NL West

The Toronto Blue Jays announced on Monday that they won't give pitcher Josh Johnson a qualifying offer, which means Johnson is now an unrestricted free agent.

This may well be an opportunity for the San Diego Padres.

The San Francisco Giants finished the 2013 season with a disappointing record of 76-86, 16 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West.

The work to rebuild the roster has already begun for the Giants and GM Brian Sabean.

First, the Giants signed outfielder Hunter Pence to a five-year, $90 million contract. Pence played in every game for the Giants and was their top overall offensive weapon this past season.

Clayton Kershaw is the best pitcher in Major League Baseball, and one way or another, he's going to be paid as such soon. Just ask his team's owner.

For the past year-and-a-half, money has been more or less no object for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Hunter Pence is locked in.  Tim Lincecum will wear orange and black for the next two seasons.  

The San Francisco Giants have successfully inked one corner outfielder and have retained another starting pitcher.  However, there are still holes to fill in both areas: The team still needs a left fielder and another starting pitcher in order to compete for a playoff spot in 2014. 

The San Francisco Giants have overpaid once again. This time, Tim Lincecum is the benefactor of the Giants' generosity.

Of all the ways the Los Angeles Dodgers could have pictured their 2013 season coming to an end, Clayton Kershaw getting rocked in a must-win game probably never crossed their minds.

Going into the final two games of the St. Louis Cardinals-Los Angeles Dodgers matchup in the National League Championship Series, all the talk has centered on starting pitching.

Back in August, I wrote about how a healthy Matt Kemp would be the final piece to the Dodgers' World Series run. And when he finally returned in mid-September with 11 hits in his first 28 at-bats, including three doubles and a homer, that final piece to an already strong team appeared to have arrived. 

Clayton Kershaw might be the second-coming of Los Angeles Dodgers legend Sandy Koufax, but a lovable holy trinity in Chavez Ravine these days centers on one of Major League Baseball's more unsung heroes: Juan Uribe.

The trio of Uribe, Hanley Ramirez and Yasiel Puig has been a signature, heartwarming segment of the Dodgers clubhouse, season and success and it was on full display Monday night.