LUSAIL, Qatar – The FIM and Dorna WSBK Organization have announced the decision to postpone the Lauretana Water Qatar round of the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship.

As the global coronavirus outbreak continues, travel restrictions to Qatar have been enforced, primarily affecting passengers from Italy, amongst others. People arriving directly from Italy or who have been in Italy in the past two weeks will be taken directly to quarantine for a minimum of 14 days.

Italian participation in World Superbike – both on track and off – is vital, thus officials have made the decision to postpone the Qatar round of the championship. Officials are hoping to reschedule the event for later in the year, but no date has been set as of yet.

MOORESVILLE, N.C. — The fact that Ryan Newman walked out of Halifax Health Medical Center holding the hands of his daughters less then 48 hours after one of the most viscous wrecks in NASCAR history during the Daytona 500 is amazing.

The race was pretty good, and Denny Hamlin showed why he is now one of the best superspeedway drivers in the current field of NASCAR wheelmen. His third Daytona 500 victory puts him in rarified air with some of the sport’s greats.

Only Richard Petty (seven), Cale Yarborough (four), Dale Jarrett (three), Jeff Gordon (three) and Bobby Allison (three) have won The Great American Race as many times.

But that’s not why this year’s Daytona 500 will be remembered. The 62nd running of the February classic will always be known as the Daytona 500 in which “Rocketman” Ryan Newman survived what appeared to be an unsurvivable crash.

Credit has to be given to NASCAR for its safety advancements. Also, we give a nod to the “boys back at the shop,” as they say. The men at Roush Fenway Racing built a sturdy machine that did a remarkable job of protecting the 42-year-old Newman.

Newman has always been thought of as one of the toughest drivers in NASCAR racing. Now, just like Hamlin, he is also in rarefied air. Only his group includes the tough guys of the sport. Drivers such as Dale Earnhardt, Harry Gant, Yarborough and Buddy Baker. Glad to see you are OK, Ryan.

– We need to say thank you to great friend Jon Rall at Kawasaki for the invite to join him and a group of guests on another incredible adventure. This time, we got to explore the extraordinary Hatfield-McCoy trails in West Virginia with the new Kawasaki Teryx KRX 1000.

The Hatfield-McCoy trail system is close to 800 miles of interlocking trails that run throughout the Mountain State. The trails are laid out like a gigantic ski area. The trail map shows green, blue and black trails, signifying the difficulty of the wide variety of terrain — beginner, intermediate and expert, respectively.

Because of the declining coal industry, West Virginia officials are working hard to encourage enthusiasts and their dirt bikes, ATVs, UTVs and side-by-sides to come tackle the trails. With the fantastic variety of terrain and a season’s pass for only $50, it’s a bargain.

Adding to the enticement to visit “Wild, Wonderful West Virginia,” one can actually drive through the local towns aboard an off-road machine without a license plate. You simply unload your vehicle once and spend the rest of the time riding.

If you plan to go off-roading, we recommend the Kawasaki Teryx KRX 1000. It will power through, crawl over and claw its way up anything in its path, doing it all with rugged good looks.

It’s powered by a 1,000cc liquid-cooled four-stroke engine. The Kawasaki seats two and only weighs 1,896 pounds. The suspension is spectacular courtesy of 18.6 inches of travel at the front and 21.1 inches at the rear, as well as standard 31-inch tires.

It’s difficult to decide which was more remarkable from behind the wheel: The grip and traction when you stood on the throttle or when you stomped on the brakes.

The cockpit is roomy and comfortable. After spending all day blasting up and down the trails, we were covered in mud but not worn out at all. Suggested retail price is $20,499. The adrenaline rush is worth way more than the sticker price.

– “Uppity” is a new documentary about the life of Willy T. Ribbs. Ribbs was an extremely fast, talented and outspoken racer. He pushed the cultural boundaries while chasing his dream of becoming the first black man to race in the Indy 500 — a goal he eventually achieved.

The movie includes interviews with Ribbs’ former teammates, including David Hobbs and Wally Dallenbach, as well as many of the folks who played integral roles in Ribbs’ career, such as H.A. “Humpy” Wheeler and Bernie Eccelstone. The best storyteller in the film, of course, is Ribbs, of course. He puts viewers right in the moment of each significant time period throughout his career. There is also plenty of great vintage racing action. “Uppity” is directed by Nate Adams and Adam Carolla and can be found on Netflix.

