Joe Girardi is generally pleased with the work done during his club's offseason, but the Yankees' manager would like to have one more bat added to his lineup card before Spring Training begins.

The Rockies and right-handed reliever Matt Belisle agreed on a one-year contract extension through 2013, the club announced Friday morning. Terms were not immediately known.

The unofficial beginning of spring came Friday when two trucks, loaded with Indians gear, began a 2,075-mile journey to the team's spring facilities in Goodyear, Ariz.

Unexpected stars. Mounting injuries. Tough places on the road during the postseason. With the Super Bowl coming up, there are obvious parallels between the New York Giants' run and that of the St. Louis Cardinals this past World Series.

Shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera and the Indians continue to work toward a long-term contract ahead of this month's scheduled arbitration hearing.

In 1979, Don Baylor led an 18-year-old Angels franchise to its first American League Championship Series with an MVP performance that made him a legend of sorts in Southern California.

There are different stories for every one of the roughly 250 students currently enrolled in the three umpire schools that prepare hopefuls for evaluation by the Professional Baseball Umpires Corp.

With so much uncertainty swirling around the Mets, it's easy to forget that much of the roster heading into next season is actually quite static. Barring injury, the Mets have no vacancies in their starting rotation, a rarity in today's game. They have one or two bullpen jobs up for grabs at most. And their lineup, too, is mostly written in ink.

Duane Below emerged last season to give the Tigers some quality innings from the rotation and out of the bullpen. Heading into camp, the southpaw is confident he can fill the rotation's fifth slot.

By the mid-1950s, Reds fans had grown accustomed to seeing African-American players the likes of Jackie Robinson, Willie Mays and Hank Aaron — as visiting ballplayers. It wasn't until Frank Robinson walked into Crosley Field in 1956 that Cincinnati finally had a black baseball superstar of its own.

Instead of going into a hearing room in St. Petersburg on Friday, the Cubs and Matt Garza avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $9.5 million contract.

The hype for this weekend's Giants-Patriots Super Bowl matchup no doubt got some help from years of Bostonians and New Yorkers watching the Red Sox and Yankees play out the greatest rivalry in all of sports.

The Cubs took a progressive step in 1962 when they named Buck O'Neil to the coaching staff to become the Major League's first black coach.

Free-agent pitcher Gerardo Concepcion has agreed to terms with the Cubs, according to an industry source. Concepcion defected from Cuba last June during the World Port Tournament in the Netherlands.

The Marlins continue to have strong interest in outfielder Yoenis Cespedes, who could start visiting prospective teams in the next few weeks. Marlins president David Samson said on Thursday that he isn't sure if Cespedes will visit Miami.

The Colorado Rockies were supposed to be contenders in the National League West last season, but they had a losing record. During this off-season, the Rockies have sent mixed signals to the baseball world. On paper, they don't look like they will have much chance of winning the division title, but everyone who follows baseball knows championships aren't won on paper.

Jon Lester, Andrew Bailey and Kevin Youkilis are among the Red Sox's expected early arrivers in Fort Myers, Fla., and the team's Spring Training organizers have worked hard to have a plan in place once workouts begin.