Baseball

After a winter of lavish spending on homegrown, ascending talents, the Atlanta Braves have locked up their young core—Freddie Freeman, Andrelton S

The Oakland A's have traveled to Arizona for another year of spring training camp. With returnees, new signings, freshly acquired players, prospects and a slew of non-roster invitees, it's time to break down the A's, position by position.

Most positions are all but locked up already but that doesn't mean others are short on competition.

Spring training games are set to kick off around the league this week, which means we will soon get our first chance to see all 30 MLB teams compete in 2014.

There's reason for optimism for every fanbase at this point, even if it does not look like every team has a legitimate shot at winning it all in 2014.

The 2012 season featured the Baltimore Orioles and Oakland Athletics make surprise runs to the postseason, while it was the Cleveland Indians who exceeded expectations to reach the playoffs last year.

Tim Lincecum may no longer be “The Freak” he once was. His days of being the Giants frontline starter are long gone as Matt Cain and Madison Bumgarner have become the top two pitchers of the staff.

On Monday morning, New York Mets first baseman Ike Davis was agitated when an injury he failed to disclose to the team last season was uncovered. Anthony DiComo of MLB.com tweeted the series of events that followed:

The New York Mets’ search for an external solution at shortstop has been centered on free agent Stephen Drew. Now that the Seattle Mariners are dangling middle infielder Nick Franklin in the trade market, there is plenty of reason to shift their focus.

With starting pitcher Homer Bailey officially off the 2014-2015 free-agent board after agreeing to a long-term contract extension with the Cincinnati Reds, the pressure could be rising for the Boston Red Sox and Detroit Tigers to get deals done with their own free agent-to-be front-line starters. 

The 2013 St. Louis Cardinals scored 18 more runs than in 2012 despite hitting 34 fewer home runs. A season after being ranked No. 7 in homers in the National League, they plummeted to No. 13.

Five Cardinals blasted 20 or more long balls in 2012 compared to two last season. And one of them—Carlos Beltran—left via free agency.

On Saturday, the San Francisco Giants agreed to a deal with outfielder Tyler Colvin, according to Alex Pavlovic of the San Jose Mercury News.

From the beginning of the MLB offseason, Nelson Cruz seemed like a very good fit for the Baltimore Orioles, with their interest in Cruz reported early on. They weren't alone, however.