposed to be better. It's the Tribe's dominant pitching staff that causes so many experts to be high on the team. They have been in the American League's top two in ERA in each of the last three seasons. Danny Salazar is having shoulder issues again. He is on a throwing program, but is doubtful to be ready for opening day. That would be a major loss to most teams. But the Indians still have six intriguing starters: Kluber, Carrasaco, Bauer, Mike Clevinger, Josh Tomlin and Ryan Merritt. The first five names on that list have won at least 10 games, and Merritt is a promising lefty. One of the reasons I appreciate Bauer is his durability. He has never been on the disabled list in the minors or majors. OK, the playoff drone accident in 2016 ... but fans know Bauer is in tremendous condition to pitch. "If I take a day off, I feel guilty," he said. "I feel like I'm missing something. It's my work ethic. When you do a lot of monotonous stuff, it leads to improvement." ABOUT SALAZAR Before spring training opened, I thought the Indians could possibly pull off a trade of Salazar for a hitter. His name was mentioned in trade talks during the winter. But the 27-year-old can't stay healthy. He has been on the disabled list three times since Aug. 2, 2016. Twice the problem was "elbow inflammation." This is the second time he has had a shoulder issue. Salazar's latest injury severely damages his trade value, even if it turns out to be "minor." It seems every time he's been on the disabled list in the last 18 months, it's not supposed to be a major problem. But since being named to the 2016 AL All-Star team, he is 6-9 with a 5.09 ERA in only 136 innings. Francona talked about being patient so they can not only get Salazar ready, but keep him healthy during the season. ABOUT YANDY DIAZ He hits the ball too much to right field. He doesn't hit home runs. He hits the ball too often on the ground. That's what some critics say about Yandy Diaz. As a rookie, Diaz batted .263 (.679 OPS) with 13 RBI in 156 at-bats while going homerless. He opened the season with the Tribe and hit poorly. He returned to Class AAA, where he led the with a .350 batting average and a .414 on-base percentage with 5 HR, 33 RBI and a .914 OPS. The right-handed hitting Diaz likes to hit the ball to right and right center. In this age of wanting players to hit fly balls and "increase their launch rate," should Diaz do the same? "No," said Francona, who has been publicly adamant about not making major changes to Diaz's swing. "If you do it now, you'll mess him up," he said. "Just wait, you'll see him pull the ball more without being told." Diaz has a career .331 batting average (.874 OPS) in Class AAA. He batted .304 (.810 OPS) when recalled to Cleveland after the All-Star break. Francona said most hitters need 500 to 600 at-bats to gain more power. Diaz has a minor league option left and appears ticketed for Class AAA, but I wonder if he could hit his way onto the big-league roster. ABOUT THE TRIBE 1. When Bauer talked about the team being hammered with injuries in 2017, he meant (ankle), Jason Kipnis (hamstrings), (shoulder, concussion, calf muscle). Kipnis and Brantley played only 90 of a possible 162 games. Chisenhall played 82. 2. Of course, Brantley has played only 101 games in the last two seasons -- and he's had ankle and shoulder surgery. He is iffy when it comes to being ready for opening day. Chisenhall has been on the disabled list four times in two seasons. Kipnis dealt with injuries in 2014, but was healthy and productive in 2015 and 2016. 3. The odds are against all three staying healthy for a full season. had wrist surgery and he's been battling some injury issues in camp. Guyer, Chisenhall and Brantley are all . That's why it's worth watching Melvin Upton Jr., Rajai Davis and Diaz in camp. They could be important early in the season. 4. In 2016, Tyler Naquin had a hot spring training and made the team. He took advantage of Brantley being hurt and Abe Almonte being suspended for 50 games for PEDs. Almonte also is in the outfield mix this season. So is Naquin, if he has a good spring and the outfield continues to deal with injuries. 5. Francona discussed Naquin "taking the league by storm" when he opened the 2016 season with the Tribe. Then pitchers began to make adjustments. Naquin had trouble with high . "The key is learning to adjust to what they do to you," said Francona. 6. Naquin batted .296 (.886 OPS) with 14 HR and 43 RBI in 116 games in 2016. In 2017, he had only 37 at-bats in the majors. He dealt with a back injury in the minors. 7. Some fans have asked about Francisco Mejia. The 22-year-old phenom is in camp but ticketed for Class AAA. Francona explained that Mejia skipped Class AAA to come to Cleveland in September. There is no immediate need to rush him to the majors. 