MLB Rumors

It may come as a bit of shock, but the Florida Marlins aren't done with their offseason shopping. Foxsports.com is reporting that the Marlins are interested in Texas Rangers third baseman Michael Young who recently demanded a trade. 

Let's be serious for just a little while.

Albert Pujols is (whether you believe it or not) the face of the Cardinals' respective franchise, and that's just how things are.  And if a new contract is not offered to St. Louis' sporting savior, Pujols will not be involved in contract negotiations through Spring Training, nor the regular season.

This is a problem.

As much as you'd love to disagree with the fact that Pujols is the most important asset the Cardinals currently attain, the fact of the matter is that it is true.

Following the Cleveland Indians' offseason has been like watching paint dry. New Tribe GM Chris Antonetti has followed his predecessor, Mark Shapiro, in playing the waiting game when going after players through free agency. Finally it would seem as though Tribe fans have something to get excited about.

Via Joel Sherman of the New York Post:

While the 2011 free-agent frenzy has pretty much come and gone, there is always next year. Let's take a sneak peek at what might be in store for the winter of 2012.

A solid crop of talent that will be on the open market, including Prince Fielder, Adrian Gonzalez, Jose Reyes, Jimmy Rollins, Aramis Ramirez, Rickie Weeks, Carlos Beltran, Mark Buehrle, Jonathan Papelbon and maybe even Albert Pujols.

Via Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports:

Just a few months removed from being a major contributor to the American League champion Texas Rangers, Vlad Guerrero is a man without a team. The free-agent DH turns 36 next week, and his push for a multi-year contract has gotten him nowhere thus far. Right now, his biggest suitors appear to be the Baltimore Orioles, who have offered him a one-year deal in the $4 million range.

A big fuss has recently been made about the Wilpons statement that they might sell of around 25 percent of the New York Mets. Without getting into too many details, most of this has to do with the Bernie Madoff scandal.

Many people around baseball are making a big deal out of this.  That must be the result of a slow sports week in New York.  This should not ever be a top story.  In fact, the Steinbrenners only own 32.9 percent of the Yankees.

As the last dying embers of the Hot Stove flame begin to blacken and fade, let's take one more look at who is still out there.

At this time of the year, free agents can often be had at a discount, hungry as players are to find a team and get down to the work of getting ready for the season to come. There are still a few potential impact players floating around, as well as many more who could prove to be valuable additions in the right place.

There are some athletes in today’s world of sports that will seemingly never play for a team other than their current club.

Certain players are synonymous with their teams, and wrapping one’s head around the notion that they may play for a different team is just not plausible.

The likes of Tom Brady, Kobe Bryant, Derek Jeter, Peyton Manning and Albert Pujols could each be placed in this category.  

However, there was once a time when seeing Brett Favre, Michael Jordan, or Joe Montana in a different uniform was thought to be ludicrous.