Baseball

Earlier today, Bleacher Report had an exclusive opportunity to speak with 19-time American League All-Star and Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr.

Aside from Ripken's broadcasting work, the former iron man is working with Transitions adaptive lenses, spreading awareness about eyesight problems and encouraging parents to remain diligent with testing their children.

Anything can happen between now and when the New York Yankees break from spring training at the end of March, but barring injuries, it doesn't appear as if the 25-man roster will be too difficult to project.

It's been an interesting offseason for the Baltimore Orioles, as they made mostly under-the-radar moves up until the past couple weeks, when they added a pair of the top remaining free agents on the market in slugger Nelson Cruz and right-hander Ubaldo Jimenez.

With spring training well underway throughout Major League Baseball, the evaluative process is already in the works for the Washington Nationals, as they look to put the best 25-man product on the field that they can.

Baseball's first month can set the tone for the entire season. As such, manager Matt Williams must be sure he produces an optimal roster to compete in the competitive National League East.

The St. Louis Cardinals reached the World Series last season for the fourth time in the last decade, and they did so with a roster of mostly homegrown players. Even after losing Carlos Beltran to free agency, the Cardinals were viewed as potential contenders headed into 2014 given the holdovers from last year’s club.

Spring training is in full swing and the St. Louis Cardinals are creating plenty of buzz. The reigning National League champions have a stacked roster at the major league level. It is the continued improvement of the players in the farm system that keeps the fans coming back for more early in spring.

There is plenty of optimism surrounding the New York Mets heading into the 2014 season, but is there too much at this point in the spring?

John Harper of the New York Daily News reported on February 27 that Mets general manager Sandy Alderson set a goal of 90 wins in a meeting with team executives.

With the second pick in the 2008 MLB amateur draft, the Pittsburgh Pirates selected third baseman Pedro Alvarez.  As the Pirates have done so often in the last decade, they picked a gem, and Alvarez has a huge pull on the success of Pittsburgh in 2014.  

The Kansas City Royals finished the 2013 spring training with a record of 25-7, and fans were excited to see the potential of the young guns on this team.  

The long-awaited debut of Masahiro Tanaka finally took place Saturday afternoon, when the New York Yankees' prized pitcher took the mound for two innings of spring training work against the Philadelphia Phillies.