Yovani Gallardo, new to the Rangers and the American League this spring after eight seasons with the Brewers, shrugged when it was pointed out that he is losing one of his best weapons in the designated-hitter league: His bat.

At 36, Jason Marquis is headed back to the big leagues as a member of the Reds rotation. Relying on the sinker-slider combination that has helped him win 121 big league games, Marquis has a 3.15 ERA in five spring starts.

The Padres’ farm system has taken on a dramatically different look since the club hired A.J. Preller as general manager last August, but San Diego still has talent down on the farm, from top-ranked prospects Hunter Renfroe and catcher Austin Hedges to lower-level talent like Michael Gettys and Nick Torres.

Veterans infielders Steve Lombardozzi and Brent Morel and outfielder Jose Tabata were among 11 players reassigned to Minor League camp on Friday by the Pirates, who also optioned left-hander Bobby LaFromboise to Triple-A.

R.B.I. Baseball 15 will be available on next-generation consoles beginning Tuesday. These editions of the iconic and easy-to-play game also will be available for pre-order via GameStop.

The thunderous cracking noise coming off of Starling Heredia’s bat every time he connected on a pitch during batting practice and deposited the ball over the left-field fence was unlike anything heard at the USA Baseball National Training Complex on Thursday afternoon.

Red Sox slugger David Ortiz still carries the sting from perceptions that resulted from the 2009 report in the New York Times that he was one of 103 players flagged in anonymous survey testing in 2003 for performance-enhancing drugs.

Kris Bryant passed all the tests Thursday his first game in left field for the Cubs, but the move didn’t help his hitting.

Often mistaken for one another, Billy Beane and Billy Bean found themselves in the same clubhouse Thursday, just as they did 27 years ago when playing in the outfield together for Triple-A Toledo. This time, Beane, now Oakland’s general manager, was introducing Bean in the A’s clubhouse. Bean, bringing a message of inclusion for gay players in baseball, is on a speaking tour visiting only clubs that invite him.

Travis Wood may have started Wednesday night, but that didn’t stop the Cubs pitcher from getting an extra at-bat on Thursday, and he took advantage of it.

Clayton Kershaw struck out eight over six innings and collected a hit and two sacrifice bunts as the Dodger rolled past the White Sox, 9-6, on Thursday at Camelback Ranch. Yasiel Puig and Jimmy Rollins (4 RBIs) hit two-run homers, as every Dodgers starter got at least one hit.

The Mariners lost to the Royals, 3-0, on Thursday at Peoria Stadium. But really only one thing mattered in this one. Felix Hernandez looked King-ly and thus all was well.

Miguel Cabrera and Victor Martinez seemingly cleared the health hurdle a few days ago in their comebacks from their respective surgeries. In their battle to get their timing down at the plate in time for Opening Day, they both cleared the fence Thursday.

Ah, so this is why the White Sox have been so mysterious through the years.

The Brady Aiken saga has taken another turn. Aiken, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2014 First-Year Player Draft and a top prospect for this year’s Draft, underwent Tommy John surgery on Wednesday.

Hours after his manager laughed off concern about Jason Heyward not yet having registered an extra-base hit this spring, the right fielder blasted his first — all the way onto the porch of the team complex beyond the right-field wall.

Cuban star Yasmany Tomas could still start the regular season in the Minor Leagues, D-backs manager Chip Hale said on Thursday before his club played the Padres in a Cactus League game at Salt River Fields.