Worth noting

• Left-hander Ricky Romero -- who is trying to regain his 15-11, 2.92 ERA form of 2011 -- threw two innings of live batting practice Monday. He was erratic at first but settled down as the session continued.

"I like the way he's throwing," said manager John Gibbons. "I think he's moving in the right direction. To me, he looks confident. He's feeling good about himself. He's not where he needs to be or where he wants to be yet, but he's going in the right direction."

• Gibbons said he plans to push the starting pitchers a little harder than normal this spring, with the goal of having them better prepared when the regular season starts.

"Last year, our problem at the start of the season wasn't that they couldn't throw a lot of innings," Gibbons said. "It was that they couldn't stay in the game long enough to throw a lot of innings. We got beat around early. It had nothing to do with stamina. We just weren't pitching well."

• The Blue Jays will play an intrasquad game before opening their Grapefruit League schedule against the Phillies in Clearwater on Wednesday.

• Third baseman Brent Morel was claimed off waivers by the Pirates.