Superstars show off new uniforms in spring debuts

The offseason is over and spring training has been on display for close to a week.

While inside-the-park home runs and attendance records may have kept fans interested, superstars were front and center Friday.

A number of the game's biggest names made their debuts during a busy day of baseball which included 16 games, but much of the focus was on the players who switched teams in the offseason.

Here are some of the superstars who donned different uniforms while making their spring debuts for new clubs Friday.

Zack Greinke

Greinke pitched two scoreless innings in his Arizona Diamondbacks' spring training debut, a 6-3 victory over an Oakland Athletics' split squad.

The Diamondbacks' new ace, signed to a $206.5-million, six-year contract, gave up one hit and struck out two - Sam Fuld swinging in the first and Andrew Lambo looking to end the second.

Greinke threw 25 pitches, 16 for strikes.

Jason Heyward

Heyward's debut in a Chicago Cubs uniform didn't go as swimmingly as Greinke's first outing for the Diamondbacks, as the 26-year-old struck out in both his plate appearances in front of a record-setting Cactus League crowd of 15,446 at Sloan Park in Arizona.

The Cubs $184-million man will have plenty more opportunities to prove his value during the spring.

Craig Kimbrel

One of the Boston Red Sox big offseason acquisitions, Kimbrel got into his first game of the spring, tossing a full inning of work and allowing a double to James Loney, who would later score on a Xander Bogaerts throwing error.

Kimbrel recovered to strike out Taylor Motter during a performance manager John Farrell was happy with.

"For his first outing it's kind of nice to see that kind of power," Farrell said of Kimbrel after his spring debut.

Ian Desmond

The "Desmond Experiment" debuted Friday, when the 30-year-old appeared in left field for the Texas Rangers against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

While Desmond was productive at the plate, hitting a seventh-inning double, he didn't get a chance to make a play in the field.

Ben Zobrist

Like Heyward, Zobrist, another Cubs big-ticket offseason acquisition, debuted and immediately made his presence known, hitting a single in his first at-bat.

Zobrist also made a nice defensive play in the hole between first and second in the third inning to rob Yunel Escobar of a hit, as the Cubs went on to down the Angels 3-0.

- With files from The Associated Press