MLB

Ever wonder what goes on behind the closed doors of a salary negotiation for a top-flight free agent? What about how players evaluate potential suitors?

James Shields’ downward trend started two Octobers ago.

Free agency has hogged most of the MLB offseason buzz, but with the winter meetings underway, trade talks are heating up at a rapid rate. 

This four-day gathering of league executives is generally the biggest tipping point of the offseason in shuffling personnel, and a few high-profile names have been linked to potential news. 

Imagine, if you will, the most feared slugger in recent baseball history taking pointers from the most accomplished slugger in all of baseball history.

Well, you can turn off your imagination now. That's something that's about to happen in Miami in real life, and it could mean great things for one Giancarlo Stanton.

Free-agent outfielder Jason Heyward figures to be one of the biggest prizes of the entire 2015 Major League Baseball offseason, and the Chicago Cubs reportedly have their eyes on him after a National League Championship appearance last year.

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Just like that, the first big trade of the winter meetings has turned into an uncomfortable situation for the Cincinnati Reds, the Los Angeles Dodgers and for Major League Baseball.

And for each of the three, it's one that may linger for a while.

The baseball world thought the Cincinnati Reds had traded closer Aroldis Chapman to the Los Angeles Dodgers early Monday, but an alleged domestic violence incident reportedly halted the deal.

Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher C.J. Wilson is reportedly being dangled as trade bait amid the MLB offseason.

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A flood of trades, signings and speculation headlined Day 1 of the 2015 MLB winter meetings, but for now, Aroldis Chapman remains a member of the Cincinnati Reds.

According to Tim Brown and Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports, a proposed trade between the Reds and the Los Angeles Dodgers was "held up" following a report that Chapman was allegedly involved in a domestic incident in October.

Hideki Okajima was once a lockdown bullpen option for the Boston Red Sox, but he hasn’t appeared in a Major League Baseball game since 2013. The southpaw reportedly could be making a comeback after spending some time in Japan.

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