Putting financial considerations ahead of on-field competitiveness, the Braves send top prospect Ronald Acuna to the minors, even though the Baseball America 2017 Minor League Player of the Year has been red hot in spring training, hitting .432 with 4 homers, and is obviously ready for the Show. However, the Braves want to delay the start of his arbitration clock by a year by keeping him away from the bigs for at least a couple of weeks.

2018 – The Twins’ hopes of returning to the postseason are dealt a big blow as SS Jorge Polanco is handed an 80-game suspension for testing positive to a PED, the old-school steroid Stanozolol.

Not to be outdone, the Blue Jays field a line-up straight out of the 1990s in their 11 – 3 win over the Canadian junior national team. The team features an infield of Clemens, Biggio, Bichette and Guerrero, with Dwight Smith Jr. in left field and Grudzielanek at DH. They are all sons of major leaguers, except for Grudzielanek, who is Mark’s nephew. Joining them by pitching a perfect 8th inning in 17-year-old Braden Halladay, son of the late Roy Halladay, who qualifies to play for the Canadians by virtue of having been born in Toronto, ON.

In the sort of weirdness that only happens in spring training, the Rangers play a couple of innings against the Royals with a double play combination composed of Rougned Odor at second base and Rougned Odor at shortstop. It is a first time the two brothers, who share a first name but have different middle names, have played together in a professional game.

2018 – News stories emerge that defending AL MVP José Altuve has signed a contract extension guaranteeing him $151 million over five years starting in 2020. The huge salary will compensate for the fact that Altuve has been a tremendous bargain for the Houston Astros until now, earning just $6 million this season.