Opinion

In spending hundreds of millions of dollars over the last few years, the Los Angeles Dodgers did their best John Hammond impression. In their pursuit of a championship, they spared no expense.

See ya, Dodgers.

Talk about a stunner. Zack Greinke to Arizona couldn’t be more shocking if the ace right-hander showed up with an actual, live Diamondback rattlesnake wrapped around his shoulders on Opening Day talking a mile a minute while sipping cactus juice.

Except for one thing: The Diamondbacks have an Albert Pujols-in-his-prime type in Paul Goldschmidt and the game’s most underrated star in A.J. Pollock, and they’re ready to win right now.

In the days leading up to the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline, the Houston Astros and Cincinnati Reds discussed a blockbuster deal that would have sent both Johnny Cueto and Aroldis Chapman to the Astros.

The rarest find in free agency is a 10-year contract. There have only been a few, and there isn't exactly an abundance of candidates for one this winter.

There is one, though. If anybody is going to land a 10-year contract, it's Jason Heyward.

It's always dangerous to make decisions and judgments about a player based on small sample sizes, such as those afforded to us in the Arizona Fall League or one of the Caribbean Winter Leagues. 

Some players are simply exhausted by the time they reach offseason play, having played more baseball than they've ever played before during the regular season. Others may be looking to simply continue working on one aspect of their overall game, unconcerned with statistics.

It appears there is about to be another stud starting pitcher diving into the Major League Baseball free-agent pool. 

Coming off a last-place finish last season, their third in the last four years, and armed with a new leader in the front office, next week’s winter meetings figured to be a playground for the money- and prospect-rich Boston Red Sox. 

David Price's path began in Tampa Bay, and it has since passed through Detroit and Toronto. Along the way, he's made five All-Star teams, won a Cy Young and has been generally awesome.

David Price just became the highest-paid pitcher (by average annual value) in baseball history. Zack Greinke is about to join him in that stratosphere.

Jeff Samardzija isn't in line for that type of $30 million-plus-per-season payday. But he might already have received an offer north of $100 million, per ESPN's Jayson Stark:

Free agency in Major League Baseball has to be an agonizing event, though it's also the most excited fans will get before games actually begin.   

It's painful because rumors constantly swirl, often contradicting each other, so no one knows what is true and what is just white noise. Finding the right balance between agents or teams trying to drive the market in their favor is critical.