Michael Brantley hits baseballs, shoulder does not explode

March is going by quickly, and the first day of the actual baseball season is inching closer with each passing day. Spring training is fun, but I want real baseball again. Onto the news!

Tribe news

Brantley notches 2 hits in Cactus League debut | MLB

On Monday, Michael Brantley played against the Los Angeles Dodgers in an actual baseball game. During his debut, he went 2-for-3 with two singles and an RBI. More importantly, his shoulder remained intact throughout the entire process.

Santana returns to camp after enjoying Classic | MLB

When Team USA eliminated Team Dominican Republic on Saturday, Carlos Santana returned to camp join his Cleveland teammates in Arizona. And while his team is not advancing in the tournament, Santana had a good run, going 8-for-26 over the course of six games. Here’s to hoping that his success in the WBC translates back to Cleveland.

Carrasco exits Minor League start feeling good | MLB

In his previous Cactus League game on March 13, Carlos Carrasco couldn’t seem to get any of his pitches working. After a scan revealed some minor inflammation in his throwing elbow, the right-hander took some time to recover and seems to be feeling much better a week following his last start.

Cleveland Indians’ Francisco Lindor collects three hits as Puerto Rico advances to WBC title game | Cleveland.com

Cleveland superstar Francisco Lindor continues to impress on a global scale as he and Team Puerto Rico will head to the title game. On Wednesday, they will face the winner of the Team Japan/Team USA game that will happen later today.

Around the League

• In a shocking (read: not shocking at all) turn of events, Tim Tebow will NOT be on the New York Mets’ roster to begin the season.
• Kevin Kiermaier and the Tampa Bay Rays have agreed to a six-year/$53.5 million dollar contract.
• Best of luck to Chad Bettis, who has begun chemotherapy for testicular cancer. He hopes to return to pitch for the Colorado Rockies later this summer.
• And finally, even when Edwin Diaz isn’t trying, he is still throwing harder than some MLB pitchers: