Good morning. If you want to feel old, Darren Baker is 1 for 5 for the Nationals in five games in Spring Training. And if you don’t remember who that is, then you probably aren’t old.

• The Giants signed free agent third baseman Matt Chapman to a three-year, $54 million deal. There are opt-outs after each of the first two seasons.
• Andrew Baggarly examines what impact Chapman is likely to have on the Giants. (The Athletic sub. req.)
• Dayn Perry examines whether the Chapman deal is enough to make the Giants a playoff contender.
• One guy on the outs in San Francisco is likely to be third baseman J. D. Davis. Mike Axisa has some possible landing spots for Davis if the Giants decide to trade him, as seems likely.
• Sticking with the Giants by not sticking with the Giants, longtime Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford, now with the Cardinals, complained that the team “did not want him back” (The Athletic sub. req.) and that communications in the organization were poor. Andrew Baggarly reports.
• And Bob Nightengale reports a similar story from Nick Ahmed, who is in Giants camp on a non-roster invitation (something that Crawford says he turned down). Ahmed said he was “blindsided” by the Diamondbacks decision to release him last September. Ahmed said he was so hurt that he couldn’t even watch his former teammates play in the playoffs or World Series last year, although he adds that he was glad for them.
• The Diamondbacks signed free agent infielder Elvis Andrus to a minor-league deal.
• Alden Gonzalez outlines the debate over the owners’ proposal of a signing deadline in MLB.
• Michael Baumann writes thinks everyone is overreacting to the late singings this winter and that a signing deadline would mostly benefit the owners.
• In a story that may be a big deal or may be nothing. reigning National League MVP Ronald Acuña Jr. will undergo further tests for an irritated right meniscus.
• Speaking on the continuing “Fanatics-Gate” controversy over the new uniforms, Stephanie Apstein writes that the whole affair is continuing evidence that the trust between players and management has broken down.
• There was a scary incident in Spring Training as Nationals outfield prospect Daylen Lile left the field on a stretcher after going over the outfield wall attempting to catch a home run. The good news is that Lile has been released from the hospital and is “going to be OK,” according to Nationals manager Davey Martinez.
• Chelsea Janes reports on how the Nationals are bonding over baseball cards this Spring.
• However, Jake Mintz reports on the controversy over a sign the Nationals put up this spring that reads “I don’t care how fast you throw ball four.” Some think the sign is overly negative and others think it’s like telling someone not to think about an elephant.
• New Guardians manager Stephen Vogt admits that it’s weird managing outfielder Ramón Laureano, who was his teammate in Oakland as recently as 2022. But Vogt says he’ll play no favorites.
• In 2016, Jesús Cano was 15 years old and caught a home run hit by Vogt in Oakland. Now he’s a writer for MLB dot com and he asked Vogt if he remembered the home run. The answer was yes, he remembered every detail except that Cano caught the ball and he was blow away by the coincidence.
• David Schoenfield has teams that could be the Diamondbacks of 2024. (ESPN+ sub. req.) And none of them are the Diamondbacks. I guess they’re going to be the Padres or the Mariners this year or something. But what he means is trying to pick a surprise World Series team.
• Sam Blum tells how Miguel Sanó, after being out of baseball last season, lost 58 pounds and is trying to make a comeback with the Angels. (The Athletic sub. req.)
• Stephanie Apstein reports that outfielder Juan Soto is happy with the Yankees—but not so happy that he wants to sign an extension right now.
• Thomas Harrington has some former top prospects who could break out in 2024.
• Jordan Schusterman speaks with four young pitchers, including the Cubs’ Jordan Wicks, about how they are planning to be even better in 2024.
• One prospect from each team to watch in Spring Training.
• Ten comeback candidates for 2024.
• Esteban Rivera has three hitters who he feels have a solid chance to significantly beat their preseason forecasts.
• Noah Yingling has five pitchers currently in Nippon Professional Baseball who could be the next stars to cross the Pacific.
• Mike Axisa has ten positional battles in Spring Training.
• David Adler has 12 Statcast facts that have stook out this Spring Training.
• Brittany Ghiroli has an interesting story about the revolution taking place in coaching and how more and more coaches are coming from outside facilities (like Driveline) and how many coaches are leaving organized baseball for work for outside facilities. (The Athletic sub. req.)
• And finally, Phillies slugger Nick Castellanos’ son Liam has been serving as the team’s batboy in Spring Training. But he got a stern look from his dad when Liam spent too much time admiring Nick’s home run that he forgot to do his job and pick up the bat.