8. The Indians are happy with catchers and Roberto Perez. While Mejia will play a little third base, the Tribe still sees him primarily as a catcher. Having Mejia does allow the Tribe to trade one of its other catchers at some point. Cleveland Plain Dealer LOADED: 02.25.2018 Prospect Bobby Bradley, minus 30 pounds, knocking on Cleveland Indians' door to big leagues Paul Hoynes GOODYEAR, Ariz. - Who's that knocking on the door? Manager Terry Francona says it's Bobby Bradley. With the free agent departure of Carlos Santana in December, first base has become a transitory position for the Indians. They signed Yonder Alonso to a two-year, $16 million deal right after they lost Santana. Alonso turned the first pitch he saw into a home run in Friday's spring training opener against the Reds so for the immediate future things seem to be in good hands. DH Edwin Encarnacion is expected to see some time at first as well this year. He's in the second year of a three-year, $60 million deal. The Indians club options for 2020 on Alonso and Encarnacion, but it's not like they invested their future in either man such as the Padres did when they gave an eight-year contract. Bradley, meanwhile, has been hard to ignore. In his first three years of pro ball, he led his league in homers and RBI. Last year, his first at Class AA Akron, he finished sixth in the Eastern League with 23 homers and second with 89 RBI. Along the way, he reduced his from 170 at Lynchburg in 2016 to 122 at Akron. That is not an easy thing to do when a player moves up in class. While Bradley has always had power, this winter he showed commitment by losing 30 pounds. It did not go unnoticed in the organization. "He's getting to the point in his career where not only is he knocking on the door, we want to see him knock the door down," said Francona. "By the way he's approaching things, I have no doubt that will happen." Yonder Alonso homers in first bat with Indians When the Indians start spring training, Francona and the front office hold individual meetings with every player in camp. That's over 60 players and one meeting can run into another. That did not happen when Bradley walked through the door last week 30 pounds lighter. "Of all the one-on-one meetings, he was the highlight just because of how he came to camp," said Francona. "He had an unbelievable winter. He went to both strength camps. He looks phenomenal. He should be really proud of himself." Francona said he set a record for cuss words because he was so excited about Bradley's transformation. "Because he had such a good winter and we don't have a ton of first basemen, he's going to get a chance to play a little bit," said Francona. "He deserves that reward because he had such a good offseason." In Friday's 6-4 loss to the Reds, Bradley pinch hit at DH for Encarnacion and went 0-2. After playing in 131 games for Akron last season, Bradley went to the for more seasoning. "This is a great honor to be invited to big league camp," said Bradley. "I'm going to take advantage of it. "I just want to learn as much as possible from being around the veteran guys. Just kind of picking at their brains. Just getting the different mentalities that they have facing different pitchers and on defense." Bradley, 21, is still a big man at 6-1 and 225 pounds. His left-handed swing has always got him noticed, but last year he discovered defense as well. Infield instructors John McDonald and former Gold Glove third baseman spent a lot of time working with him. One of the reasons the Indians sent him to the AFL was to continue his defensive work. "When I was younger, I mainly saw myself as a hitter," said Bradley, "but as I got older I learned you've got to be able to play both sides of the ball to be a big leaguer and stay a big leaguer. "I just decided to take it more serious and actually learn the position. I got with our infield coordinators (McDonald and Fryman). They really helped me. We all got together and came up with different drills that I did this offseason and last season." Bradley said he lost the weight by changing his diet and joining Orangetheory Fitness with his wife, Nenwea. Bobby Bradley, Cleveland Indians INF Prospect (2017 Arizona Fall League) "It's group based interval training," he said. "I started it in Akron and brought it out here to Arizona. I'm moving more freely. I don't have as much weight to pull around." Said Francona, "Offensively, it's really exciting what he could grow into. But to see his body take shape so you don't have to worry about the defensive part of the game. Or him being a base clogger. Even when you're talking about bat quickness, staying healthy and being durable - he completely changed his body in one offseason." One of the reasons Bradley's strikeouts fell last season is that he's tried to change his approach to hitting. He tried to make more contact and hit the ball from gap to gap in the outfield. "I'm trying to be more of a line-drive guy," said Bradley. "I'm trying to have a better approach." It's easier said than done for a power hitter. "It's hard," said Bradley. "I know what I can do. So there are a lot of times during the season when I'll say I just want to hit a homer here. But I'm trying to focus on hitting a line drive back up the middle." Bradley could open the season at Class AAA Columbus or return to Akron. Both cities are close enough to Cleveland to hear when he's getting ready to knock the door down. Cleveland Plain Dealer LOADED: 02.25.2018

