MLB

Cuban phenom Lazaro Robersy Armenteros Arango, better known as Lazarito, has been dropped by agent Charles Hairston following a death threat. 

If New York Yankees reliever Aroldis Chapman gets suspended for an alleged domestic dispute, he will reportedly not be able to serve part of it during spring training.  

Before the grind of the 162-game Major League Baseball season begins, fans will get a glimpse of what their team looks like for a month in spring training action.

Expectations may vary from team-to-team, but the goal remains the same for all 30 teams. Some of those teams (or individual players) might surprise during the first few weeks of the spring.

New York Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman spoke on Tuesday about the alleged domestic abuse incident involving his girlfriend that ultimately didn't lead to any criminal charges.  

"I never hurt anybody," Chapman told Brendan Kuty of NJ Advance Media. "Never in my life."

In his first comments since an Al Jazeera America report linked him to alleged performance-enhancing drug use, Washington Nationals star Ryan Zimmerman was defiant Tuesday.

Spring training offers a fresh start, a clean slate for all 30 MLB teams. The optimism that runs throughout camps is infectious, hitting a team's respective fanbase as everyone counts down the days to Opening Day.

Depending on where your rooting interest lies, what follows could make you stop counting altogether.

What follows is a look around baseball at the odds for every team to make an apperance in the 2016 World Series. These odds are based largely on two things:

Back in September, we saw that New York Mets outfielder Yoenis Cespedes had himself a sweet customized ride.

Once an elite prospect destined to help the Chicago Cubs become relevant again, Javier Baez is now a former prospect hoping to latch onto a Cubs team that became relevant without him.

But there's a line between "former prospect" and "afterthought." Baez is still only 23, and he still has the talent that made him a top prospect in the first place. He also has what most afterthoughts don't.

An opportunity.

Put Scott Boras, Jeffrey Loria and David Samson in a room, and a reality television producer would salivate at the possibilities. It's a group with so much potential for dysfunction that Bravo might consider ditching The Real Housewives series just to acquire the rights.

The outspoken, bullish agent (Boras), the wacky owner (Loria) and president (Samson) have the kind of volatile personalities that could cause a kerfuffle in 2016.

From the chase for the final spot in the Toronto Blue Jays rotation to the free-for-all for playing time in the Los Angeles Dodgers outfield, MLB spring training 2016 is awash with position battles that will have serious October implications.

In order to determine which derbies have the most at stake, we took two key factors into consideration.