Opinion

Justin Smoak's days with the Seattle Mariners may be numbered.

The Arizona Diamondbacks are hoping they can turn back the clock on veteran outfielder Cody Ross, and why not?

Ross has been a journeyman for the past decade, but he has rarely let his teammates or fans down on or off the field since breaking into the big leagues with the Detroit Tigers in 2003.

***UPDATE: Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com tweeted Saturday evening that the Seattle Mariners and Raul Ibanez had reached a contract agreement.***

The top 12 MLB players got to where they are for one simple reason—great skill.

They took that skill and excelled on the diamond to the point that most of them are perennial All-Stars. Some could even end up in baseball's Hall of Fame.

But even the best of the best have weaknesses. Opponents work to find those weaknesses and exploit them as often as they can.

After a flurry of trades and moves, the Arizona Diamondbacks find themselves pretty well set for the 2012 season. According to Steve Gilbert of MLB.com, Diamondback managing general partner Ken Kendrick is happy with the offseason performance of general manager Kevin Towers, adding "It's not over yet."

The Rangers need Yu Darvish to be their “ace” in 2013, but is that something he is capable of shouldering at this point?

The Philadelphia Phillies still need an outfielder. The Boston Red Sox could still use another starting pitcher. 

Building a baseball team is a delicate process. If a team is too aggressive in its approach, it will have a one-  or two-year window to win a World Series. If a team isn't aggressive enough, it will toil in mediocrity (or worse) and rarely give hope to its fanbase.

Fans of the Minnesota Twins want to see the aggressive approach at the moment, as they've been screaming for general manager Terry Ryan to do something this offseason to solve one of Major League Baseball's worst pitching rotations.

Fresh off a trade that sent reigning NL Cy Young Award-winner R.A. Dickey to the Toronto Blue Jays, the New York Mets are pursuing replacement options that can help them get back on track in the NL East.

The New York Mets don't have a lot of money to spend this winter. 

Though the team has one to two openings in its outfield, general manager Sandy Alderson hasn't chased a big-name free agent like B.J. Upton or Nick Swisher. Trading for a player like Justin Upton won't happen because the Mets are in the position of acquiring prospects, not dealing them away.