Tiger Woods, Dottie Pepper and Tim Finchem are among the finalists the World Golf Hall of Fame’s selection committee will consider for induction in 2021.

In a vote Monday, the hall’s nominating committee forwarded four finalists from the male competitor category, four from the female competitor category and two from the “contributor” category.

Johnny Farrell, Padraig Harrington and Tom Weiskopf join Woods among the male finalists. Susie Maxwell Berning, Beverly Hanson and Sandra Palmer join Pepper among the women. Marion Hollins joined Finchem as a finalist in the contributor category.

A player or contributor must receive approval from 75 percent of the selection committee to gain enshrinement.

Earlier this year, the World Golf Hall of Fame announced changes to its induction criteria and selection process, with the age of eligibility lowered from 50 to 45 years old (during the year of the induction), or with the player at least three years removed from being an active tour participant.

A female player must have 15 official victories from tours receiving Rolex Women’s World Ranking points or have won at least two major championships to be considered for induction. A male player must have 15 official victories from tours among the original members of the International Federation of PGA Tours or have won two titles from among the major championships or The Players Championship.

Male finalists:

• Tiger Woods – 82 PGA Tour titles, 15 major championships, 11 PGA Tour Player of the Year awards, nine Vardon trophies, three U.S. Amateur titles.
• Johnny Farrell – 22 PGA Tour titles and one major, the 1928 U.S. Open.
• Padraig Harrington – 15 European Tour titles, six PGA Tour titles, three major championships, 2008 PGA Tour Player of the Year, 2007 and ’08 European Tour Golfer of the Year.
• Tom Weiskopf – 16 PGA Tour titles and one major championship, the 1973 Open Championship

Female finalists:

• Dottie Pepper – 17 LPGA titles, two major championships, 1992 LPGA Player of the Year, ’92 Vare Trophy winner.
• Susie Maxwell Berning – 11 LPGA titles, four major championships (three U.S. Women’s Opens).
• Beverly Hanson – 17 LPGA titles, three major championships, 1950 U.S. Women’s Amateur title.
• Sandra Palmer – 19 LPGA titles, two major championships, 1975 LPGA Player of the Year.

Contributors:

*Tim Finchem – PGA Tour commissioner, 1993-2016; oversaw unprecedented growth in PGA Tour purses and the Tour’s reach, with the creation of the World Golf Championships. Introduced the FedExCup, Presidents Cup, established the First Tee and oversaw the Tour’s raising of more than $1 billion for charitable causes.

*Marion Hollins – Won the 1921 U.S. Amateur and went on to become one of the most influential women in the game’s early development, including her work as a golf course architect and one of the only female golf course developers in history; a principle force behind the founding and formation of Cypress Point, Pasatiempo and the Women’s National Golf and Tennis Club.

MANCHESTER -- Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said Phil Foden has the world at his feet after his man-of-the-match performance in the Carabao Cup final.

Foden has found opportunities hard to come by at the Etihad Stadium but starred in the 2-1 win over Aston Villa at Wembley. He has been linked with a first England call up for friendlies against Italy and Denmark and Guardiola said the 19-year-old is so good he can achieve "what he wants" in his career.

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"I want the best for him," Guardiola said. "He will get what he deserves.

"Of course, I'm delighted about his performance and his behaviour in good moments and bad moments. Just think work and work and it always pays off.

"[He has to] improve and improve and improve. He is 19-year-old, you have a lot to improve but with his behaviour he can achieve whatever he wants."

City lifted their third straight Carabao Cup on Sunday, but instead of taking time to celebrate the achievement, the players immediately turned their attention to the FA Cup fifth round tie against Championship side Sheffield Wednesday on Wednesday.

"I learn in the big clubs I was before that when they win a trophy they go and take a shower and think of the next," Guardiola said. "It is so nice what we have done but we have another final [against Sheffield Wednesday].

"Away in the FA Cup is always difficult. We can go through quarterfinals and that is what we have to do."

Sergio Aguero is fit to feature at Hillsborough despite taking a knock against Aston Villa. Leroy Sane made his return from a knee ligament injury in an appearance for the under-23s but is not in contention to make his first-team comeback.

"He [Sane] is not ready," Guardiola said. "Six months out, he needs a process.

"When you start you feel good but he is doing the normal steps to come back, playing in the second time for 50 or 60 minutes.

"Now it is weeks and weeks and weeks and play in the second team. Maybe it will be easier to play in the Premier League than this cup competition. We need to win."

