Rays’ Unroe unreal Down Under

Riley Unroe has gotten back on track this winter while playing in the Australian Baseball League, where he’s produced a .329/.398/395 batting line through 39 games for the Brisbane Bandits. The 20-year-old has been particularly hot of late, with a .436 (17-for-39) average over his last 10 contests.

Marlins ink Andino, Patton to Minors deals

Robert Andino, a Miami native and a second-round pick of the Marlins in 2002, is getting an opportunity to revitalize his big league career with his hometown team. The 31-year-old infielder signed a Minor League deal with the Marlins with an invitation to Spring Training. The Marlins also signed lefty reliever Troy Patton to a Minors deal with a Spring Training invitation.

Strauss will be missed across baseball

In three decades of covering the Braves, Orioles and Cardinals, Joe Strauss touched thousands of people. Some knew him only through his work, most recently with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, but all of them grieve for him today with the news that, at 54, his brief, hellish fight against cancer has ended.