Vlad’s back … kind of.

They’re both bearded pitchers, so he wasn’t THAT far off.

The Cubs weren’t trying to weaken the Cardinals by signing two players who were with St. Louis last season. Free agents Jason Heyward and John Lackey were simply the best fit for the Cubs team.

Yadier Molina made an appearance on the first day of the Cardinals’ Winter Warm-Up event, signing autographs with his right hand while his left rested in a hard black cast. That cast, general manager John Mozeliak said, won’t come off until mid-February, leaving the Cards in a wait-and-see mode as they seek to project when the veteran catcher will return to the field.

Joe Maddon was late for his question-and-answer session with fans at the Cubs Convention on Saturday, and when he did arrive, it was clear the impact the manager has had in one year.

If Ian Kennedy opts out after helping the Royals get to October in 2016 and ’17, the club will wish him well in his next round of free agency.

Ryne Sandberg rejoined the Cubs as an ambassador to the team, and the best thing about the new deal, the Hall of Famer said, was that he’s back “home.”

Before Theo Epstein built this baseball think tank, it was envisioned by Tom Ricketts. He saw the need to improve the size and quality of the Cubs’ baseball operations staff in his first two years as an owner, in 2010 and ’11.

Offseason level: 1,000,000.

One week after retaining the face of the franchise, Alex Gordon, with a four-year, $72 million deal, the defending World Series champion Royals appear to be close to signing All-Star center fielder and rising star Lorenzo Cain to a two-year deal.

Travis Ishikawa, an eight-year Major League first baseman who starred in the 2014 National League Championship Series for the Giants, has signed a Minor League deal with the Mariners with an invitation to big league camp, according to a source. The club did not confirm the deal.

Felix Hernandez’s love of baseball is exceeded only by his love for family. And those two can be seen visually in the tattooed artwork that helps make him one of baseball’s most colorful characters.

Chris Davis loves Baltimore. Baltimore loves Chris Davis. So doesn’t this feel like a smart, sensible conclusion?

In a move that might seem a bit like formalizing something that was already taking place, the NCAA voted on Friday to allow high school players who are drafted to have an agent negotiate with the Major League club that drafted them without it impacting their eligibility.

Getting a helping hand (or two) from family.

Nolan Ryan described newly-elected Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. as “the most complete player I have seen in a long time.” Ryan, however, thinks baseball may have gotten a glimpse of a player with a similar type of long-term potential last year in Carlos Correa.

Theo Epstein, Cubs president of baseball operations, said on Friday that he and chairman Tom Ricketts are “on the same page” but that the two have yet to hammer out a contract extension. It’s apparently not a top priority for Epstein, who said the only time he thinks about the topic is when it’s brought up by the media.