Big picture

Before the ODIs, you could make the claim that these two sides were relatively evenly matched. And although it's true that West Indies are defending T20 world champions and Sri Lanka will have to qualify for the main draw of the T20 World Cup later this year, perhaps they are not so far apart in the shortest format. West Indies have failed to win each of their last five T20I series, even losing a recent match to Ireland, with whom they drew the series 1-1. Of their last eight series - a sequence that stretches back to July 2018 - they have only won one.

What is almost beyond doubt, however, is that West Indies possess greater firepower with the bat, and have the greater number of game-changing players. Lendl Simmons, Kieron Pollard, Nicholas Pooran, Andre Russell and Shimron Hetmyer are each a daunting prospect on their own, let alone in the same batting order. Perhaps their bowling is weaker, but with Dwayne Bravo's immense experience to call upon, they will still back themselves.

Sri Lanka, who were thrashed in T20Is in both India and Australia in recent months, will hope that the good vibes and confidence from the ODI whitewash will roll on into the T20I series. As a bonus, Sri Lanka have regained Angelo Mathews the bowler. Before 2015, he had actually been one of the canniest new-ball operators around, frequently delivering tight powerplay spells, allowing the likes of Lasith Malinga or a spinner to attack from the other end. With Thisara Perera appearing to have hit form with the bat, and Avishka Fernando in good nick as well, the hosts will hope to end a torrid stretch of T20I form.

Form guide

(completed matches, most recent first)

West Indies WLLWL

Sri Lanka LLLLL

In the spotlight

Can Lasith Malinga feasibly captain the side in the T20 World Cup this year? Here is perhaps the most important question for the T20 side right now. The team won a T20 World Cup under his leadership in 2014, but that was a different age, with outstanding senior players in support of Malinga's leadership. The worry now is that Malinga is too poor a man-manager to get the best out of his players, many of whom are reasonably young, and often inconsistent. Although still the best player in the team, Malinga's captaincy record since taking over a second time is beyond woeful. If Sri Lanka have another poor series under him, especially after they have had an outstanding ODI run, the selectors may step in.

With Chris Gayle out of the picture, the superstar Sri Lanka fans will most want to watch over the two matches is undoubtedly Andre Russell. Thankfully for them, he comes into this series in good form, having carved up the Bangladesh Premier League only seven weeks ago, hitting 225 runs at a strike rate of over 180, while taking 14 wickets as well. And although West Indies have been through a lean run in terms of series victories, Russell has not been a part of a West Indies XI since August 2018. If there's anyone who can change an entire side's fortunes, it's him.

Team news

With Evin Lewis not picked in the squad, West Indies have a decision to make as to who will partner Simmons at the top of the order. They could even be tempted to try Shai Hope, who although not always a first-choice T20I player, has been in outstanding touch in Sri Lanka. Brandon King is another opening option. The bowling is harder to predict. Provided Fabian Allen has recovered from the shoulder injury he sustained during the third ODI, they may be tempted to play two spinners.

West Indies (possible): 1 Lendl Simmons, 2 Shai Hope (wk), 3 Shimron Hetmyer, 4 Kieron Pollard (capt), 5 Nicholas Pooran, 6 Andre Russell, 7 Dwayne Bravo, 8 Fabian Allen, 9 Hayden Walsh Jr., 10 Sheldon Cottrell, 11 Kesrick Williams/Oshane Thomas

Although Kusal Mendis is in excellent form, there is a chance he could be left out in order to bring Shehan Jayasuriya - who bats, but also bowls offspin - into the side, to give captain Malinga another spin option.

Sri Lanka (possible): 1 Niroshan Dickwella (wk), 2 Avishka Fernando, 3 Kusal Perera, 4 Shehan Jayasuriya, 5 Angelo Mathews, 6 Dasun Shanaka, 7 Thisara Perera, 8 Wanindu Hasaranga, 9 Isuru Udana, 10 Lasith Malinga (capt), 11 Lahiru Kumara

Pitch and conditions

The pitch for the third ODI seemed a little slow, but that didn't stop both teams scoring 300. Generally, Pallekele surfaces do a little bit for the seamers, under lights. No rain is forecast.

Stats and trivia

• Sri Lanka have lost 11 and won only a single T20I under Malinga since he took over for the second time in late 2018. He picked up four wickets in four balls in the one match they won.

• Sri Lanka have won six, and lost only three matches against West Indies. One of those losses was in the 2012 T20 World Cup final, however, and another came in the 2016 World edition.

• This match will be Kieron Pollard's 500th T20.

