Opinion

There hasn't been much action in the first month of the 2016-2017 Major League Baseball offseason. Everyone's been busy tip-toeing around the rather large elephant in the room.

Nonetheless, the time has come for a routine stock-taking. Let us now discuss the winners and losers of the hot stove season so far.

The Chicago Cubs are the team to beat in the National League. That was true before they busted their 108-year championship drought and it's certainly true now.

Here's the thing about being the team to beat, though: Everyone wants to beat you.

Like, say, the Washington Nationals.

Since Yoenis Cespedes and the New York Mets seem so right for one another, it's fitting they would agree to a contract that's so right for one another.

A reunion between Cespedes and the Mets was the big news coming off the hot stove Tuesday.

MLB's long-lasting labor peace seems to be sitting precariously on the edge of a cliff, with sources telling ESPN's Buster Olney that teams will skip next week's winter meetings if "sufficient progress" isn't made in talks with the MLB Players Association.

The Los Angeles Dodgers and Milwaukee Brewers couldn't complete a Yasiel Puig-for-Ryan Braun trade in August. Nonetheless, they left a sense they could do so eventually.

Well, how 'bout now?

If the Arizona Diamondbacks are going to dangle some starting pitchers on the winter trade market, they can rest easy knowing they at least have some name value to attract interested parties.

The MLB hot stove has largely underwhelmed with the offseason heading into its third week. A blockbuster trade could provide some excitement this winter.

Zack Greinke, Brian Dozier and Michael Wacha are among the players who have bounced around the rumor mill.

Below are updates on the trio of veterans.

We can break down trades in a simple way: Their idea is to make both teams better.

There are teams currently in rebuild mode that hold elite players under contract, and other teams looking to contend in 2017 could use those aforementioned players.

If the latter teams are able to send prospects in return, that's a win-win for both organizations. The rebuilding team nets something for the future, and the contending one gets something for right now.

Which teams fall into which category this offseason? And which players might be dealt?

What a difference a year makes.

The 2016 Arizona Fall League has come to an end, with the Mesa Solar Sox winning it all, besting the Surprise Saguaros 6-1 in the AFL Championship Game.