Opinion

LA PUENTE, California — Six months after knocking ignorance and intolerance out of the park, Milwaukee minor league slugger David Denson hops out of his father's white Dodge Charger in a parking lot here and smiles broadly.

Behind him are the shadows from which he emerged to declare himself to the world, finally brave and comfortable enough in his own skin to do something that no other active, affiliated professional baseball player ever has dared.

There's a scene in Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me that I can't help but relate to Los Angeles Dodgers center fielder Joc Pederson. Austin sits in bed and comes to the sudden realization he's "lost his mojo."

We've heard this before when it comes to athletes, though it often refers to a slow decline. For Pederson, it was almost an overnight transformation.

New York Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman has been suspended 30 games by Major League Baseball for his alleged involvement in a widely publicized domestic violence incident, as first reported by Billy Witz of the New York Times.

The Kansas City Royals' task in 2016 is as simple as it is difficult: defend their World Series title.

But there's a larger plan brewing in Western Missouri—one that involves keeping the club's largely homegrown championship core intact for the long haul. By extending catcher and reigning Fall Classic MVP Salvador Perez at the outset of spring training, the Royals took a crucial step in that direction.

JUPITER, Fla. — Is that coconut smell sunblock or a pina colada? Tough to tell in the Grapefruit League...

1. Yadier Molina Is All Thumbs

Along about December, Yadier Molina noticed his left hand just didn't feel right.

The Detroit Tigers mean to go places this season, so it sure would help if Justin Verlander pitches like an ace.

With the 33-year-old right-hander mired in a cycle of injuries and ineffectiveness, this would have been an iffy proposition a year ago. But after his finish to 2015, it might not be asking too much going into 2016.

Spring training games officially kicked off Monday, but your mind is already wandering to the start of the regular season.

It's OK, you can admit it.

Sure, the exhibition slate has its charms. Mostly, it's just nice to see actual baseball being played in the sunshine again, especially in those parts of the country where winter still casts its icy, soggy pall.

In the end, though, this is all merely preamble to the 162-game marathon and subsequent October chase. That's what we live for.

Ian Desmond is now $8 million richer. Were he a normal person, that would be worthy of a pat on the back and an "Attaboy!"

But because Desmond is a fallen baseball star who could have been over $100 million richer a couple of years ago, all anyone can say is, "Tough break, man."

Jose Bautista won't come cheap. Just ask him.

Joey Bats, as MLB Network's Jon Heyman reported, is seeking at least five years and more than $150 million as he prepares to hit free agency next winter. And that's not negotiable. 

Although Major League Baseball's spring training generally isn't a haunted house environment, even would-be contenders never know when something is going to pop up and say, "Boo!"

It's on this note that we're going to comb through 20 presumed contenders and pick out one big fear each one of them should have this spring. And because it would be too easy to suggest that maybe the best players could suffer devastating injuries, we're going to stick strictly to practical concerns.