Baseball

The New York Yankees' Alex Rodriguez is expected to make his 2015 Grapefruit League debut in spring training Wednesday.

What are realistic 2015 expectations for A-Rod? How has Rodriguez looked thus far in spring training? How has he been received by his Yankees teammates?

Following the 2014 World Series, Alex Rodriguez's season-long suspension came to an end. Now, the controversial star has to convince the New York Yankees that he is healthy enough to be a productive piece for the franchise in 2015 and beyond.

That journey began Monday as he participated in an intrasquad game and will continue Wednesday when he plays in his first exhibition game.  

The calendar has turned to March, meaning we're inching ever closer to the onset of the 2015 MLB regular season.

Spring training is now in full swing for all 30 teams. Pitchers are throwing bullpens, and hitters are taking their hacks in the cage in preparation for the upcoming grind of a 162-game season. As if that weren't enough, there's a slate of roughly 30 spring games to be played as well.

It seems every year there is at least one prospect who, despite not being regarded by the industry as a whole, blows past expectations in spring training and earns a spot on an Opening Day roster.

Most of the time, they are guys who do one or two things well: They have enough of one tool that their projected floor performance in the major leagues at least should be tolerable.

This is not how things are supposed to go for the New York Yankees.

When it comes to desiring a commodity and having a willingness to spend for it, the Yankees are not supposed to swing and miss. And while the occasional whiff has happened under the Steinbrenner family reign, missing out on the prize they covet, for a myriad of reasons, is becoming more common.

Hey, Boston Red Sox fans: To borrow from The Hollies, he ain't heavy, he's your Panda.

You've seen the picture by now, as well as the accompanying tweet by Boston.com's Steve Silva. Or, in case you haven't:

This offseason, the Washington Nationals turned a nice roster into a World Series favorite with a handful of key acquisitions, but that's not such good news for some borderline big leaguers, who will now have to fight tooth and nail in spring training just to avoid cuts or demotions. 

From one through 24, Washington's Opening Day 25-man roster looks set in stone, save for a setback in Jayson Werth's recovery from shoulder surgery that would open up another spot. 

Turn back the calendar only two years, and Milwaukee Brewers slugger Ryan Braun was one of the premier hitters in all of baseball—if not the best.

Winter is a long, soggy slog for everyone, but it's especially brutal for Major League Baseball fans.

Not only do we endure the ice and chill, but we also do it without a flicker of MLB action. And the suffering really sets in once the hot stove goes cold.

So huzzah for spring training and the return of actual honest-to-goodness baseball. Gloves, bats and fresh-cut grass are back—the whole nine.

Spring training has begun in baseball, and the New York Mets are gearing up for what will hopefully be a successful 2015 season.

The Mets have a lot of big names on the team, such as David Wright, Curtis Granderson, Matt Harvey and Jacob deGrom, among others. But there are some under-the-radar players and prospects that should and hopefully will get more attention in the next month.

Here are three under-the-radar Mets who are ready to have a big spring.