Red Sox closer Koji Uehara still can’t go with 100 percent intensity in side sessions, thanks to lingering discomfort in his right hamstring.

The Red Sox have acted quickly to fill their need at catcher, acquiring strong defender Sandy Leon from the Washington Nationals for cash considerations on Monday.

St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman and City Council Chairman Charlie Gerdes decided not to place the memorandum of understanding (addressing the revised proposal) on the agenda for Thursday’s council meeting because they felt they had not gained the necessary votes for the proposal to pass.

Nationals third baseman Anthony Rendon traveled to meet with orthopedist Dr. James Andrews in Pensacola, Fla., on Monday in order to receive a second opinion on the sprained MCL in his left knee.

The Cubs’ decision to send slugger Kris Bryant to the Minors to open the season has divided the baseball world, but the decision is totally justifiable, writes former Major League general manager Dan O’Dowd.

Pat Connaughton, a two-sport star who also plays for the Notre Dame basketball team that was eliminated from the NCAA Tournament on Saturday night, may not return to baseball any time soon.

As Commissioner Rob Manfred begins his inaugural season at the helm of Major League Baseball, the popularity of fantasy baseball continues to swell. The Commissioner recently spoke about the role that fantasy baseball plays in engaging fans, the prevalence of analytics in baseball and the emergence of the latest wave of exciting young stars.

Justin Verlander will miss his next spring start as he continues to recover from a right triceps cramp, and it is unclear when the right-hander will pitch next.

The Mets addressed their left-handed relief problem in two quick strikes on Monday, acquiring Alex Torres from the Padres in exchange for pitching prospect Cory Mazzoni and a player to be named, then Jerry Blevins from the Nationals for outfielder Matt den Dekker.

Miguel Cabrera is OK, but put a scare into Tigers fans and team officials when he took a tumble over Atlanta’s Kelly Johnson trying to make a tag at first base.

The Cubs reassigned top prospects Kris Bryant and Addison Russell to Minor League camp on Monday, and also optioned second baseman Javier Baez to Triple-A Iowa.

Jorge Soler has managed to fly under the Cubs’ radar in spite of soaring skills calling to manager Joe Maddon’s mind the great Vladimir Guerrero.

Statistics cannot measure the core of Buster Posey’s excellence. It consists of intangibles, manifested in behavioral and motivational tools that benefit the Giants’ accomplished pitchers.

Josiah Viera was an honorary coach with Class A State College last year, and he recently visited the Cardinals at big league camp. Viera has Hutchinson/Gilford Progeria Syndrome, a rare genetic condition that prematurely ages children.

How does the American League East stack up, position by position? Here’s a stab at predicting who will be the best player at each position in the division this season. Think of it as the preseason All-AL East team.

America’s first introduction to Hagen Danner came nearly four years ago in the 2011 Little League World Series. That summer, he starred for Huntington Beach’s Ocean Valley Little League, helping the team win the championship in Williamsport, Pa.

Any number of factors can conspire to decide a division. But at the dawn of a new season, these are the five factors that look like they’ll loom largest in the American League East.