Baseball

Coming into spring training, the Kansas City Royals had very few position battles to work out as the 2013 season approached—which is remarkably odd for a team coming off a 72-win season.

Other than the perennial lobbying for bullpen spots, the Royals were primarily focused on who would be the team’s No. 5 starting pitcher and who would emerge as their starting second baseman.

On March 23, Detroit Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander told CBS Sports' Jon Heyman that he won't discuss a contract extension during the regular season:

The Detroit Tigers announced Saturday that they have returned Jeff Kobernus back to the Washington Nationals, according to CBS Sports.com’s Danny Knobler.

Adam Eaton, considered among the most exciting young players in baseball, was expected to start in center field and bat leadoff for the Arizona Diamondbacks this year. Instead, it was recently announced that he will miss up to the first two months of the season because of injury. 

Brian Cashman was at it again.

The Yankees general manager lured back the team's former ace on Friday night, signing Chien-Ming Wang to a minor league deal.

The Pittsburgh Pirates' starting rotation has been a key component of the team's first-half success in 2011 and 2012, keeping the team afloat while the offense struggled at the start of the season.

While there are many question marks in this year's rotation, the Bucs also boast several higher ceiling pitchers in addition to more credible depth than they have had in previously.

In most instances, a manager will focus on the opposing team’s starting pitcher when filling out his lineup card prior to a game.

With Shelby Miller preparing to make an impact at the major league level to start the season, the focus on prospects within the St. Louis Cardinals farm system will continue to shift toward the next generation.

A lot of questions confronted the Philadelphia Phillies as they headed into spring training.  Would their aging stars bounce back from long stints on the disabled list and regain their effectiveness?  Would those who had avoided the DL be able to avoid Father Time for one more year?  Would youngsters come up and fill voids left by core players departing?

With April 1st and the start of the 2013 baseball season just a few short days away, the Philadelphia Phillies have checked off quite a few items on their offseason to-do list and are closer to figuring out what their roster will look like for the regular season.

The team took care of a few housekeeping items by naming Cole Hamels the Opening Day starter, and by demoting Darin Ruf, it got a few steps closer to figuring out the outfield situation.