Brewers GM Doug Melvin is in good health following a unique Spring Training injury. As MLB.com's Evan Drellich and Adam McCalvy relate, Melvin was stung by an Arizona bark scorpion on Wednesday night and, after his left hand swelled up, made a three-hour visit to a local emergency room. Here's the latest from around the NL Central…
- Cubs swingman Carlos Villanueva tells MLB.com's Carrie Muskat that long relievers (like himself) who can make spot starts are "definitely underappreciated" around baseball. “There’s no market for it,” Villanueva said. “When you go arbitration with somebody, you hear you’re not good enough to start, you’re not good enough to close, and it obviously drives the value down."
- After struggling to live up to his potential in Toronto, Travis Snider is eager to get a fresh start with the Pirates, MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo writes.
- Snider is one of a dozen former first-round draft picks that could play key roles for the Pirates in 2013, according to MLB.com's Tom Singer. The Bucs have acquired several former first-rounders (like Snider or Jason Grilli) and have plenty of homegrown top picks in the fold.
- Jason Donald delivered the controversial hit that broke up Armando Galarraga's near-perfect game in 2010 and now the two are teammates with the Reds. "We never have an in-depth discussion, but it was, 'Oh, hey … good to see you again,'" Donald told MLB.com's Mark Sheldon. "It wasn't anything like, 'Hey, you remember when I ruined the best game of your life?' He's such a good guy and I know he understands. It's something we can both look back on and know we were a part of history."
- Earlier today on MLBTR, we featured a collection of Cardinals Notes and some Astros-related items as part of a Texas Notes post.