Toss Quetta Gladiators chose to bowl v Lahore Qalandars

Quetta Gladiators won the toss and put Lahore Qalandars in to bat. Sarfaraz Ahmed's team was looking to come back from a lopsided defeat against Multan Sultans on the weekend, and the captain admitted back-to-back matches and travelling had taken their toll on the side. They make one change to the side, with Fawad Ahmed coming in to replace Sohail Khan.

Lahore, who are yet to win, will find their paths to qualification closing rapidly with a fourth defeat on the trot today. The captain Sohail Akhtar believed a total in excess of 160 could be competitive, and they made three changes to the side. Injury to David Weise meant Sekkugge Prasanna came into the side, while Maaz Khan, who had a tough game against Peshawar Zalmi, made way for Mohammad Faizan. Dane Vilas sat out, with the keeping duties falling to Ben Dunk, who came into the eleven.

Lahore Qalandars: Fakhar Zaman, Chris Lynn, Mohammad Hafeez, Ben Dunk (wk), Sohail Akhtar (capt), Mohammad Faizan, Samit Patel, Sekkugge Prasanna, Dilbar Hussain, Salman Irshad, Shaheen Afridi

Quetta Gladiators: Shane Watson, Jason Roy, Ahsan Ali, Sarfaraz Ahmed (capt&wk), Azam Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Ben Cutting, Anwar Ali, Fawad Ahmed, Mohammad Hasnain, Naseem Shah

Last summer's World Cup generated almost £350 million (US$448 million) for the UK economy, according to the findings of an economic impact and benefits analysis commissioned by the ICC.

The 2019 tournament, which culminated in an extraordinary tied final between England, the eventual champions, and New Zealand, was the most-watched edition of the tournament ever, with a cumulative global average audience of 1.6 billion viewers.

As previously reported, a combined total of 8 million viewers in the UK watched the final on Sky's platforms and Channel 4, making it the most-watched cricket event in the country since the 2005 Ashes. Global digital video content netted over 4.6 billion views for the seven-week event.

But according to figures released by the Sports Consultancy, the economic impact of the tournament was every bit as telling as the TV figures. The study took into account the additional money spent in the UK by event organisers and visitors, as well as business-to-business and broader consumer spending.

London attracted the most direct economic impact of almost £65 million (US$83 million), with the semi-final venues, Manchester and Birmingham, attracting a direct economic impact of £36.3 million (US$46.5 million) and £29.7 million (US$38 million) respectively.

"The ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2019 was an outstanding success across all measures, which is further underlined by this report and the significant contribution of GBP 350 million it has brought to the UK economy," ICC chief executive Manu Sawhney said. "This makes it one of the biggest sporting events in the UK in recent history.

"ICC events provide a wonderful platform to connect more deeply with a diverse audience of hundreds of millions of fans and to aggregate audiences like never before even in our increasingly fragmented world.

"The rise of cricket tourism is clearly demonstrated with almost 20% of attendees coming from overseas and a total of 85% of ticket buyers coming from out of town, with cricket fans increasingly prepared to travel to support their team. We expect this trend to continue to rise as the Asian subcontinent continues rapid economic growth."

The ICC has recently opened up a tendering process for the 2023-2031 cycle of global events, and Sawhney emphasised the "social, cultural and economic" benefits of hosting such tournaments.

"We are currently in the process of getting expressions of interest from our Members to host future events post 2023 as part of our ambitions to grow the game globally. This report clearly demonstrates staging ICC events not only provides our host countries with the opportunity to showcase the very best they have to offer to an enormous global audience they are also a major global driver for social, cultural and economic impact."

HE WILL LIKELY have his number retired in Miami, deserves a statue in Cleveland and has left an indelible mark on Team USA. But now, 17 years in and past his 35th birthday, the word "Lakers" across LeBron James' chest seems to have inspired a transformation.

James has embraced playing a position, point guard, he'd previously shunned. He has reversed an in-season strategy of a slow, and sometimes sluggish, buildup to the postseason -- a technique developed during an eight-year run of Finals appearances -- to one complete with postseason-level defensive effort well before Christmas. And he's done it with public and full support of his team, abandoning past approaches of occasionally bullying his way to roster moves.

James, the Laker, has become bonded to his team's front office and ownership like never before in his career.

Simply, this is not the James we've come to know.

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THE BUSS FAMILY has a long history of deep connections with star players. Perhaps no owner and star were closer than Magic Johnson and Dr. Jerry Buss. The family's relationship with Kobe Bryant, even with its rough patches, was a 20-year success story.

