Opinion

The Los Angeles Dodgers have made no secret about their offseason pursuit of a front-of-the-rotation starter to pair with ace Clayton Kershaw and keep them as legitimate World Series contenders.

The guy who used to play there isn't a realistic option, but the New York Yankees clearly need something at second base.

The story about Mark McGwire possibly becoming the San Diego Padres bench coach mentions the word "steroids" exactly once, four paragraphs into a 10-paragraph report.

Maybe it's just not that big a deal anymore. Maybe that's as it should be.

The MLB hot stove is fully engulfed. Trades, free-agent moves and the rumors in between have been running rampant, and things are only going to get crazier as we approach the winter meetings.

The market for starting pitching has begun to move, with J.A. Happ signing with the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday and Jordan Zimmermann agreeing to a deal with the Detroit Tigers on Sunday.

They're significant deals for significant money, as Zimmermann's reported $110 million-for-five-years price tag caused Matt Ehalt of the Record to tweet:

Jordan Zimmermann busted through the 2015 free-agent logjam Sunday when he inked a five-year pact with the Detroit Tigers. Now, the offseason's deep pool of pitchers can (and will) flow in his wake.

Last winter, the Washington Nationals signed a front-line starter away from the Detroit Tigers. On Sunday, the Tigers returned the favor—and kicked off their latest revamp in earnest.

Not even Thanksgiving can stop the Hot Stove fires from burning. The rumor mill is back to spinning at full speed after taking a break for some turkey and stuffing, fueling speculation on multiple fronts. Some of it has been team-specific, while some has been more widespread.

We'll look at some of that speculation and try to read between the lines, bringing you the most notable takeaways from the Hot Stove League's third week of action.

Let's get started.

The MLB offseason is nearly a month old, and thus far, there hasn't been the overwhelming activity we saw at the same point last winter.

Despite it still being early, there are a few teams already headed toward failed offseasons. The New York Yankees, Miami Marlins and Cleveland Indians still have time to right their wrongs, but each organization is already behind the eight ball with the 2016 season on the horizon.

Aroldis Chapman has created quite the market for himself.