The Blue Jays release OF Joey Gathright, brought in during the off-season for his speed and defense, after he hits .167 in 42 spring training at-bats.

Veteran 1B Doug Mientkiewicz leaves the Dodgers’ training camp after being told he will not make the opening day roster. He is offered a position as a minor league instructor, but declines, preferring to seek another opportunity to play somewhere in the major leagues.

The Rangers obtain utility infielder Andres Blanco from the Cubs for future considerations.

Minneapolis’ new Target Field is inaugurated with a college game between the University of Minnesota and Louisiana Tech, in front of 37,757 spectators, a game which also serves as an open house for fans and a dry run for the new facility. The ballpark’s main tenants, the Minnesota Twins will play two exhibition games against the St. Louis Cardinals on April 2-3, while the official home opener is set for April 12th.

The 2010 Central League season begins. Tetsuya Utsumi allows 4 runs and fans 10 in 8 innings to lead the Yomiuri Giants to victory against Yakult. Kenji Johjima goes 3 for 4 with 4 RBI to lead his new team, the Hanshin Tigers, to a win over Yokohama. Finally, Kenta Maeda allows one hit in eight innings to give the Hiroshima Carp the win against Chunichi.

Baltimore second baseman Brian Roberts plays his first game of the spring after being sidelined by a bad back. He strikes out three times against the Twins¸ but says he feels great and is on track to be in the line-up on Opening Day.

Alberto Callaspo, subbing at 3B for Alex Gordon, who broke his thumb in the Royals’ third game of the spring, also injures himself, pulling a muscle in his right side during batting practice and is doubtful for Opening Day. Injuries have come in bunches for the Royals this spring, as CF Rick Ankiel and P Gil Meche have also been sidelined.

2010 – The Yankees release P Chad Gaudin, who was competing for the team’s fifth starter position, and, failing that, was expected to make the staff as a long reliever. Philip Hughes, who shined as a set-up man in 2009, is announced as the winner of the fifth starter competition, while Joba Chamberlain returns to the bullpen. Gaudin will sign a minor league deal with Oakland on March 28th but will be back with the Yanks before the end of the year.

The probation sentence of Orioles 3B Miguel Tejada is extended by six months because he failed to complete the required 100 hours of community service in due time. Tejada was handed the sentence a year ago as a consequence of misleading Congress and withholding information during testimony regarding the use of steroids in baseball in 2005; he agreed to a $5000 fine and to community service in lieu of a prison sentence.

Former Cy Young Award winner Dwight Gooden is back in trouble with the law. He faces charges of driving under the influence of drugs, child endangerment, and leaving the scene of an accident, after a 9:00 am crash in Franklin Lakes, NJ. Gooden’s problems with substance abuse in the 1980s and 1990s were well-publicized, but he had apparently turned his life around in recent years, serving as a senior vice-president of the Atlantic League’s Newark Bears until last November.