Justin Upton

The glacial market for bats is slowly beginning to thaw, which means the long winter wait for Yoenis Cespedes, Chris Davis and Justin Upton should soon draw to an end as Week 9 of the 2015-2016 MLB offseason comes to a close.

While those unemployed sluggers dominate the conversation, there's also room for some talk about a retired masher and a former ace whose Hall of Fame credentials are in the headlines.

Yoenis Cespedes, Chris Davis, Alex Gordon and Justin Upton have historically bad luck.

As Joel Sherman of the New York Post sees it, the market for free-agent game-changers has never developed at a slower pace.

"Never has there been this many talented free agents unsigned this late into the offseason."

For a brief moment in time, the entire belief made a lot of sense. 

It was too logical not to.

Major League Baseball’s free agency and trade market had seen the predictable run on starting pitchers, and even a bunch of relievers. Then, somewhat predictably, the biggest position player on either market, Jason Heyward, signed his megadeal with the Chicago Cubs for $184 million over eight seasons.

The 2015 MLB offseason has been an exercise in patience for prime-time outfielders like Yoenis Cespedes, Alex Gordon and Justin Upton.

Now that Jason Heyward has inked an eight-year, $184 million deal with the Chicago Cubs, the market has been set and the offseason game of outfield musical chairs can begin.

Outfielder Justin Upton, now a free agent, may be on his way out of San Diego as interest in him from other teams begins to surface. 

Continue for updates.

Prospective MLB suitors, meet Justin Upton—outfielder, All-Star, enigma. Got your checkbooks out?

Seriously, you should get them out. Because we're talking about a 28-year-old with wheels, a strong arm and 30-home run power. Those players don't come around every offseason, not in today's pitching-dominated climate.

MLB's non-waiver trade deadline came and went on July 31 with plenty of action across the league, but teams are far from done when it comes to attempting to improve for the playoff push.

Organizations are still able to strike deals for the remainder of the season, but the deadline for a traded player being able to take part in the playoffs is Aug. 31. Any player traded between now and the remainder of the 2015 campaign must first pass through waivers.

Andrew McCutchen may be a grounds crew hero, but Justin Upton doesn’t care.

The San Diego Padres outfielder leaped way up over the left field fence to rob McCutchen of a two-run dinger in the bottom of the fifth inning on Tuesday night.

From Johnny Cueto to Ben Zobrist, there are certain big leaguers who have a big chance of getting traded before the 2015 MLB trade deadline passes.

Simply put, the most likely trade chips are good players on bad teams. The righty ace and the Swiss Army Knife of baseball both fit that bill. Cueto and Zobrist aren't the only players on the Cincinnati Reds and the Oakland Athletics, respectively, who crack a spot on this top 10.

But no team is better represented on the list than the Philadelphia Phillies.

When the Atlanta Braves traded outfielder Jason Heyward to St. Louis in November, it signaled that the club might be initiating a rebuild.