MLB

Veteran relief pitcher Rafael Betancourt announced on Friday that he will retire from baseball, according to GBSports.com's Gerardo Boscan. 

Betancourt spent 12 years in the majors with the Cleveland Indians and Colorado Rockies and had a career ERA of 3.36. 

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Veteran outfielder Shane Victorino signed with the Chicago Cubs on a minor league deal with an invite to spring training on Friday, according to Bruce Levine of WSCR. Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com confirmed the report. 

While there isn't much for fans to pay attention to during the early days of spring training, Yoenis Cespedes has given everyone something to watch in his own personal car show at New York Mets camp throughout this week.

The Moneyball philosophy may not have resulted in a World Series title for the Oakland Athletics yet, but it undoubtedly had an impact on the way teams are assembled throughout the league.

Whether we're talking about a small-market team facing a payroll crunch or a large-market team with a seemingly endless payroll stream, baseball is still a business.

Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Justin Verlander was among the victims of an alleged crime spree in which the All-Star ace's temporary license tag was stolen from his truck.  

It's spring training, so everyone can dream. And the biggest dream shared in the early days of New York Yankees camp was the one about Michael Pineda.

It's OK to admit you're excited to watch the Kansas City Royals, New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers, Boston Red Sox or any other high-profile team this spring. We all are, man. Just let it out.

But for anyone who wants to sound like a real baseball know-it-all around the nearest water cooler, we happen to have a list of under-the-radar clubs that can steal the show in spring training.

We wait all winter for pitchers and catchers to report to Florida and Arizona. Then, at long last, they do—and we wait some more.

We wait for the final free-agent pieces to fall off the board, for any remaining trades to be consummated, for injury updates and for exhibition games to start. Then we wait for the contests that actually count.

That's a whole lot of waiting. Which means a diversion is in order. 

Austin Jackson remains a free agent as teams swing into full gear at spring training. 

Continue for updates.

Robinson Cano is coming off a mid-career skid in 2015 that elicited spiteful comments from former Seattle Mariners first base coach Andy Van Slyke in November.