Baseball players of all teams and affiliations are giving back to their own cause. More than 1,300 players, coaches and managers from all 30 big league teams have collectively pledged more than $2 million this spring to the Baseball Assistance Team's mission of caring for former players.

The swelling is down around Miguel Cabrera's injured right eye, and the discoloration is gone. The vision is fine, he said. The only lingering sign that the Tigers third baseman took a high hopper a week ago is the cut under his eye.

Nationals right-hander Chien-Ming Wang is expected to start the season on the disabled list because of a strained left hamstring. That means, according to manager Davey Johnson, left-hander John Lannan will be the fifth starter in the rotation, while Ross Detwiler will work out of the bullpen.

The American League West, in the popular perception, is actually two divisions within one: the heavyweights (Rangers, Angels) and the light heavyweights (Mariners, A's) hoping to shock the baseball world and move up in class.

Given the loose, up-beat vibe surrounding the Arizona Diamondbacks these days, walking into a quiet clubhouse at Salt River Fields is a bit of a rarity — especially when left-handed pitcher Wade Miley is posted at his locker.

Rockies right-hander Jhoulys Chacin made progress on Sunday in his quest for sharpness.

Rays executive vice president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said on Sunday that former No. 1 pick Matt Bush will not play for the Rays in the future.

If not for Rubby De La Rosa and Hiroki Kuroda, Nathan Eovaldi would be the story of the spring for the Dodgers. With Ted Lilly's neck injury, an argument could still be made for Eovaldi.

Scooter Gennett, a Minor League second baseman, hit for the cycle for a Milwaukee Brewers split squad in a 7-3 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Sunday at Surprise Stadium.

Albert Pujols couldn't let the Rangers get away until May 11 and their first meeting with the Angels without a reminder — as if they'd forgotten — of who he is, what he does and how he is something they'll have to deal with 19 times a season now.

Dodgers pitcher Ted Lilly's recurring stiff neck could cost him his Tuesday Cactus League start, which would leave his status for the first series of the regular season uncertain.

Rangers manager Ron Washington had a quick summation when asked about the club's left-handed relief situation. “[Robbie] Ross is doing well,” he said.

Jack Hannahan's experiences off the field over the past eight months have helped him find a new perspective about his place in baseball. When he left the field at Fenway Park in Boston on the night of Aug. 4 and learned his wife — already on bed rest for more than a month — was going into labor, baseball suddenly took a back seat.

Veteran reliever Jason Isringhausen had a rough ninth inning on Sunday, giving up a walk, hitting a batter and allowing a game-tying two-run double, while recording only two outs in the Angels' eventual walk-off victory.

Jason Kubel said the tightness in his right quad was gone on Sunday, when the D-backs' left fielder played his first game after missing four days with the injury.

Jose Bautista was hit on the right hand by a pitch from Daniel Bard on Sunday afternoon, but he avoided a serious injury.

There has been much talk about how Michael Pineda, the Yankees newcomer acquired for prized prospect Jesus Montero, hasn't been throwing as hard as he did in the past. But there was Pineda on Sunday afternoon, touching 94 mph and hitting 93 on several other occasions.