Mat Gamel talked to reporters this week while carefully fitting a bulky black brace around his right knee. One strap at a time, he tightened the device that he hopes will carry him through the spring and into the regular season.

The problem was with Mariano Rivera’s knee and never his arm, so the Yankees’ closer expressed no surprise that his 30-pitch bullpen session flowed so smoothly on Saturday.

Participating in the World Baseball Classic is no substitute for the All-Star Game, but for Giancarlo Stanton, it remains a nice sense of achievement. If not for injury, Stanton would have been able to experience both in less than a year.

Joel Peralta reported on Saturday that his stiff neck had improved dramatically enough to where he could long toss.

Astros owner Jim Crane is hosting a vacationing President Barack Obama at his Floridian National Golf Club in Palm City, Fla., this weekend, and the two are scheduled to play a round together on Sunday.

Nationals closer Rafael Soriano arrived in camp on Saturday morning and was greeted in the clubhouse by teammate Gio Gonzalez and general manager Mike Rizzo. Soriano would later get reacquainted with left-hander Will Ohman. The two played together when they were with Atlanta in 2008.

The Orioles officially signed Jair Jurrjens to a Minor League contract on Friday night with an invitation to Spring Training, a deal that was struck after three weeks of the agreement being in limbo.

The Indians culminated an offseason packed with roster moves by introducing Michael Bourn as their new center fielder in a press conference at the club’s Spring Training facility.

Michael Young’s stature among his teammates, the stature achieved during 13 seasons of solid production and leadership, is one of the more interesting things the Rangers will be attempting to replace this season.

Chipper Jones and Fred McGriff will always be linked as the corner infielders of Atlanta’s 1995 World Series champion team. This week they will serve as the guest Spring Training instructors for the Braves.

After the full squad reported to camp on Friday, the Reds held an afternoon workout. No player came under as much scrutiny as new Shin-Soo Choo, as 25 members of the South Korean media were issued credentials to cover his first workout.

Spring Training has begun, and Kyle Lohse is still looking for a team. But according to agent Scott Boras, the right-hander is drawing more interest as the days go by.

Right-hander Jordan Zimmermann avoided arbitration Friday evening by agreeing to a one-year, $5.35 million deal with the Nationals.

After undergoing two operations on his knee, Joey Votto is playing without restriction, and he sees no reason why he can’t contribute the way he did before being hurt.

Dan Straily is battling to win the final spot in Oakland’s rotation — led by Brett Anderson, Jarrod Parker, Tommy Milone and most likely Bartolo Colon — after a brief appearance in the big leagues last sesaon.

The situation that currently surrounds Vernon Wells reeks of Bobby Abreu heading into Spring Training last year — big-name player, coming off a subpar season, with an immovable contract and without a defined role.

Over the course of the four months that followed Chipper Jones’ retirement, Braves fans saw their team’s future brightened by the creation of an outfield trio that could energize Atlanta and the baseball world for at least the next three seasons.