Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos will head to the Winter Meetings in San Diego on Sunday afternoon with a clear focus on trying to improve his bullpen.

Javier Baez will play for Santurce in Puerto Rico, starting Dec. 11, and the additional Winter League at-bats can only help the Cubs infielder, new hitting coach John Mallee said.

General manager Jack Zduriencik made it clear from day one this offseason that the Mariners’ top priority was to acquire a big right-handed hitter to put behind Robinson Cano in the lineup. The club has filled that need by reaching an agreement with free-agent slugger Nelson Cruz, who will be introduced at a news conference at Safeco Field.

The Rangers reached an agreement Thursday with free-agent pitcher Colby Lewis on a one-year contract worth $4 million. Although nothing is guaranteed, Lewis becomes a leading candidate to be one of the Rangers’ five starters going into Opening Day.

Our First-Year Player Draft experts, Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo, take their first crack at projecting how the top 10 selections in 2015 will unfold.

Ten years after grabbing Justin Upton, the D-backs could follow a similar path in the 2015 First-Year Player Draft. Lake Mary (Fla.) High School shortstop Brendan Rodgers sits atop MLBPipeline.com’s initial Draft Top 50 rankings, thanks to his three plus tools (bat, power, arm) complemented by two solid ones (speed, defense).

Nick Vincent was nearly cut from his junior college team. But through hard work and determination, he’s become a valuable big leaguer.

March 11, 2012, was a momentous day in the life of Rangers catcher Robinson Chirinos. In the morning, he felt he made a strong and lasting commitment in his relationship with God. That afternoon, he was struck directly in the face mask by a foul ball.

Before Wednesday, the battle to sign the 30-year-old lefty had been between the Cubs, Red Sox and Giants. But reports started circulating that a fourth team had made a late entry into the bidding. It turns out that team is the one that under its new ownership has done just about everything it wanted to do, except get to a World Series.

In the current group of bidders, there is nowhere Jon Lester can go and be accused of simply selling out for the money. He already has two World Series rings with Boston. San Francisco wins everything in even-numbered years. And the Cubs are, it can safely be said, a growth stock, a team with a future that is more than vague promises. And nobody could argue with the Dodgers as a destination, either. They might be postseason underachievers, but their prospects are undeniable.

New president of baseball operations John Hart wasn’t brought in to leave things the way he found them, so he’s working toward a vision of a new and improved Braves club. While that vision isn’t clear at this point, it will be fun to watch his team take shape.

The Men’s Journal Gear Lab pop-up store in Manhattan is showcasing a slew of MLB.com must-haves, including top-selling Derek Jeter items and plenty more.

The A’s are actively engaging in further trade talks, this time with the Indians, who have expressed interest in Brandon Moss, a source told MLB.com on Wednesday. However, another source said other teams are in on the slugger, too, and nothing appears imminent.

The Dodgers, who already have a pair of pitching aces, apparently are trying to add another, as multiple media outlets claim they are a late suitor for free agent Jon Lester.

The Braves got the outfielder they have been pursuing on Wednesday, when Nick Markakis chose to spend the next few years playing in front of friends and family members who watched him grow up in the Atlanta area.

Jon Lester is approaching the final round of contract negotiations with multiple teams, and the left-hander could sign a deal before the week is out. However, there is no guarantee that will happen, and also no deadline, a source told MLB.com.

Despite having just put his name on a seven-year, $100 million contract, Kyle Seager insisted he was the same guy on Wednesday. The same small-town kid from North Carolina who just loves baseball.