Grady Sizemore

Grady Sizemore's next stop in his attempted career resurrection has taken him to the Philadelphia Phillies. The three-time MLB All-Star signed a minor league contract with the organization and will report to the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs on Thursday, per MLBRosterMoves:

According to CBSSports.com's Jon Heyman, Sizemore will have the option to opt out in July:

The writing had been on the wall for several weeks.

On Tuesday afternoon, that writing finally spelled the end of Grady Sizemore's unlikely comeback story, as the Boston Red Sox designated the 31-year-old outfielder for assignment to make room for prospect Garin Cecchini, as tweeted by Alex Speier of WEEI.com.

The Boston Red Sox are getting closer to starting the defense of their World Series title when they begin regular season play on March 31 against the Baltimore Orioles.

Some questions about the roster have been answered during their time in Fort Myers, Fla. However, new ones have appeared due to certain performances, and others still need to be figured out.

The main focus of the MLB offseason will soon turn to Japanese star Masahiro Tanaka, who will be posted by the Rakuten Golden Eagles, and free-agent starters Matt Garza, Ubaldo Jimenez and Ervin Santana, who are all still on the board.

The New York Mets don't have a lot of money to spend this winter. 

Though the team has one to two openings in its outfield, general manager Sandy Alderson hasn't chased a big-name free agent like B.J. Upton or Nick Swisher. Trading for a player like Justin Upton won't happen because the Mets are in the position of acquiring prospects, not dealing them away. 

Do you think the Sizemore family doesn't matter?

Just ask the Cleveland Indians and the Oakland Athletics, who already have lost one of their own in training camp and been left to scramble for replacements.

Welcome to Tribe Talk, where Bleacher Report's Cleveland Indians fans weigh-in on the ups and downs of the club each week throughout the season.

This week, we formulate a strategy for the Tribe to win the Kansas City series; speculate on recently-returned Grady Sizemore's future; cry about our long relief woes; and fess up on who our favorite Indians are.

I suppose just four words come to mind: Welcome back, Grady Sizemore.

Injured for the better part of the last two seasons, Sizemore went two-for-four at the plate, including a solo home run in only his second at-bat and a double in his third, in a better-than-expected debut for the stalwart center fielder.

The Indians rode solo home runs by Sizemore, Carlos Santana and Travis Hafner, as well as another quality start from Fausto Carmona to beat the Orioles 4-2.

Grady Sizemore will return to Cleveland today, starting in centerfield, as well as leading off.  To make room on the roster, starter Mitch Talbot will be placed on the 15-day DL, in a bit of a surprising move. 

It was believed that Travis Buck would be sent down since he has an option left, but he gets a temporary reprieve.  Talbot is officially out with a strained right elbow, and likely won't be back until the middle of May.

The season is only a few weeks old, but already teams have began to separate themselves from the pack, while others have shown once again that they still do not have what it takes to compete for a playoff spot.

Injuries and under performing players will inevitably create a need for some contenders to make a move to bring in a player to shore up their lineup as they make a push towards the playoffs, with the Chase Utley injury in Philadelphia a perfect example of that.