AL East

Late last night, news broke from Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports that longtime Baltimore Orioles second baseman and fan-favorite Brian Roberts was "likely" to sign a deal with the New York Yankees.

With the large amount of turnover the New York Yankees are experiencing this offseason, general manager Brian Cashman is continuing to piece together the 2014 version of the club.  As he does so, the batting order that skipper Joe Girardi writes down on his lineup card for Opening Day gradually becomes clearer.

Losing Robinson Cano was a big blow to the New York Yankees, not only because he is a great player, but because finding a quality second baseman on the open market is not easy. 

Many have pegged the New York Yankees' prolific activity this offseason as a reaction to their poor 2013 showing. This past season saw an impotent Yankees offense and a championship for the rival Boston Red Sox—both motivating factors for the team's acquisition of Brian McCann, Jacoby Ellsbury and Carlos Beltran.

Major League Baseball will reportedly investigate New York Yankees president Randy Levine for comments he made regarding Mike Trout.

An interesting tidbit of news came from New York Yankees team president Randy Levine on Friday, December 13, as he claimed that Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim outfielder Mike Trout would be a player he would be willing to give a 10-year contract to.

As we are smack dab in the middle of baseball's free-agent season.  Now is a time full of hope for fans of every MLB team.  It is a period where visions of glory and supreme optimism run rampant and speculation as to who will be standing in the end invade the mind.

Even though baseball isn't being played, the passion for it remains in the heart, and as the snow covers the ground, the sport stays relevant and "fun."

With that in mind, let's take a stab at predicting what the next three years will bring for the Bronx Bombers.

For a team looking to reduce payroll commitments in 2014, the New York Yankees are not spending the offseason in the bargain-hunting section of the free-agent market. 

At this rate, it's hard to imagine the 2014 Yankees taking the field with a total payroll of less than $200 million. 

Nobody is offering the New York Yankees a shoulder to cry on following Friday's free-agent departures of Robinson Cano and Curtis Granderson.

When the money's available and there are no clear options to replace him in-house or on the free-agent market, sometimes the best thing to do is re-sign your own guy.

Everyone, let's thank the Boston Red Sox for demonstrating this concept by agreeing to a deal with Mike Napoli. He will be back in Boston in 2014. And 2015 too.