MLB Free Agency

MLB teams are not messing around this offseason.

Before the rest of us can cut Thanksgiving short to save some dough for a flat-screen TV, many baseball squads have already purchased expensive gifts for their fans. General managers have not yet gathered for the annual winter meetings, but they're already busy hammering home deals before the holidays.

Barring something unforeseen, the Philadelphia Phillies have settled on their everyday eight in the field for 2014.

Third baseman Cody Asche will join the veteran trio of Ryan Howard, Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins in the infield. Carlos Ruiz and his three-year contract extension will be behind the plate.

So far this offseason, Jason Vargas' reported four-year, $32 million accord with the Kansas City Royals stands as the biggest contract earned by a free-agent pitcher.

CBS Sports' Jon Heyman was the first to report that the St. Louis Cardinals had signed free agent Jhonny Peralta to a contract pending a team physical.

Last winter, the Boston Red Sox molded a 93-loss disaster into a 97-win juggernaut through an offseason of wise, shrewd and visionary free-agent signings. According to Alex Speier of WEEI.com, team president Larry Lucchino is hoping for a sequel when the Red Sox go about filling out

The latest news on baseball's international free-agent front is that a pair of high-profile Cuban players have defected and already established residency in another country.

While a pair of trades dominated this week's news in Major League Baseball's offseason, there have been some intriguing, under-the-radar signings to this point too. Clearly, though, the open market has yet to really get rolling. Before that happens, it's worth checking in to see what kind of bang teams are getting for their buck. 

Of the free-agent signings thus far, there are certainly a couple that could turn out to be bargains. If Josh Johnson (San Diego Padres) and Chris Young (New York Mets) return to form, they'll be well worth the one-year deals at the cost of $8 million and $7.25 million, respectively.

Same for David Murphy, who signed a two-year, $12 million deal with the Cleveland Indians, and LaTroy Hawkins, who will cost the Colorado Rockies no more than $2.5 million to at least start the season as their closer.

After two weeks of banter, rumors and potential offseason landing spots opening up, the Hot Stove has finally started to burn.

For New York Mets fans, it's been a difficult run of futility, especially during the hot stove season. While rebuilding and retooling can be justified by any rational fan, the lack of big-market activity by general manager Sandy Alderson has been alarming over the last few years.