MLB

The MLB offseason is an exciting time to be a baseball fan. All 30 teams are hard at work tweaking their rosters for the upcoming season, and the rumor mill gives fans plenty to debate on a daily basis.

However, it's also a time when costly mistakes tend to be made.

From overpaying for a free agent to failing to address a glaring need, there are plenty of opportunities to make a franchise-altering decision in the offseason, both for the good and the bad.

The Korean Baseball Organization has to be taken seriously.

The country’s premier baseball league’s last two significant imports have both produced at high major league levels, and now a third has the potential to be the best of the group.

Sifting through all the rumors and whispers that take place during an MLB offseason can be tiring, but there are often trends we can draw conclusions from with the reports we hear during the winter.

A trend that usually ends up being pretty accurate is discovering which teams plan to be active and which don't. The teams that are involved in various discussions wind up with impressive offseason hauls more times than not.

Over the next few slides, we'll look at a few teams that are poised for significant upgrades this winter.

Feliz cumpleanos, Big Papi.

The Boston Red Sox have already pulled off the biggest blockbuster trade of the still-young offseason. In so doing, they sacrificed quite a bit of their prospect depth and financial flexibility.

And yet, that might not have been the end of the Red Sox remaking themselves via blockbuster trades. That might have only been the beginning. 

There actually is a fish called a Donaldson Trout. According to a post on the website Trout Fishing Help, it's sometimes called "Super Trout."

So there you have it. A (Josh) Donaldson is a super (Mike) Trout!

I'm guessing that won't end the argument over who the American League's Most Valuable Player should be. I'm guessing this column won't end it.

Something like 99 percent of the rumors in any given MLB offseason don't come true. For the most part, it's all just noise. Dumb, loud, annoying noise.

And yet, that doesn't stop us from wondering "My [insert preferred deity], what if that actually happens?" every time a juicy rumor surfaces. That's just how the game is played.

So, what the heck. Let's play the game.

The Oakland Athletics are to sign free-agent left-handed pitcher Rich Hill to a one-year, $6 million contract, pending a physical, per Jane Lee of MLB.com.     

In the span of eight days, Brandon Crawford became the most decorated San Francisco Giants shortstop in franchise history, and he also became its richest.

Already holding two World Series rings in his pocket, the 28-year-old Crawford added an unexpected Gold Glove award and an expected Silver Slugger trophy within the last week in the same season in which he made his first National League All-Star team.

Joe Maddon entered a den full of untested Cubbies. Now, after his first season at the helm, they're all grown up.

No, Chicago didn't bust its legendary World Series drought. But the Cubs engineered a significant turnaround, snapping a string of five consecutive losing seasons with a 97-win campaign and a return to the postseason.