Nick Cafardo / SUNDAY BASEBALL NOTES - Twenty things to watch this baseball season By Nick Cafardo Twenty things to watch for this baseball season: 1. The / Show: The Yankees are near the center of attention in any season, but you ain’t seen nothing yet. Some are describing it as Ruth/Gehrig reincarnated. Of course it could also be a flop, but we tend to doubt it. Will there be droughts? Absolutely. But the upside should be quite a spectacle. 2. The Angels will draw the attention of the baseball world with two-way phenom Shohei Ohtani, who will draw a Japanese media contingent of more than 100, surpassing even the craze that invaded Boston in 2007. Ohtani will be manager ’s biggest challenge, trying to incorporate him into a six-man pitching rotation, while also getting him some DH at-bats. Should be interesting and good for baseball. 3. Can the Astros go back to back? Absolutely no reason they can’t, except that it rarely happens. The Astros seem even more stacked than they were a year ago. They’ll have Justin Verlander for a full season, though he’s a year older. They have added to the rotation, and bullpen pieces Joe Smith and Hector Rondon. 4. The comeback of could be the most important topic of this season. Why? Because a Red Sox dynamic duo of and Price could offset the Yankees’ Herculean lineup. After Price’s 2017, which included a major injury for the first time in his excellent career, he seems determined to rebound with a 30-plus-start season. Everything baseball every Monday-Friday during baseball season, and weekly in the offseason. 5. Will veteran acquisitions and Andrew McCutchen, as well as the return of legendary executive Brian Sabean, return the Giants to a force in the NationalLeague? The Giants were horrible last season but have greatly improved their offense, and their pitching remains solid. 6. How deep will the disconnect grow between players and their union leader , and against the owners? Many free agents remain available, despite games having begun in spring training. By agreeing to luxury-tax limits and penalties for going over that tax, the players basically agreed to a salary cap. This has reduced their earning potential. Resentment is growing both against the players’ leadership and against the owners. 7. How many games will the Marlins lose? This could be epic. We’re guessing between 100-120. 8. The J.D. Martinez factor in the Red Sox lineup will be closely scrutinized. He is basically ’s replacement. The Red Sox need 40- plus home run power. Only six righthanded batters have hit 40-plus homers in a season for the Red Sox: (three times), (twice), , Tony Armas, , and Rico Petrocelli. 9. Bryce Harper will be the most-watched player in baseball. If he has a great season, we will see a free agent period orchestrated by Scott Boras like we’ve never seen. This will be a mind-blowing contract, likely in the 10-year range and north of $300 million. Maybe even $400 million. So there’s pressure for Harper, who is only 26, to have a 2015-type season. 10. How about these new pace-of-play rules? The biggie is no more than six mound visits per nine innings, with a couple of “special circumstances” provisions. Players are griping that they need to get signals straight, especially late in games when sign-stealing goes on. The other stuff is fairly easy. The time between innings, the warm-ups for pitchers ending 20 seconds before the 2:05 clock expires, should be easy to execute. 11. Wondering which young player will emerge as baseball’s next superstar. Our candidates include Rafael Devers (Red Sox), Christian Arroyo (Rays), Gleyber Torres (Yankees), Ronald Acuna (Braves). 12. We’re going to see the results of baseball’s latest trend — young, inexperienced managers taking over significant teams. It likely will be hard for (Yankees), (Red Sox), and Dave Martinez (Nationals) to fail because of stacked lineups. (Phillies) has it a little tougher, though there are no expectations quite yet in Philadelphia. And Mickey Calloway (Mets) will have to prove himself in . 13. We await the future destination of . You know he’s going to be the next and biggest name to be traded by the Rays, who are on a mission to deal their valuable assets for top prospects. Archer has forever been linked to the Dodgers, but the Brewers, Yankees, Phillies, Braves, Cardinals, and Orioles could also be in the mix for him. 14. Will Calloway be able to make the leap from pitching to manager? And more important, will he be able to return the Mets’ pitching staff to prominence? If he can, the Mets, who have added some nice offensive pieces in Jay Bruce, , and Adrian Gonzalez, could be interesting to follow again. 