Opinion

There has been a lot of big news this winter, mostly regarding a particular starting pitcher. However, a few set-up men and seventh-inning guys have made headlines of their own. 

Joaquin Benoit, a set-up man who recorded one save last season, received a three-year, $16.5 million deal from the Detroit Tigers last month. Three weeks later, the Los Angeles Angels agreed to give seventh-inning man Scott Downs $15 million over three years.

With most of the big name free agents signed, sealed and delivered to their respective teams, it's time to look at what is still out there for the Minnesota Twins. The Twins still have plenty of questions at the major league level with the departure of Jesse Crain, Matt Guerrier, J.J. Hardy, and Orlando Hudson. Will GM Bill Smith promote from within as is widely speculated to patch the bull pen together or will be go out and be aggressive as he were last January landing Hudson and Jim Thome? Let's take a look at the ten players the Twins would still love to land this offseason.

Just about every single fan across Dodgertown is elated the 2010 campaign is now in the past, yet Matt Kemp, although his season was not a total bust, holds both higher hopes and expectations for the journey ahead.

Although he led the Dodgers in RBI, extra-base hits, runs scored and home runs (setting a career high in the process), it was a tough year in many other ways—his batting average dropped dramatically over last season, he was caught stealing 15 times on the basepaths, he set a club record for strikeouts and at times his defense was much less than stellar.

Rarely is it the case that one baseball player can change the entire fate of his division. But it could happen when a star player leaves one contender for another, as Crawford did, from the Tampa Bay Rays to the Boston Red Sox.

We can start by looking at the 2008 and 2010 Rays. In 2008, the team had a bunch of "stars", including Crawford, and a few superstars. But just about every everyday player was "league average" or better, except for Ben Zobrist (who has since become a star) and Willy Aybar, still a "utility" player.

We've all heard the whining and crying about the Yankees and Red Sox, with a few other "minor" offenders thrown in. Unless you're a fan in Boston, New York or Philly, you've almost certainly wrung your hands over the lack of parity, and been ready to sacrifice a rubber chicken to the baseball gods for a salary cap. "Please, Dear Gods, parity is all I ask..."

Initially, when hearing a productive and established player such as Jayson Werth signed with the Washington Nationals, it was bewildering.

Yesterday, I heard that the Mets would not make any moves until sometime into January. Sandy Alderson and company have decided to wait out the market rather than throwing their money at uncertainty.

Surprisingly, several good starting pitchers are still available, yet teams appear reluctant to pull the trigger.

I figured that once Cliff Lee signed, the other starters would fall like dominoes, since teams in need for starting pitchers would not want to be left in the dust.

After the Milwaukee Brewers acquired Zack Greinke, it became much more unlikely that they will look to trade All-Star first baseman Prince Fielder. However, there is a chance he still could be had for the right price, since he is slated to become a free agent after this season.

Fielder could serve as a piece to bring in more players to build around for the future. If the Brewers are not in contention at the trade deadline, they could focus on acquiring players to help them in 2012 and beyond.

It's a few days before Christmas and so far, the Yankees have been relatively quiet in their off-season shopping.

So far, after missing out on Cliff Lee, the Yankees have brought in Russell Martin to be the starting catcher and Pedro Feliciano for the bullpen.

For the Yankees, that's an extremely quiet winter considering their deep pockets and myriad of resources.

Right now, though, it looks like the Yankees are attempting to bring back a familiar face to the lineup.

There hasn't been much to the Pittsburgh Pirates offseason so far. The signings of pitchers Kevin Correia and Scott Olsen, along with inking first baseman Lyle Overbay and outfielder Matt Diaz, likely make the Pirates a marginally better team than in 2010.

Then again, when you finish the season 57-105, anything you do in December likely makes you a better team.