Opinion

Major League Baseball's offseason has already seen some action, but things will pick up after Thanksgiving as every team and free agent prepares for the winter meetings in December. 

Even though players are free to sign deals right now, the marquee names are most likely to wait until everyone converges on Maryland, where it's easy to get more people in a room to try to ignite a bidding war to drive up prices. 

It's only fitting that the trade chatter on baseball's rumor mill has begun to look like the dinner table at Thanksgiving: A veritable smorgasbord of options to choose from for us to fill the empty space in our bellies or, in the case of our favorite teams, the empty spaces on their rosters.

From former Most Valuable Players and All-Star relievers to versatile veterans and still-developing youngsters, there seems to be at least one potential trade chip that could fill any need a team may have on the diamond.

In a winter during which aces are in short supply, the hot-stove trade market seems to revolve around Chris Sale.

And he's not even the best thing on the market.

Let's make a case for the Chicago White Sox's other left-handed stud: Jose Quintana. He's also good, and he may also be available as the White Sox seek to course-correct after four straight losing seasons.

Justin Verlander and Boston Red Sox fans may not be on the best terms right now. After Verlander lost the American League Cy Young Award to Boston sinkerballer Rick Porcello, Verlander's fiancee, Kate Upton, voiced her displeasure via Twitter [warning: NSFW language].

Baltimore Orioles closer Zach Britton didn't win the American League Cy Young Award. He didn't even finish among the top three, much to the consternation of his skipper.

The early stages of the MLB offseason are generally filled with speculation as to where the top free agents might sign and rumors as to which players are expected to be available on the trade market.

This offseason has been no exception, and as we close in on the winter meetings and some legitimate action on both fronts, the influx of rumors should only increase.

With that in mind, what follows is a look at each team's best trade asset for the offseason.

There's a club of major league superstars so exclusive it has just two members.

To get in requires a number of recent top-five finishes in Most Valuable Player voting. One year won't do—sorry, Bryce Harper—and neither will two. You might get there soon, Manny Machado, but not just yet.

Let's pretend for just a moment that Theo Epstein isn't some sort of divine power, which, if you polled those in Chicago, is the pervasive feeling since baseball underwent its version of an apocalypse: a Chicago Cubs World Series win.

The Atlanta Braves seem to have a Chris Sale obsession. I say we stage an intervention before it gets any worse.

Who's with me?

OK, maybe some concessions are in order first. The Braves and Sale are indeed a match made in hot stove heaven from a strictly on-paper perspective. Veteran signees R.A. Dickey and Bartolo Colon will boost a starting rotation that posted a 4.87 ERA in 2016—but not as much as Sale would.

Who's up for some hot stove fan fiction?

Hey, we might as well indulge ourselves while we wait for Major League Baseball's offseason to kick into high gear. There have been some moves, but nothing too major yet.

All the big moves exist only as rumors. They might not come true. Or maybe they will! That's the exciting part about rumors.