And the same talent has been passed down to current controlling owner Jeanie Buss. Those close to James describe his relationship with Jeanie and her lead executive, Linda Rambis, as the most connected he has been with ownership in his career. Though he has been with the team for less than two years, unexpected turbulence has brought them together -- a diametric shift from situations in James' past.

In October, when the Lakers found themselves in the midst of a geopolitical quagmire between the NBA and China, franchise leadership and James leaned on each other. He served not only as a guiding voice with his teammates as they holed up in their hotel but also with Adam Silver when the commissioner arrived. In a crucial meeting with players and Silver, James advocated for players to be protected from having to speak for the league on the sensitive situation while working toward a path to save the preseason games.

Then, in the wake of Bryant's death, James worked alongside Buss and general manager Rob Pelinka to help manage his teammates in the emotional days. While Buss and Pelinka provided support to the Bryant family, James connected with team members, and then Silver directly, as he pushed for the postponement of a game against the LA Clippers because he didn't believe the team was emotionally ready to play.

Some of the roots of this alignment can be traced back to last season, when Magic Johnson's resignation shook the franchise. The Lakers subsequently failed to land their top head coaching choice to replace Luke Walton -- including an inability to close a deal with Tyronn Lue, whom James later said he would have been "ecstatic" to play for again. And that followed Johnson ripping Pelinka on national television just days before the start of a vital free agency period.

Through all of the Lakers' self-inflicted drama, James remained silent -- not even a passive-aggressive grumble on social media -- as he gave the team space to work through the situation. James has sounded off in the past for far less significant organizational setbacks than these. He was frustrated, even angry, about these events, sources said, but his support didn't waver. The message that came from James' camp throughout the ordeal reflected only support for Buss and Pelinka.

James' faith was rewarded when the Lakers executed a trade for Anthony Davis, beginning a turnaround that has led them to the top of the Western Conference standings.

"At the end of the day for Jeanie and Rob and everybody upstairs, I was just supportive of whatever moves that they were making," James said in September, breaking his months-long silence.

The last time he'd seen such offseason drama was in Cleveland in 2017, when general manager David Griffin left and then Kyrie Irving demanded to be traded. James tweeted support of Griffin that season, and he made it clear behind the scenes that he was not on the same page as management and that he didn't want Irving traded.

The same month Griffin left, James declined to commit to the franchise long term, setting the stage for his eventual departure. But James' support for the Lakers two summers later set up the comfort zone he and the team are currently enjoying.

PELINKA HAS A long history of managing stars. He has more than two decades of experience as an agent and represented more than a dozen top-10 draft picks. He long ago learned how to manage relationships with demanding players. In this spirit, Pelinka made the decision to make James, and then Davis, an active part of the roster-building process.

"Both of their input, Anthony's and LeBron's, has been incredibly valuable to me," Pelinka said after the Lakers signed seven new players and re-signed four players this past offseason. "We view our relationships here with our star players as partnerships."

Pelinka, of course, isn't the first executive to operate this way with James, who has been consulted on roster moves as far back as his second season in the league. But for now at least, James has bought into the role -- and bought into Pelinka.

He has given Pelinka two votes of confidence this season: The first came when he voiced support for the GM's promotion and contract extension; and second, heading into the trade deadline, to remove front office pressure by declaring "we have enough right now" to win the title.

The Lakers still attempted to make trades -- for example, sources said, they had discussions with the Detroit Pistons centered on Derrick Rose -- and they were active in the buyout market. But James' open support of the roster signaled a strong deviation from actions past.

In 2017, he blasted the Cavs' roster as "top-heavy as s---" and hoped "that we're not satisfied as an organization," in an effort to force changes before the trade deadline. Note: That was a Cavs team that had won a championship with a front office that had repeatedly proven its aptitude, which included trading for sharpshooter Kyle Korver just three weeks prior.

THE DAY FRANK Vogel was hired -- as the third-choice candidate -- and the new Lakers' coach had to sit through a difficult news conference, which James attended in a show of support, as Pelinka deflected questions about Johnson.

In contrast, when he started playing for Heat coach Erik Spoelstra in 2010, a disillusioned James asked Pat Riley if he had interest in returning to coach the Heat. When James came back to Cleveland and signed with the Cavs in 2014, James didn't meet with new coach David Blatt for more than a month and interrupted the first day of practice to call a players-only meeting to assign roles before Blatt could. While last season's experience with Walton wasn't as rocky, sources said they were never on the same page.

