The Blue Jays will play preseason baseball in Montreal for the third straight year in 2016. Toronto announced Friday that it will face the Red Sox for a pair of games on April 1-2 at Olympic Stadium, the former home of the Expos.

Desmond Jennings’ disappointing 2015 season came to an unceremonious close on Friday as he told reporters he would not be playing again this season due to his condition following dental surgery on Wednesday.

With the National League Central having three of the top four records in the Majors, all sorts of discussion about baseball’s postseason format and even its division format have been generated recently.

With the 2015 Minor League season wrapping up soon with the conclusion of the postseason, it’s only natural to see a glut of end-of-year reviews and awards handed out. It’s a fine time to look back at the season that was, and to evaluate which prospects have seen their stock rise the most.

This year, we’ve seen highly touted prospects become Major League stars almost overnight. The tough part is figuring out which one of these phenoms should be recognized above the others. That makes the prestigious Esurance MLB Award for Best Rookie one of the most contentious of all the postseason honors, and the nominees feature a who’s-who of more-than-qualified contenders.

A three-run home run by Mitch Moreland helped the Rangers complete a stunning four-game sweep of the Astros with a 8-2 victory on Thursday night. The Rangers, with their fifth straight victory and 18th in their last 26 games, now lead the Astros by 2 1/2 games in the American League West.

Mike Trout helped the Angels come back from an early five-run deficit, as he hit two homers, including a go-ahead grand slam in the second, in an 11-8 win over the Twins on Thursday night at Target Field.

Following a heartbreaking loss, the Twins jumped out to a five-run lead in the first inning vs. the Angels on Thursday, only to see it unravel with an 11-8 loss at Target Field. It handed the Twins three straight defeats for the first time since Aug. 17-19, when they were swept by the Yankees in New York.

Thursday’s Major League slate was light on games but heavy on playoff implications. Three of the nine contests featured clubs battling head to head for postseason positioning, while several other contenders were in action.

The sweep is complete and that may have exceeded anybody’s expectations for the Rangers coming into a four-game series with the Astros.

Along with placing himself squarely in the Rookie of the Year discussion with his torrid play of late, a certain Indians shortstop has also become a frequent subject of Statcast™ breakdowns. Thursday was no exception, as the red-hot rookie put his cat-like reflexes on full display in making his latest run-saving defensive gem.

Justin Bour’s mammoth three-run blast in the fifth inning Thursday night was as much a pad to Miami’s slim lead as it was a blow to Washington’s playoff hopes. With the 6-4 defeat at Nationals Park, Washington’s deficit in the National League East climbed to eight games with 16 to play.

Here are the Top 5 GIFs of the day, courtesy of @MLBGIFs.

John Lackey pitched seven scoreless innings on only 88 pitches, Matt Carpenter and Tommy Pham combined for five hits and five runs scored from the top two spots in the lineup and the Cardinals earned a 6-3 win over the Brewers on Thursday night to complete a three-game sweep at Miller Park.

Royals right-hander Yordano Ventura’s line won’t look all that impressive: five innings, eight hits, three runs (two earned), two walks, four strikeouts. But Royals manager Ned Yost wasn’t complaining after the Royals toppled Cleveland, 8-4, on Thursday.

Outfielder Shin-Soo Choo started the second half of the season on the Rangers’ bench. Now he is making a strong case to be the Rangers’ MVP since the All-Star break.

The Orioles parlayed a four-run eighth into a 4-3 win over the Rays on Thursday night at Tropicana Field. Adam Jones hit the go-ahead two-run single to rob Matt Moore of a victory after pitching seven scoreless innings.