15. Strikeouts, strikeouts, strikeouts. It’s either a strikeout or a home run. The home run part is exciting, but can anyone put the ball in play anymore? 16. Teams including the Red Sox are apparently going to adopt the Astros’ approach at the plate and swing early in the count. It worked well for the Astros. We also have a “launch angle” approach, where swings are elevated to hit fly balls, and hopefully home runs. The concept was adopted by, among others, , , , and Hank Aaron. But it’s new again. 17. Never has there been more devaluing of scouts. This will be the year we’ll see even traditional teams such as the Red Sox do away with live advance scouting and rely solely on video for their preparation, eliminating the human fact-finding scouts do when they’re live at an event. 18. The Twins began their return to contention last season, and it will continue. They added to their staff, and Addison Reed and to the bullpen. This should be a contending team in the , with the possibility of challenging the Indians. 19. In addition to the Marlins, other “tanking” teams will likely be the Tigers (who would have thought?), Reds, Pirates, and Rays. It’s not going to be pretty to watch their games. 20. will go back to playing shortstop for the Orioles as he enters his free agent season. While we seem to think he’ll eventually be a Yankee, it wouldn’t be out of the blue to see Orioles owner Peter Angelos realize that Machado is the face of the franchise and make a substantial offer to retain him. Then again, Machado, who will turn 26 in July, will also receive a decade-long free agent offer from somebody, whether it’s the Yankees, Phillies, who will have a lot of money to spend, or some mystery team (Red Sox?). WAITING IT OUT Free agents keeping busy Hey, keep this between us, OK? There’s a free agent camp going on in Bradenton, Fla. Media and major league scouts are not allowed. The free agents are working out to get ready for the season, but the Players Association doesn’t want anyone to know it. We did get some information from Jarrod Saltalamacchia, one of the players at the camp. Salty tells us he’s trying to keep in shape for the season in case he gets a call. He’s only 32 and feels he’s fixed some of the offensive problems he had last season before he was released by the Blue Jays. Saltalamacchia, who caught 119 games for the champion Red Sox, estimates there are about 50 players at the free agent camp. He said the numbers started small (about 15) and have increased over time. The “name” players we know of are veteran reliever , ex-Red Sox slugger Mike Napoli, former Rays and Orioles /DH Luke Scott, and veteran third baseman Chris Johnson. Saltalamacchia said that while scouts aren’t allowed, if they petition the union to work out a specific player, they can gain access. Saltalamacchia said he had not received any invitations to this point but did have a Tigers scout watch him hit the other day. “Bo [Porter] has done a great job to keep things organized,” Saltalamacchia said. “It’s like a regular spring training. The pitchers are on their own program, but [Tom] Gordon is there to make sure they stick to their programs.” Saltalamacchia acknowledges that as player with his experience, he’s disappointed not to have a spring training invitation at this point. While he understands the union’s view of not wanting the camp to turn into a media event or circus, “we would have liked more positive coverage of what we’re doing here rather than publicity like we’re complaining about money.” Saltalamacchia acknowledges his offense was really messed up last season. He said he went to the West Coast to work with new hitting coaches. As it turns out, they were J.D. Martinez’s coaches — Robert Van Scoyoc and Craig Wallenbrock — who have stellar reputations. But Salty said the work he did in California didn’t work for him. So this year he’s gone back to his longtime hitting coach, Brian Oliveri. “I made adjustments with my load and got away from a toe tap,” Saltalamacchia said. “I feel quicker now, and like I used to. When I hit for the Tigers scout he said he definitely noticed a difference and that I look good. It’s definitely frustrating. Last year was a bad year. I feel where I’ve proven myself over the years and where I’m offering to go to Triple A and be an insurance policy, I’m just frustrated nobody has taken my offer. I think it will happen.” Saltalamacchia said