Bryant, Franco file grievances over service time

Two top rookie third basemen, Kris Bryant of the Cubs and Maikel Franco of the Phillies, have filed grievances claiming their teams manipulated their service time to delay their eligibility for free agency. In at least Bryant’s case, the grievance was filed early this past season. The story was first reported by Yahoo on Monday.

Mets zeroing in on bullpen help

The fact that the Mets at least floated the possibility last summer of trading for Aroldis Chapman speaks volumes about their relief strategy going forward. Though the Mets were solid in that area last season, they were not spectacular, and so they are overturning plenty of stones in their quest to improve.