Rockies’ Nicasio, finally healthy, looks for improvement

Grady Sizemore has gone from offseason signing afterthought to the possible Opening Day center fielder for the Red Sox. As Jackie Bradley Jr.’s struggles at the plate continue in spring training,and Sizemore continues to surprise after more than two years out of baseball, Lou Merloni, on Sports Tonight, reiterated what he told Michael Felger last week: If Sizemore is healthy, the job is his. Merloni said it’s not a debate if Sizemore is back to the form that made him an All-Star with the Indians.

David Phelps boosted his bid to become the New York Yankees’ fifth starter, pitching five scoreless innings Sunday during a 3-3 tie with the Tampa Bay Rays in 10 innings. Phelps, who gave up three hits and struck out one, is competing with Michael Pineda, Adam Warren and Vidal Nuno for the final rotation spot behind CC Sabathia, Hiroki Kuroda, Masahiro Tanaka and Ivan Nova. Outstanding job.” Chris Archer allowed two hits and had two strikeouts in 3 1-3 shutout innings for the Rays.

You may recall that the Marlins were reportedly outraged at the Red Sox for sending a substandard lineupto Thursdays Grapefruit League game at Roger Dean Stadium. Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington has since apologized for the incident, but owner John Henry thinks the Marlins should issue an apology of their own:

Clay Buchholz pitched three hitless innings, Mike Carp hit a long homer and the Boston Red Sox beat a Pittsburgh Pirates split squad 4-1 on Sunday. Jackie Bradley Jr., trying to win a job in center field, gave the Red Sox a 2-0 lead in the second by grounding a two-run single into right field. Pirates right-hander Charlie Morton worked the first three innings and allowed three runs (one earned) on five hits. Pittsburgh was hitless until the sixth, when Gregory Polanco led off with an infield single.

When the Angels acquired Tyler Skaggs in the offseason trade that sent Mark Trumbo to Arizona, they did so with the left-hander in mind for the starting rotation. Through two spring starts, Skaggs has made that decision look promising.

With the Twins scheduled to host the 2014 MLB All-Star Game at Target Field on July 15, tickets for the T-Mobile All-Star FanFest and Taco Bell All-Star Sunday are set to go on sale to the general public today at 10 a.m. CT.

Monday marks the start of another exciting week of Spring Training games in the Cactus and Grapefruit Leagues, with tons of star power, intriguing matchups and pitching debuts available on MLB.TV.