the Red Sox told him they are all set for catchers, and his agents, the Levinson brothers, have reached out to teams on several occasions, to no avail. So Salty will endure the secret free agent camp and hope a team changes its mind and gives him a call. Apropos of nothing 1. Jose Bautista, who hit 288 of his 331 homers for the Blue Jays, is one of the many free agents out in the cold right now. Bautista, 37, has tried to keep a positive attitude. “I’m just focusing on getting ready for the season like I always do, and see what happens,” he said. Bautista said he’s working out on his own and not taking part in the free agent camp. He has been working on his approach at the plate all offseason and feels he can get back to his best days if he gets a chance. “Baseball is a game of constant adjustments and I didn’t make them in a timely manner last season,” Bautista said. Teams such as the Twins, Rays, and Marlins could use a middle-of-the-order hitter. 2. Here’s one of the reasons the Red Sox will stress launch angle with their hitters this season, courtesy of Bill Chuck: “The Oakland A’s hit the fewest ground balls in baseball last season with 1,542 (.242 batting average), the Padres hit the fewest in the with 1,668 (.258 average). The Marlins hit the most in baseball with 2,153 (.261 average), the Red Sox hit the most in the American League with 2,040 (.248 average).” Elevate, baby. 3. Northeastern plays Auburn March 9-11. It’ll pit NU coach Mike Glavine (Tom Glavine’s brother) vs. Auburn freshman lefthander Peyton Glavine (Tom’s son). 4. There’s one advantage new Red Sox manager Alex Cora has: he’s bilingual. Cora is often seen speaking Spanish to Rafael Devers, , Eduardo Rodriguez, Eduardo Nunez, and others. “It’s a huge advantage,” Cora said. “You can communicate directly and clearly. Sometimes when there’s an interpreter involved things can get lost in the translation. This way the player gets it clearly. There’s no chance things will get misunderstood.” Cora said his language skills came up during interviews both when he got the bench coach job in Houston and the manager job in Boston. 5. It was amazing meeting Jimmie Foxx’s daughter, Nanci Foxx Canaday, and 95-year-old George Yankowski, who played for the Philadelphia A’s and Connie Mack in the 1940s, at The Villages, Fla. Yankowski was the Red Sox’ Dick Berardino’s high school baseball coach at Watertown. 6. Sorry to hear of former Red Sox lefthander Vaughn Eshelman’s struggles with kidney and liver failure. Eshelman is only 48 but he’s fighting. 7. What perseverance by Jonny Venters, who was ’s in Atlanta. Venters has had three Tommy John surgeries and another elbow procedure, and he is making yet another comeback attempt with the Rays. 8. After breaking their 108-year curse, the Cubs didn’t get as far as they wanted last season, but they’ve added Yu Darvish (while losing ), as well as Steve Cishek and to the bullpen. They added new coaches in Chili Davis and Brian Butterfield. They await a great season from . The expectation is the Cubs could be great again as Theo Epstein has tried to reshape this team on a yearly basis, as he did in Boston. 9. There’s been stone-cold silence on free agent third baseman . He’ll likely be somewhere soon, but will it be on a long-term deal? The Braves, White Sox, Phillies, and Orioles could be possible landing spots, but this has been the most blatant free agent snub of the offseason. 10. NESN’s Tom Caron suggests this compromise to the Yawkey Way renaming debate: Change the name to “Yawkey Foundation Way.” This would recognize the philanthropy aspect. Extra innings From the Bill Chuck files — “ led the majors last season with 70 popups; only two fell for hits (.029 batting average). Mike Moustakas, who is still job-hunting, went 1 for 62 on popups, and new Mets third sacker Todd Frazier was 0 for 57 . . . Also, “In 2011 and in 2005, 108 pitchers made 25-plus starts, the most ever. In 2016, there were 92, and last season there were 91.” . . . Happy birthday, Rich Rowland (54), Dana Kiecker (57), and Danny Cater (78). Olney: The players ought to own MLB's pace-of-play problem WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- What should happen next in ’s pace-of-play discussion is a delegation of power, a simple gesture that underscores MLB’s willingness to defer to the players’ unique understanding of how the game operates. Commissioner Rob Manfred should propose that the players select and build their own committee to shape initiatives that reduce the average time of games.

