Opinion

Somewhere out there, free-agent right-hander Kyle Lohse is waiting for his phone to ring and for Scott Boras to tell him some good news.

He may be waiting a while still, and the news may not end up being as good as he's hoping.

As a fan of the two Bay Area baseball teams, most of my observed impressions of players around Major League Baseball are based on their performances against the San Francisco Giants and Oakland A's.

I was planning to post on the Pittsburgh Pirates' options at the starting pitcher position today, but it appears the Bucs have already settled their rotation. 

It was rather shocking to see Michael Bourn's name linked to the New York Yankees this winter.

It's shocking because the Yankees already have their outfield all set for the 2013 season with Brett Gardner in left, Curtis Granderson in center and the recently re-signed Ichiro Suzuki in right.

The Baseball Hall of Fame is where the greatest baseballers of all time are honored. Any player enshrined in Cooperstown could step out onto a baseball diamond today and be right at home.

Well, maybe not all of them...

Free agent Nick Swisher is drawing plenty of interest this offseason, which should come as no surprise given his consistent productivity.

The 32-year-old outfielder has hit 20 or more home runs in each of the last eight seasons, and he's played in at least 131 games per year over that span. In 2012, he hit .272 from the plate with 24 homers and 93 RBI while also posting the third-highest slugging percentage (.467) of his career.

The Los Angeles Dodgers began the offseason with one of the most baffling signings in MLB. Two months later, the transaction is still one of the most curious—and potentially terrible. 

Soon after the World Series ended, the Dodgers re-signed reliever Brandon League. That in itself wasn't an objectionable move.

As the San Diego Padres continue their search for an additional starting pitcher, one name that has stuck out as a potential trade candidate is Detroit Tigers' starting pitcher Rick Porcello.

The big dogs are finally off the market.

That means the rest of the hot stove dominoes will begin to fall. That could be as remaining free-agent signings or via trade for many teams.

While we have already witnessed some large trades take place this winter, there is nothing that says the trade market is anywhere near cooling off.

Josh Johnson, Jose Reyes and Mark Buehrle are all acclimating to life north of the boarder, having been part of a drastic trade that took place between the Miami Marlins and Toronto Blue Jays earlier this offseason.

One-time first overall pick Matt Bush is in the news again, and as expected it is not positive. And his ordeal is a warning sign to teams hoping to cut corners on draft day.