Opinion

Tim Lincecum has spent the duration of his big league career in an orange and black uniform. So there would be a certain poetry if he ditched the San Francisco Giants and flew to the Baltimore Orioles as he attempts to come back from an extended decline and recent surgery.

With unbridled optimism running rampant among the fanbases of all 30 MLB teams, it's relatively easy to spin most offseason moves in a positive light.

For contenders, it's not difficult to view a few key veteran additions as the missing pieces to bridge the gap to World Series appearances.

For rebuilding clubs, prospect additions immediately become the next big thing for the organization as the fanbase keeps an eye on the future and brighter days ahead.

However, sometimes a deal just looks like a mistake.

There’s a credo among baseball executives nowadays: Get younger.

Whereas putting together a World Series contender was once as simple as writing a check for some big-market teams—ahem, the New York Yankees—the emphasis for organizations has been on improving their minor league systems.

While there are still a few weeks before pitchers and catchers report to camp and about a month before the exhibition season gets underway, make no mistake about it—baseball season is nearly upon us.

Sure, a number of notable free agents still need to find new homes, and a handful of trades figure to go down between now and Opening Day, but we have a pretty good idea how each MLB team's roster will look once the games begin to count.

So what better time to check on the stock of each contending club?

Yoan Moncada is 20 years old, and his entire professional career consists of 81 games at one of the lowest levels of the minor leagues.

So why are we already asking when (not if) he'll become a major league star?

There's no mistaking the powers that be in Major League Baseball. The Kansas City Royals, San Francisco Giants, Los Angeles Dodgers and St. Louis Cardinals have done a lot of winning recently, and now the Chicago Cubs, New York Mets and Houston Astros look ready to follow their fine examples.

Eh, but enough about them. Let's act like we can read the future and pinpoint the teams that are on the verge of breaking into the Annual Contenders Club.

On a sunny Monday afternoon in Champaign, Illinois, last June, the Vanderbilt Commodores collapsed into a dogpile after beating the Illinois Fighting Illini to punch their return ticket to the College World Series.

And that was the party just getting started.

Only a few weeks away from the start of spring training, you'd think that MLB clubs were done looking to make trades—at least until an unfortunate injury during the exhibition season forced their hand.

But the rumor mill tells a different story, with some notable names—not All-Stars, mind you, but notable names all the same—the subject of trade chatter and speculation. Whether it be a position player or a pitcher, there seems to be something still available for just about every possible need a team could have.

It's only the second day of February, but we still feel compelled to ask: Are you ready for a rematch between the Chicago Cubs and New York Mets in the 2016 National League Championship Series?

A bit soon? Obviously. But still a valid question? That too.

The 2016 season hasn't even started yet, and the injury bug has already taken a bite out of the New York Yankees. 

And now, they really have to hope it doesn't come back for them again.