1. Braves adjust rotation for cold

With temperatures in the upper 30s and snow in the forecast for today’s series opener at Pittsburgh, the Braves made a change in their pitching plans, moving Mike Foltynewicz up a day to today’s game and pushing back knuckleballer R.A. Dickey to Saturday’s game of the series. The forecast for Saturday is sunny with a high of 59 degrees. The knuckleball is more difficult to throw in cold and damp conditions.

NEW YORK — Looking far and wide to add power to their bench, the Braves signed longtime former Phillies slugger Ryan Howard to a minor league deal Thursday.

Howard, a National League MVP and two-time league home-run leader, was slowed dramatically by injuries and Achilles surgery in recent years and hit only .196 but had 25 home runs in 362 plate appearances last season for the Phillies, who declined a $10 million option on his contract for 2017.

If he’s added to the Braves’ major league team at any point, the 37-year-old threetime All-Star first baseman would be used as a pinch-hitter and designated hitter in interleague play in American League parks and would make a prorated portion of $750,000 for any time spent in the majors.

“Just a no-risk proposition for a player with good makeup who was excellent in the second half last season,” Braves general manager John Coppolella said. “He’s in good shape and has been training and waiting for an opportunity.”

After hitting .154 with 12 homers and a .567 OPS in 220 plate appearances before the 2016 All-Star break, Howard hit .262 with 13 homers and a .932 OPS in 142 PAs after the break.

“If he can do what he did in the second half of the season, he will help our team,” said Coppolella, who discussed signing Howard earlier this spring. “We had talked to him during spring training. It just didn’t seem at that time that it was the right time for it. But as we talked more and we saw the way things shaped up with our team, we thought he would be a good fit for us right now.”

When Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman heard that his team signed Howard, he sent Howard a text that made clear how he felt.

“It was the emoji with hands clapping,” Freeman said, laughing. “We talked during spring training. We knew what was going on.”

Howard made $190 million in his career with the Phillies, including $25 million each of the past three seasons and $20 million each of the three before that. Howard finished in the top 10 in MVP voting six consecutive seasons, winning the award in 2006 and finishing as runner-up in 2008, the year he helped Philadelphia win the World Series.

There were no offers for him after the 2016 season, so he didn’t have a spring training. Howard will head to Braves extended spring training in Florida to shake off rust before he’s assigned to Triple-A Gwinnett.

The left-handed hitter, a longtime Braves nemesis, could join the big league team if he shows he can help the Braves’ light-hitting bench.

Howard was used almost exclusively against righthanders in 2016, going 4 for 33 with one homer against lefties and batting .205 with 24 homers in 298 at-bats against right-handers.

“We’ve said we want to get our bench better,” Coppolella said. “We don’t have a lot of power on our bench right now, and he would help with that. There was no real risk on our end.”

The signing was greeting with enthusiasm in the clubhouse.

“He has some pedigree,” said Braves knuckleballer R.A. Dickey. “We get some pop off the bench, for sure.”