MLB

The 2015 MLB draft is now less than six months away. 

The order is set (well, mostly). The top talents have been identified.

College baseball squads are getting ready to head back to the diamond, and high school squads across the country are waiting for the fields to thaw so they too can get back on the field.

This year's draft class isn't particularly strong, and while it doesn't offer that one guy who's a surefire No. 1 pick, it does offer a great variety of players.

The Chicago Cubs made several big moves this offseason to help them in 2015 and beyond. For the first time in a while, they should be relatively competitive this upcoming season. However, they didn't sign these players just to be good in 2015, they signed them to be good through the life of their contract.

The Detroit Tigers reached a settlement agreement on a one-year deal with ace David Price on Friday, avoiding salary arbitration in the process. The starting pitcher will make just shy of $20 million in 2015.

Free-agent outfielder Norichika Aoki has reportedly found a new home for 2015. 

John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle first reported the news:

CBS Sports' Jon Heyman confirmed Shea's report with more detail:

After winning the bidding for South Korean infielder Jung-ho Kang, the Pittsburgh Pirates reached an agreement on a contract with the 27-year-old. 

The Pirates made the deal official Friday, Jan. 16:

Jon Heyman of CBS Sports divulged some financial details:

The Washington Nationals and Stephen Strasburg reached an agreement on a one-year deal to avoid arbitration Friday. The ace will earn more than $7 million in 2015.

The team confirmed a deal was in place:

William Ladson of MLB.com provided the details:

A handful of Major League Baseball teams are scheduled to have pitchers and catchers report Feb. 18, which means only one thing: We're barely a month out from the official start of spring training.

That makes right about now as good a time as any to update the winners and losers of this active offseason so far.

Now that it's mid-January and spring training is just about a month away, the hot stove has started to settle down, at least a little.

Sure, there's still a pair of big-name free-agent arms available in Max Scherzer and James Shields, and a trade or two tends to come to fruition every few days. But for the most part, the wave of transactions reached its peak in December.

The Chicago Cubs haven't won a World Series in over a century and haven't lost any fewer than 87 games in five years, and we're supposed to believe they're going to contend in 2015?

So they say. And you know something? Their chances of at least contending for a wild-card spot deserve to be taken seriously.

Spring training will be here in a matter of weeks, and 2015 could turn into a very big year for the New York Mets. Of course, what is seen on paper has to translate into on-field success, and hopefully, the Mets will be able to put together their first winning season since 2008 and make the playoffs for the first time since 2006.

Here are five bold predictions for the Mets this season.

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