This season, James has not only backed Vogel, he has backed the plan to play almost exclusively at point guard -- something James fully opposed by the time he left Cleveland because of the toll it took on him over the course of a season.

"I love coach, and what the coaching staff are doing," James said after Vogel won Coach of the Month in November. "I think he's doing what's best for the team, and obviously I respect that."

There are motivations to all of this. Last season, James requested more ball handlers on the roster to ease his workload. The desire contributed to a failed, 37-win season. Thus, he had reason to support the radical shift to shoulder more lead guard responsibilities.

Maintaining a close relationship with Buss and Pelinka also helps ensure James remains a Laker. It's unfathomable to consider he would be traded, but James doesn't enjoy the same leverage he did in Cleveland, when renewing short-term deals annually helped him maintain control. With L.A., James has two years remaining with a third-year player option on his contract and is without a no-trade clause.

Perhaps the most important factor in this entire strategy, though, is James' belief in himself. He was a leader in the long process to get Davis to Los Angeles with agent Rich Paul. After helping recruit Davis to join Paul's agency, Paul executed Davis' trade demand in New Orleans and then helped guide him to the Lakers when he publicly warned other suitors like the Boston Celtics that Davis was unlikely to re-sign if they dealt for him.

James was also sure he'd return to MVP form after playing a groin-injury-shortened 55 games last season -- that, of course, has been the biggest factor in the Lakers' turnaround. Beyond the good feelings and positive vibes, the franchise showing the same belief with a massive bet-on-the-present trade to his preferred co-star has paved the way for this feel-good year.

Nonetheless, many times during his career James has operated like an independent contractor. There have been celebrations of group success, spectacular parties and deep, tearful hugs. But time and again, in the end there was only his tiny cadre of lifelong friends and family, with loyalties to teammates and franchises marginalized.

This is not to say his Lakers experience won't ultimately end in the same way. But that's not the way it feels now. As a Laker, James is in lockstep with a team like never before. And that has been an unexpected chapter from a man who has been authoring, for so long now, the story of his career.

GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- Eugenio Suarez was playing in a swimming pool with his children at home in Pinecrest, Florida, and decided to dive into the shallow half.

The Cincinnati Reds third baseman hit the bottom of the pool and wound up with a shoulder injury that has set him back in spring training and left his availability uncertain for Opening Day.

"I tried to dive in headfirst," Suárez said. "My hands hit first and then my shoulder felt a pop."

Suárez, 28, tore cartilage in his right shoulder and had surgery Jan. 28. For the start of spring training, Suárez was limited to conditioning work while his throwing shoulder healed.

He's progressed to taking infield practice, playing catch and hitting in the batting cage. It's unclear how long it will be until he can play in a game.

"I feel better every day," Suárez said.

The Reds are counting on him to be a top contributor in an offense that was near the bottom of the NL in runs last season.

Suárez's 49 homers last year were a record for a NL third baseman and for a player from Venezuela. He finished behind the Mets' Pete Alonso for the home run lead.

Suárez had begun getting ready for the season in January when he hurt the shoulder, so the rest of his body is in good shape.

"I was working hard," he said. "I already had three weeks working on my body. When the accident happened, it wasn't as bad."

Suárez came to camp ahead of other position players to recover from the injury.

"All the reports have been really positive," manager David Bell said. "He kept his legs in shape. Once his shoulder is cleared, it will happen fast that he's ready."

The Reds' emphasis in the offseason was upgrading the offense. They signed second baseman Matt Moustakas and outfielders Nick Castellanos and Shogo Akiyama, hoping that Suarez gets more chances to drive in runs.

"We want to provide more opportunities for the middle of our lineup to do some damage," Bell said. "When were weren't scoring a lot it was because we didn't have enough chances."

Castellanos has played third base and could fill in if needed. Suarez paid attention to the Reds' moves as they try to end a streak of six straight losing seasons.

"I thought, 'Wow, we have a good team this year,'" Suarez said.

Game notes
Castellanos returned to camp after staying home three days with the flu, but Bell sent him home again to get a couple days' more rest. ... SS Freddy Galvis is getting at-bats as a designated hitter while a sore shoulder prevents him from playing the field. Bell is waiting until later this week to let him play shortstop. ... CF Nick Senzel remains in a throwing program as he recovers from shoulder surgery last September. Bell plans to use him as a designated hitter on March 12 against Seattle.