Jose Contreras wisely moved his Ford F-750 around the bend from Mike Schmidt Field at Carpenter Complex on Thursday.

After being out since mid-May of last year with right shoulder inflammation, Josh Johnson faced batters for the third time in Spring Training on Thursday. Now, he is ready for an actual game.

As talks between Major League Baseball and the MLB Players' Association moved toward adding an additional Wild Card team in each league, Miami Marlins manager Ozzie Guillen doesn't think the rule change would affect his team.

Brewers right-hander Shaun Marcum will back off his throwing program after developing some tenderness in his shoulder for the second straight spring, manager Ron Roenicke said Thursday.

Darren Oliver has enjoyed a remarkable turnaround during the latter stages of his career, but there was a time more than six years ago when it looked like that would be next to impossible.

Billy Butler banged an RBI double off the right-field wall and added a single to get his Spring Training game action off to a vigorous start in Thursday's intrasquad game.

Dodgers Opening Day starter Clayton Kershaw will pitch two innings in a modified intrasquad game Monday, manager Don Mattingly said Thursday.

Shane Victorino is one of the Phillies' biggest potential free agents following this season. The outfielder said this week he prefers to make a deal with the Phillies sooner rather than later.

Nationals right fielder Bryce Harper will start and hit third against Georgetown University on Friday at Space Coast Stadium. He is also expected to see action against the Astros the next day in Kissimmee, Fla.

Last season, the average amount of plate appearances for the cleanup hitter spot in the batting order was 705. For the No. 3 hitter in the order, it was 721.

The early scare of this year's camp came when Matt Bush hit third baseman Evan Longoria on his right hand during Thursday's intrasquad game. Longoria left the game, but didn't appear to be in pain.

With an eye on the club's stable of young pitchers making an impact in the near future, Yankees managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner said Thursday that it's a goal to lower the club's payroll to $189 million over the next two years.

Billy Wagner is quite comfortable at home these days. His job description includes hubby, daddy, coach, handyman and occasional lay-about. But the retired former Braves closer nonetheless keeps close tabs on the man who succeeded him, Craig Kimbrel.

The road to Major League Baseball's 83rd All-Star Game on July 10 in Kansas City officially gets under way at 11 a.m. ET on Saturday when fans can begin purchasing tickets for MLB All-Star FanFest and Taco Bell All-Star Sunday. In addition, fans can participate in the All-Star Gnome Ticket Hunt.

For a player who's just 27, B.J. Upton has been around seemingly forever, but the Rays center fielder feels he's still trending higher.

The 2012 Atlanta Braves look a great deal like the 2011 Atlanta Braves. If we consider only the first five months of last season, that similarity should be immensely encouraging for the current Braves.

The high anxiety has diminished along with the dark clouds that had hovered over the Gwynn family of San Diego.