2014 – Four pitchers combine on a no-hitter as Escogido clinches a spot in the finals of the Dominican League championship tournament with a 6 – 0 win over Licey. Jon Leicester pitches the first five innings, and three relievers follow suit, with Fernando Ramsey completing the no-no by striking out Lonnie Chisenhall for the final out; Ramon Garcia and Armando Rodriguez are the other two pitchers involved.

2012 – Mayaguez wins the first game of the finals of the Puerto Rican League with an emphatic 10 – 1 win over Caguas. Mayaguez bangs out 19 hits; Bobby Livingston is the winner over Matt DeSalvo.

The Oakland A’s sign reliever Grant Balfour and the Kansas City Royals add starter Jeff Francis.

Hiromitsu Ochiai and Mutsuo Minagawa are elected to the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame. Ochiai was the only three-time Triple Crown winner in Nippon Pro Baseball and later guided the Chunichi Dragons to the 2007 Japan Series title. Minagawa was a six-time All-Star who had a career record of 221-139.

The Arizona Diamondbacks sign free agent 1B Andy LaRoche to a one-year contract. He split the 2009 season between the Pirates, Red Sox and Braves, but still managed to have one his most productive years, hitting 25 homers with 83 RBI.

The Marlins sign a four-year deal worth $39 million with young pitching star Josh Johnson. He joins shortstop Hanley Ramirez, who signed a six-year deal with the Fish in 2008, as the future cornerstones of the franchise.

The Padres also ink a star player eligible for salary arbitration, closer Heath Bell, who signs a one-year $4 million deal.

The Blue Jays trade starting shortstop Alex Gonzalez along with minor leaguers Tim Collins and Tyler Pastornicky to the Braves in exchange for infielder Yunel Escobar and southpaw Jo-Jo Reyes. The Braves’ new infielder is probably best known for his role in Florida’s improbable World Series victory over New York, that includes a walk-off home run in the 12th inning of Game Four, giving the Marlins a 4-3 victory and a 2-2 tie in the Fall Classic.

The Angels avoid arbitration when the team agrees to a $5,775,000, one-year deal with Chone Figgins, the club’s versatile switch-hitter. The 30 year-old, who led the team with 34 stolen bases last season, has employed mostly third base, but he has also played second, shortstop, and in the outfield by Halos’ skipper Mike Scioscia.