The composition of that committee could be determined entirely by the union. Maybe three pitchers and three hitters, or maybe five and five, or 15 and 15, if the players' association chose to have at least one representative from every team. Manfred could leave it up to the players to decide.

Whatever its makeup, that committee could generate ideas, plug them into some simulation models provided by an MLB-funded analytics group and see how they work. There is a great scene in the movie “Apollo 13” in which a group of engineers is tasked with creating a device that scrubs the capsule air of carbon dioxide. Every item on the spaceship is replicated and dumped onto a table, and the engineers are charged with finding a solution. This is what could and should happen in the effort to reduce the average time of baseball games to 2 hours, 55 minutes.

The players would have the power to design rules acceptable for them, rather than have unwanted regulations foisted on them.

But that won't happen because the relationship between the union and Major League Baseball is probably at its worst since the 2002 season. The spirit of cooperation that had evolved is now just about dead, to the degree that the simplest of requests are all but ignored. The players are furious about how free agency has played out, they are furious about the current economics of the game, and their solution is intransigence.

Think of Manfred as the parent who has told the players, in effect, to eat their vegetables for the sake of long-term health. MLB believes that shortening games will make the product more attractive to a younger generation of fans that does not appear to have the patience of waiting through baseball games that last 3½ to 4 hours.

Think of the players as the teenagers rebelling over various issues -- and they are simply saying no to the vegetables, no to everything. Because they’re mad. It would probably make sense for the players to talk through some of the issues, to have the conversations, and to glean some benefits, but they are in no mood to sort through any of that. They are just saying no.

Manfred had the power to implement any change he wanted in the pace-of-play rules, but he didn’t, because he knows the players are mad, and he didn’t want to pick a summer-long fight. Instead, he went with a much more modest proposal: no pitch clock, and a relatively liberal limit of six mound visits per game. But while the union leadership signed a paper acknowledging an understanding of the new rules, the players were still upset, many of them expressing skepticism publicly.

Privately, a lot of players think the new regulations are a joke and doubt that the changes will have a tangible impact on the pace of action and the interest of fans -- and will only serve to anger the players even more, and hinder them in their work. The players were so vocal in their discord that you have to wonder if Manfred regrets not going all-in on the changes, including a pitch clock, under the premise that if MLB is going to weather a year of public complaints from the pace-of-play stuff, they might as well go all-in.

The disconnect seems so enormous that a negotiated, collaborative solution seems completely out of the question. If MLB wants to effect serious change -- if it truly wants to reduce the game to an NBA-like 2 hours, 30 minutes -- it should seriously consider pushing for a reduction of games from nine to seven innings.

Even if there was a reasonable path to change for the players to consider, like a players-only committee, there seems to be little to no sentiment toward cooperation. Rather, they are spoiling for a larger fight that probably can’t take place until the months before the current collective bargaining agreement expires in December 2021. • Teams have started planning for adjustments with the new six-visit limits. One manager wondered aloud if he would push his and catcher to avoid mound visits so that his team can the mound visits for the later innings. , the ’ closer, anticipates more preparation -- to be fully aware of the strengths and weaknesses of various hitters, particularly recent call-ups -- because in the past, catchers have reflexively gone to the mound with reminders, and that won’t really be possible anymore. Catchers say there will be more time spent on generating alternative sets of signs to cope with situations when the perception is that the runner at second is stealing signs.

“You’re going to have to come up with multiple systems before the game to change [the signs], so you don’t have to talk,” catcher Evan Gattis said. “That’s something that’s going to have to get squared away right now.” [Now, as in spring training]. “It’ll be something with touches, or dummy signs, or going back to the same set.”

Other players speculate that phantom injuries could become more common: When a pitcher is uncertain, he might be suddenly affected by a tightening lower back or hamstring and call for the athletic trainer, to buy time to get on the same time with the catcher.

“Let’s face it,” one player said, “sometimes it benefits the pitcher to try to slow the game down.”

Derrick Goold writes about the St. Louis Cardinals’ preparation to work around the new mound-visits rule.

