Jeff Samardzija

1. Navigating Nashville, Music City USA and Baseball’s Epicenter This Week

You probably think the most difficult thing for a general manager at the winter meetings is completing that three-way trade to land an ace or boxing out four other teams to land a bat.

The San Francisco Giants did not land their man. 

David Price just became the highest-paid pitcher (by average annual value) in baseball history. Zack Greinke is about to join him in that stratosphere.

Jeff Samardzija isn't in line for that type of $30 million-plus-per-season payday. But he might already have received an offer north of $100 million, per ESPN's Jayson Stark:

The Chicago Cubs missed out on Jordan Zimmermann. Then they whiffed on David Price. Now they need to go hard after Zack Greinke, right?

They just returned to relevance with a trip to the National League Championship Series, after all, and could use another starter (at least) to push them over the long-awaited championship hump. Heck, they proved their willingness to spend big on pitching last winter by handing a six-year, $155 million deal to Jon Lester.

Jeff Samardzija spent his first six-plus years in the major leagues pitching for the Chicago Cubs, and a comeback could be on the horizon.

Continue for updates. 

The World Series may be in the books, but the MLB offseason should be as lively and dramatic in the four short months before pitchers and catchers report for spring training.

While two teams spend the next week battling for the 2015 World Series title, 28 other organizations are focused on finding ways to get to that point next season.

The good news for those looking to improve their rosters is the upcoming class of free agents features a bunch of impact players who can instantly turn around fortunes. The challenge will be getting those stars to sign with plenty other competition for their services.

As we rapidly approach the All-Star Break, most teams in baseball have a pretty good idea of where they stand compared to the rest of the league.

While no team has technically been eliminated or clinched a playoff spot just yet, there is only so much a season can turn around in the second half, so teams are either looking to the now or to the future with the trade deadline on the horizon.

July is the month when the tension starts to ratchet up in the daily drama of big league baseball. The approaching trade deadline is an important notch in the season-long arc. The teams who are in it to win it collect whatever extra weapons and spare parts they can garner, while the also-rans pack up and start talking about next year.  

Cubs Looking For Arms

The Toronto Blue Jays have the best offense in MLB by almost any measure, yet they're stuck in fourth place in the American League East. It doesn't take a brilliant baseball mind to deduce the problem is pitching, or a lack thereof.