AL East

According to Jorge Arangure of ESPN, Cuban shortstop Adeiny Hechevarria has been “unblocked” by the Office of Foreign Assets Control, and is now free to sign with any major league team.

The consensus right now is that the 19-year-old could earn as much as $10 million, which would be more than the $8.2 million the Red Sox recently paid Jose Iglesias this winter.

When the Tampa Bay Rays sent Scott Kazmir to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim last August, Sean Rodriguez was an afterthought in the trade. As a matter of fact, he was the ever so famous “Player To Be Named Later.”

Now it looks like Rodriguez might be paying dividends for the Rays.

Today Detroit defeated Houston 17 to 7. No, folks, it’s not preseason football that I am referring to. That was, in fact, todays spring training final score. Besides, we all know that the Lions' defense can’t hold an opposing team to just seven points.

Prior to that pitcher's duel (note sarcasm), I had a chance to watch last season's draft picks Jacob Turner and Andy Oliver in a scrimmage game on a practice field.

Here are some news and stories of note from yesterday:

Tim Marchman of Sports Illustrated recently ranked the 30 general managers in baseball and the Yankees GM Brian Cashman ranked pretty high at No. 3 behind Andrew Friedman of the Tampa Rays and Theo Epstein of the Boston Red Sox.

3. Brian Cashman, New York Yankees

The offseason is over and the Yankees roster is pretty much set, but since they signed relief pitcher Chan Ho Park there has been a glut of relievers and something has got to give. Whether it be an injury or two that solves the logjam or even a trade—that has yet to be seen.

Here are some newsworthy bits that didn’t quite have enough to make a story out of, but are important anyways:

The greatest time of the year is upon us. As the weather warms up, so does that spot in our heart for baseball. Spring Training has finally begun!

Thirty MLB teams now begin their preseason games knowing that in under a month, it finally counts again.

So if your favorite team's dreams were crushed last season, you once again have reason to hope. Embrace this chance because, come October, you may just have to wait another year.

The New York Yankees played their first spring training game at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa on Wednesday.

Their opponent was the lowly Pittsburgh Pirates, who have remade their team hoping to have their first winning season in 18 years.

The remarks here are just some impressions from watching the game.

The other day I ran a post on 10 problems the Yankees might have this season and some people wondered why I didn’t mention the fifth starter battle. Well, because having two great young pitchers battling over the final spot in the rotation isn’t a problem, it’s a luxury.