Stressing that the Mets are not far off from serious contention, general manager Sandy Alderson said Monday that he remains in talks with free-agent outfielder Michael Bourn.

Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington visited David Ortiz in the Dominican Republic last week, and he expects the designated hitter to be good to go for Opening Day.

Reds righty Homer Bailey put up some impressive numbers in 2012. Setting the standard for NL pitchers on the road with a 2.32 ERA, Bailey also set personal records in games started, wins, innings, strikeouts, and quality starts.

Lavonne “Pepper” Paire-Davis, who starred in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League and was the inspiration for Geena Davis’s character in the film “A League of Their Own,” died on Saturday at age 88.

White Sox prospect Carlos Sanchez has the tools to become a quality middle infielder, writes Bernie Pleskoff.

The face of the Major League manager underwent quite a makeover the last few years, with several iconic figures posting lineup cards for the final time and a deluge of switches at the helm reaching historic proportions.

Leach: A look at five lower-key acquisitions that could look awfully smart by the end of the year. They’re not necessarily all the cheapest or smallest deals, just moves that were under-the-radar relative to much of what happened this offseason.

While the Tigers, Cardinals and Brewers will also field elite offenes this year, the Angels, led by Mike Trout, Josh Hamilton and Albert Pujols, have the best lineup in the Major Leagues as the season approaches.

The confetti has been cleared off the Super Dome floor. The lights have been turned off on the football season … for good this time. This means one thing: baseball is coming back, and sooner than you might think.

Designated hitter John Oropeza paced a 16-hit attack with four hits on Sunday, and the Mules defeated Arkansas Tech, 10-4, to win for the second consecutive night at Minute Maid Park.

Fantasy baseball is just around the corner, and with it comes a new set of rankings. Although many of the top projected players are holdovers from the 2012 list, there are some new faces among the Top 10, most notably American League Rookie of the Year and MVP runner-up Mike Trout.

Congratulations to the Ravens, and thanks again for the handoff. Equipment trucks have arrived in Arizona and Florida, pitchers and catchers report soon, and MLB.com’s gradual rollout of the coolest technology has begun, and there’s much more to come.

Major League Baseball senior vice president of baseball operations Kim Ng made an appearance at the Caribbean Series on Sunday, touring the brand-new Estadio Sonora and meeting with Caribbean Baseball Confederation president Juan Francisco Puello Herrera regarding potential usage by Major League teams in the future.

Dominican shortstop Miguel Tejada homered in Sunday’s much-anticipated game against Mexico, giving his Leones del Escogido a 2-0 lead and padding his own milestone.

Thanks in large part to a strong playoff performance in the Dominican Republic’s winter league, Angels prospect Luis Jimenez is taking in his first Caribbean Series experience with a Leones del Escogido team that’s looking to win its second straight title and third in the last four years.

On Sunday, before Day 3 of the Caribbean Series, Fernando Valenzuela was officially enshrined in the Caribbean Baseball Hall of Fame — even though his entrance had long been foregone.

Brandon Lyon, 33, posted a 3.10 ERA in 67 appearances split between the Astros and Blue Jays last season and would give the Mets another option with significant closing experience.