MLB Bullets flies the Freak flag

Just your annual reminder that Spring Training stats and scores are, by and large, meaningless. (Yes, I know some have demonstrated a slight correlation around power surges.) But if you want to know who won a Spring Training game, ask yourself if every player is as healthy at the end of the game as they were at the beginning. If the answer is “yes,” congratulations. Your team (or favorite player) won.

• Yes, a free agent former Cy Young Award-winning pitcher has agreed to sign with a new team. Tim Lincecum has agreed to terms with the Rangers. It’s a major-league contract.
• Jeff Sullivan looks at what the Rangers might expect out of the comeback attempt of The Freak and why Lincecum likely chose the Rangers over the Dodgers. (Hint: One team has Kenley Jansen closing games and the other doesn’t.)
• The Blue Jays have signed free agent reliever Seung-hwan Oh. The Rangers had previously agreed to terms with Oh, but called off the deal after Oh’s physical.
• The Indians are bringing back Mike Napoli on a minor-league deal.
• The Red Sox finalized their deal with outfielder J.D. Martinez and we now have the details of his revised contract. The Red Sox can void the deal after the third season if the foot issue they found causes him to miss 60 games that year and Martinez got an extra opt-out. The money remained the same.
• The MLB Players’ Association camp for unsigned free agents will play an exhibition game against a Japanese minor league team. The game will be open to scouts and the media but not the general public.
• Jenna Laine takes a look inside the MLBPA camp and finds a lot of players there are worried that the game has passed them by.
• Daniel Kramer explains the likely reasons why reliever Greg Holland hasn’t been able to find a new team this year.
• The MLBPA has also filed a grievance against the Pirates, Rays, Athletics and Marlins, arguing that they aren’t re-investing their revenue-sharing money in the team like they are supposed to.
• Bob Nightengale writes that this grievance is a long time in coming and that a lot of players are pretty angry about the market this winter.
• Grant Brisbee just assigns the remaining free agents to new teams.
• Dayn Perry argues that the Twins need to open their historically-tight wallets and sign Jake Arrieta.
• Craig Edwards notes that unlike previous seasons, the players who waited the longest to sign this winter got the best contracts. Of course, he notes that could all change if and when the players who still haven’t signed find a new team.
• Free agent Zack Cozart signed with the Angels earlier this winter after some hesitation because he didn’t want to move from shortstop to third base. He changed his mind when his wife told him to “quit being a baby” and that the Angels are “trying to win.” There might be a conflict of interest here, but I want Cozart’s wife in the Cubs front office now.
• Paul Lebowitz looks at the teams that aren’t trying to win with six teams that could end up being even worse than the Marlins in 2018.
• Gabe Lacques speaks with Rays general manager Erik Neander who assures him that the Rays have a plan for the future. He doesn’t say what it is, but he says there is a plan.
• Part of that plan probably is affected by the news that the Rays are expected to sign a new TV deal that will quadruple their broadcast income.
• Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez was hit in the arm by a line drive by Victor Caratini. The good news for the M’s is that the x-Rays came back negative. The bad news is that Hernandez’s arm is still so swollen that he can’t straighten it. This means that Monday’s game was a loss for Seattle, despite the tie score, but not nearly as bad of a loss as it could have been.
• Brandon Belt talked about how difficult it was dealing with a concussion last season. Depression was a major symptom, and we talked about how baseball players can suffer from depression just like anyone else last time. (And if you’re suffering from depression, it’s not a weakness or moral failing. It’s a condition that you can get help for, just like you would for a broken arm.)
• Noah Syndergaard was hitting 100 mph and looking healthy in Spring Training, giving Mets fans a needed source of optimism.
• Braves legend Andruw Jones is working with possibly the next Braves legend, top prospect Ronald Acuna.
• However, that piece about Jones and Acuna is getting the most attention for a throwaway line at the end where Mark Bowman writes that “The Braves want Acuna to wear his hat straight and maintain a professional appearance.” Craig Calcaterra can’t believe the Braves are actually making a deal about this and he suspects that they might use it as an excuse to keep Acuna in the minor and delay his service-time clock.
• Anthony Castrovince has a “sleeper” lineup, starting rotation and bullpen heading into 2018.
• Andrew Simon has five young players who could “break out” in 2018.
• Jerry Crasnick found something (or someone) who intrigued him in every Cactus League camp.
• White Sox minor leaguer Mikey Duarte lost his sister in the Las Vegas massacre. He talks with Richard Justice about what he’s feeling right now and how he had given his ticket for the concert to his sister when he returned to Arizona for treatment.
• The Twins will be selling MLB and Prince co-branded merchandise sometime this season. I’m of two minds on this. For one, Prince never would have allowed something like this had he been alive. But on the other hand, it could be really, really cool.
• And finally, check out these side-by-side pictures of MLB veterans in their first Spring Training and in this year’s. Joe Mauer looks the same. Thin Bartolo Colon just looks wrong.