There are certain pitchers who over the years have developed reputations as being positively lousy in Spring Training. Left-hander Danny Duffy, who after another shaky outing on Tuesday saw his ERA balloon to 9.00 is another one in that category.

Andrelton Simmons was absent from the Angels’ lineup again Wednesday, but manager Mike Scioscia doesn’t believe doesn’t believe it’s anything serious.

Mike Gerber and Bryan Holaday each knocked two-out home runs in the second inning to spark the Tigers to a 7-3 win over the Astros on Wednesday afternoon at Osceola County Stadium.

Is it time for Colombia to finally break through to the World Baseball Classic tournament? The team will find out this weekend at Rod Carew Stadium in Panama City, starting with Thursday’s matchup against Spain. First pitch for the opener of the Panama WBC qualifier is set for 2 p.m. ET, and you can watch the action on MLB.com or follow along pitch by pitch with Gameday.

Everybody had the day off for the Rays on Wednesday afternoon — except for Jake Odorizzi and catcher Rene Rivera.

Given a crowded picture at first base, the Orioles had tossed around the idea this spring of seeing what Christian Walker can do in the outfield. And so it was that a player with no professional experience beyond first base found himself starting in left field on Tuesday afternoon in Dunedin, Fla., where the Orioles and Blue Jays played to a 6-6 tie.

Michael Brantley’s progress from November surgery on his right shoulder has been increasingly encouraging with each passing day and week this spring. Come Thursday, barring a change in plans, Brantley is scheduled to make his game debut in a Minor League contest.

Kris Bryant grew up in Las Vegas, which gets an average of four inches of rain per year, and zero inches of snow. Imagine his surprise at being in New York in January when the city was pummeled with two feet of snow.

The Royals’ scheduled starters for their Friday-Saturday trip to San Antonio to face the Rangers have been scratched.

Logan Forsythe will be back in the lineup Thursday, when the Rays play the Phillies in Clearwater. Forsythe left Tuesday’s Phillies-Rays game, a 5-2 Tampa Bay loss, after getting hit by a pitch in the bottom of the first.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts on Wednesday offered up some surprising news about outfielder Andre Ethier and a predictable forecast on pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu.

Cardinals right-hander Adam Wainwright, who raised money for basic needs programs through a fantasy football fundraiser, has opened a Celebrity Bracket Challenge in order to generate awareness and funding to charities bringing clean water to Flint, Mich.

While the Mets enjoy their lone off-day of the spring — watch out, St. Lucie County golf courses — it’s a good time to step back and look at the team’s projected Opening Night roster.

Barry Bonds does, in fact, still have it.

Adam LaRoche shocked the baseball world Tuesday with news that he intends to retire after 12 seasons in the Major Leagues. While the decision certainly came as a surprise to the White Sox, LaRoche is not the first player to abruptly walk away from the game.

Sidelined since February with an oblique strain, Astros’ reliever Luke Gregerson threw 18 pain-free pitches in a Minor League game Wednesday.