MLB

The crazy part about Yoenis Cespedes, Chris Davis, Alex Gordon and Justin Upton all remaining unemployed at this late date in the offseason is that there's still a tremendous need for corner bats across the game.

The Kansas City Royals, San Francisco Giants and St. Louis Cardinals are just a few of the contending clubs who should add an impact hitter as the 2016 season inches ever closer.

After spending 13 years pitching in the major leagues, Dan Haren has compiled plenty of thoughts and stories only a big leaguer has experienced.

Now that he's retired, the 35-year-old is willing to open up a bit about what it's like to be in the majors.

While the hot stove continues to smolder and we wait on a number of key free-agent signings, now seems like a good time to take an updated look at how all 30 MLB farm systems stack up around the league.

The following factors helped determine the rankings of players and teams:

Get ready, folks. On Wednesday afternoon, the results of the Baseball Writers' Association of America vote for the 2016 Baseball Hall of Fame class will be announced.

It's unlikely that the 2016 class of inductees will be as big as last year's, which saw a whopping four players elected into Cooperstown. But with enough cunning, we can make a fair guess about what is going to happen with the 32 players on the 2016 ballot.

For most of the last two years, the New York Yankees specialized in acquisitions that were anything but flashy. Many were useful and some were surprisingly good, but none of them screamed, "Look at us!"

Like trading for Aroldis Chapman did. Now that's a Yankee move.

Mike Piazza, the best offensive catcher in baseball history, isn't in the Hall of Fame. And nobody can really explain why.

Yes, you will hear phrases like "stain of the steroid era" and "cloud of suspicion." But these are the facts: Piazza was never suspended for performance-enhancing drug use. His name did not appear in the Mitchell Report, and it hasn't surfaced in any subsequent PED revelation.

Everything is better with Jim Ross broadcasting it.

That includes baseball.

The legendary WWE announcer hosted a Twitter Q&A on Sunday, and one fan asked him about the possibility of calling games for the Pittsburgh Pirates:

Ross was all over it:

Can you imagine Ross calling a walk-off win or a huge play from Andrew McCutchen?

Major League Baseball's hot stove has cooled considerably since the winter meetings came and went, but with a number of impact free agents still searching for a new home, there is plenty of action still on tap before the start of spring training.

While things have slowed, this past week was by no means devoid of action. Aroldis Chapman was traded, and Scott Kazmir, Kenta Maeda and Stephen Drew all made their free-agency decisions.

After losing Zack Greinke via free agency, the Los Angeles Dodgers made a move to bolster their pitching staff, as they reportedly agreed to a deal with Japanese starting pitcher Kenta Maeda. 

Jon Heyman of CBS Sports first reported the signing, and ESPN.com's Jim Bowden and Mark Saxon confirmed the deal Saturday. 

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."