Opinion

Like most of us this time of year, Major League Baseball teams have great big lists of things to buy. All they have to decide now is where to shop: Free Agents 'R' Us, or Trades 'R' Us.

And maybe more so than in any other winter in recent memory, that's a tough call.

We spend a lot of time early in the free-agent season discussing good fits and where players would like to go. And then it still almost always comes down to which team offers the most money.

Good morning/afternoon/evening, MLB offseason shoppers. While you're browsing the ace section—ogling a Zack Greinke, drooling over a David Price, maybe checking the sticker on a Stephen Strasburg—can we interest you in something else?

Josh Donaldson had to work just to get to the big leagues. Alex Anthopoulos really had to work to get Josh Donaldson to Toronto.

If nothing else, the story of the American League's 2015 Most Valuable Player is the story of persistence.

You can make it, even if it takes you five years to leave the minor leagues behind. You can trade for a real difference-maker, even if he's "unavailable."

A few months ago, Bryce Harper entered 2015 looking to silence the many doubters who thought he was, at worst, a huge disappointment or, at best, overrated.

If nothing the Washington Nationals star right fielder did throughout his phenomenal 2015 campaign could, him winning the National League Most Valuable Player should do the trick.

One year ago, the air around Chris Davis was purely negative. 

That headline sounds absurd, doesn't it? The guy already has three All-Star appearances, two postseason appearances, 97 major league home runs and a DVR full of knock-your-breath-away highlight clips.

Seriously, you need more Bryce Harper hype right now probably only slightly more than you need an IRS audit.

The long wait to find out the baseball writers' choice for Most Valuable Player in the American League and the National League ends Thursday, though a scan of the numbers and narratives that often accompany this award has left little drama to unpack.   

Of course, there are surprises from time to time. Justin Verlander certainly wasn't a consensus pick in 2011, but the Detroit Tigers' right-hander became the first pitcher since 1992 to capture the honor. 

Cubs Fever has overtaken November. Now should we expect Anthony Rizzo to stun Bryce Harper in Thursday’s National League MVP voting, too?

Not so fast. But in three days running, the Cubs have gone 3-for-3 in the biggest NL Baseball Writers’ Association of America awards. Had they hit like that last month, the New York Mets never would have swept them in the NL Championship Series. Whoops.

As a finesse left-hander whose average fastball doesn't even crack 90 miles per hour, Dallas Keuchel has no business winning a Cy Young in this day and age.

But while we're on the topic, you'll never guess what Keuchel won Wednesday.