Touch 'Em All: Gio Gonzalez, Jesus Montero deny involvement with clinic

Baseball's back - with pitches tossed, fungoes tapped, sunflower seeds spit, and denials of performance-enhancing-drug use.

Washington Nationals righthander Gio Gonzalez arrived in Venice, Fla., dropped his bags, and said he was not on PEDs, despite his name's allegedly appearing on a list at a now-closed anti-aging clinic in Coral Gables.

"I think that at the end of the day I've never taken performance-enhancing drugs, and I never will," the 27-year-old said.

In Peoria, Ariz., Seattle Mariners catcher Jesus Montero, whose name reportedly appeared in the clinic records, also denied involvement. He added that his brother, who has the same first and last name, had nothing to do with the clinic, either.

Old Hoss Strasburg. Famously shut-down-last-year Nats ace Stephen Strasburg plans to be a stud, telling the Washington Post, "I've trained really hard this offseason to hopefully answer the bell and throw 200-plus innings and be the guy in the rotation that can be reliable and go six, seven, eight, hopefully nine innings this year every time out."

Big deals. Righthander Mat Latos agreed to an $11.5 million, two-year contract with the Cincinnati Reds. . . . Righthander Felix Hernandez and Seattle finally reached agreement on what seems to be a $175 million, seven-year deal.

New hats. Teams will have new BP caps this season. Logos of note: Cincinnati's mustachioed Redleg, Colorado's mountain with zooming baseball, New York's big-headed Mr. Met, Oakland's white elephant, and Toronto's maple leaf.

The Phillies stayed plain: blue P, red hat, and blue bill - even though the Phanatic is right there.