AL East

Derek Jeter is still a free agent, much to the surprise of the entire baseball community.

Jeter's agent, Casey Close, has said that he is "baffled" by the way negotiations are proceeding and how little respect the Yankees organization is showing for their most iconic player.

The Baseball Hall of Fame's Veteran's Committee will vote on Dec. 5 to select any players, executives or other baseball personnel who have contributed sufficiently to the game since 1973 to merit induction. As it happens, 1973 was the year George Steinbrenner bought the New York Yankees. Though Steinbrenner died in July, his son Hal remains chairman of the Yankees today.

If you asked me two days ago what I thought would have to happen for Derek Jeter not to re-sign with the Yankees, I'd basically have only three educated guesses:

1) He decided to focus his attention on his new chain of Derek Jeter's Taco Hole restaurants.

Immediately following the World Series, the New York Yankees announced the termination of pitching coach Dave Eliand, which came as no surprise.

There were many guessing games of who might be Eiland’s replacement. The front-runners looked to be current bullpen coach Mike Harkey; Rick Kranitz, who has worked with Yankees skipper Joe Girardi before; and Scott Aldred, who currently serves the role in Triple-A Scranton for the last two seasons.

Derek Jeter is, for the first time in his career, a free agent.

After spending his entire career with the New York Yankees, it seems absurd that he would end up anywhere else but in New York.

But after a bad season in New York, does he deserve big money to finish his career?

When all is said and done, people will be scratching their heads at Jeter's contract, no matter who he signs with.

Begin Slideshow

Most of the Hot Stove headlines in Major League Baseball will go to the big-ticket free agents that have landed on the open market. Prudent teams, however, can often make major improvements to their rosters by targeting less-heralded players in free agency.

Given the big-money nature of MLB salaries in the 21st century, it's hard to argue that any free agent signing is a true bargain, but when looking at players from a cost-to-production perspective, second-tier free agents can frequently pay big dividends.

Since they traded Nomar Garciaparra at the 2004 trading deadline, the Boston Red Sox have had a revolving door at shortstop.  Marco Scutaro was the most recent attempt to fill the position, but the Red Sox have also tried Orlando Cabrera, Edgar Renteria and Julio Lugo, among others.

Nobody doubts the power of Cliff Lee. In nine postseason starts in his career, he has an ERA below two and a SO/BB ratio of above nine. After winning the Cy Young in 2008, Lee has blown away hitters in both leagues, recording earned-run averages below 3.50 for three different teams in two seasons. Toward the end of 2010, he helped the Rangers get to the World Series, mowing down all opposition in between.

The AL East is a battleground and while Toronto may be the best fourth-place team in the majors, 85-77 isn't going to send them to October. 

The John Farrell era doesn't need to be kicked off with another "rebuilding year." They can win now; the Jays just need a little help. 

Enter Manny Ramirez. Some of you may shake your heads at the idea of bringing the 38-year-old troublemaker to Canada but it's not really a bad idea at all. In fact Manny may be the X-factor. 

Yes, I know, the World Series isn't even half-way over, so the term "offseason" is a bit premature.

That said, a lot has happened in the Charm City since the season ended. Let's start at the top.

Buck Showalter and the Coaching Carousel