News from around the majors The hangover from a championship season is commonplace. The seemed to go through it in 2017, with internal questions about the players’ focus. On Opening Day in 2016, manager Ned Yost said he had no sense that his team’s performance would wane, but it happened. In preparing for the 2016 season after a run through the World Series in the fall of 2015, former manager Terry Collins asked friends about how to combat the hangover, and and others told him: It’s inevitable.

The Astros will present an interesting test for this conventional wisdom, because Houston is a team loaded with young players still early in their careers. George Springer, the World Series MVP, took batting practice the other day and one evaluator said, “That guy wants to be the [regular-season] MVP.” Jose Altuve is obsessed with the collection of hits, Carlos Correa is a workaholic, Justin Verlander wants to be a Hall of Famer, is entering his free-agent year and could benefit greatly from a big season, and Lance McCullers, Jr. and Gerrit Cole are still rounding out their respective resumes.

MLB has not seen a repeat champion since the Yankees from 1998 to 2000, but the Astros might have the necessary combination of talent and drive to make that happen (and yes, you could have written the same thing about Cubs a year ago).

• On Sunday, a memorial service for the former Padres GM Kevin Towers will be held at , with dozens of baseball executives and evaluators expected to attend. They will be there to honor Towers, who was incredibly likable and fun, and a person of great integrity. I met Kevin when I covered the Padres 1992-95, and I’ll be there, as well.

A few months after Ken Caminiti passed away in 2004, Kevin and I talked over the phone one evening about the heartbreaking circumstances of Caminiti’s life. The third baseman had a substance-abuse history, and yet in his desire to be as great as possible on the field, he had used steroids and amphetamines. Everybody knew he was using PEDs, Kevin said, in an off-the-record conversation, and nobody did anything about it because the team was doing great and the Padres were making money. Kevin had great affection for Caminiti and felt awful about the sequence of events, and in retrospect, he said he wished he had said something.

The next day, I drove to the Padres’ spring training home to see him and asked if would relate his feelings about Caminiti on the record, for publication -- and he did so, without hesitation.

We were standing on the roof of the Padres’ spring training complex, and as I turned the recorder off, I said to him that his comments would be a really big deal -- and they were, more than either of us could’ve imagined. Major League Baseball was furious about his comments, and he was blistered by the folks for whom he worked -- and that was before he was called to testify at the March 17, 2005, congressional hearings about steroids in baseball. The panels included Bud Selig, baseball superstars -- and one general manager, Kevin Towers. This was the day Mark McGwire said he didn’t want to talk about the past, and Rafael Palmeiro said he never used steroids.

In the hours before he was sworn in, I called to wish Kevin well, somewhat unsure of how he would feel about his appearance, and my role in it. He picked up on the first ring, sounding the same as always. I told him I felt bad that he was in a position of such duress, but he dismissed that concern.

“Honestly, I feel great,” he said. “I told the truth. I’ve got nothing to hide.”

Jeff Powers writes here about Kevin’s impact on the steroid conversation in baseball.

A healthy Lonnie Chisenhall is a boost for Indians | Jeff Schudel By Jeff Schudel, The News-Herald & The Morning Journal POSTED: 02/24/18, 5:08 PM EST | UPDATED: 9 HRS AGO # COMMENTS The Indians will miss Jay Bruce, who homered seven times and drove in 26 runs in 43 games after being acquired from the Mets on Aug. 9 last year. Bruce re-signed with the Mets in free agency.

Lonnie Chisenhall was cruising along as the Indians until a calf injury landed him on the disabled list on July 10. He led the Indians with 51 RBI at the time.

Chisenhall didn’t return to the lineup until Sept. 1, aggravated the calf injury on Sept. 14, and batted 49 times after the original injury, adding only two RBI to his pre-injury total.

The good news is Chisenhall is 100 percent healthy as the Indians enter the second week of spring training in Goodyear, Ariz. “You try to have a goal every offseason, something you want to achieve,” Chisenhall told reporters. “Each year, I’ve showed to spring and I accomplished by goal. This year I wanted to increase my flexibility.

“I run better at a certain lower weight. If I’m asked to play more positions, I’ll be more agile and things like that. As you get older, you have to do more to take care of your body. I incorporated some of that, which was building on what went on last year.”

Chisenhall, a first-round draft pick by the Indians in 2008 (29th overall) is 29 years