Opinion

With two weeks of spring training action in the books, it's time to take a look around the MLB landscape and name some winners and losers.

As bubble players continue to battle for the few available roster spots, injuries open up new opportunities for players to make an impression in 2016.

Spring is also a time for contract extension negotiations, and we've already seen two prevalent stories on that front—one ending in a new deal and one fizzling out as quickly as it started.

The conversation began with Jorge Mateo, the 20-year-old shortstop Baseball America ranked as the best prospect in the New York Yankees' farm system.

"His speed is incredible, and he's good defensively," a veteran scout who follows the Yankees system said. "But you know, it feels like everyone has one. Right now, we might have the best group of young shortstops ever."

You know, he might be right.

Spring training is often a time for overreaction.

On-field results don't always match expectations as players look to shake off the rust and work on refining their game for the season ahead.

If a team struggles to get into the win column or a player gets off to a noticeably awful start, it doesn't necessarily mean they are doomed—but it does raise a few red flags.

We have highlighted 10 areas of concern teams are facing this spring and given our take on whether the team and its respective fanbase should be patient or panic.

Nothing counts and everything counts—it's the annual paradox of spring.

On the one hand, yes, these are mere exhibition contests. The scores don't matter, and the performances of individual players should be taken with enough grains of salt to satisfy Jimmy Buffett's lifetime margarita needs.

This is about stretching hammies, shaking off the cobwebs and enjoying the Florida and Arizona sunshine as much as anything.

By Thursday afternoon, Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred may have wanted to wash Bryce Harper’s mouth out with soap. Or, at least, rub it down with pine tar.

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Look at them.

Far end of the New York Mets spring clubhouse, short row of lockers, crawling around like scorpions in a box. The most lethal rotation in the game, just waiting to sting someone.

Even if he doesn't change a thing from last season, Miguel Cabrera should be one of the best hitters in Major League Baseball in 2016. Given that he won his fourth batting title in five years in 2015, that just seems like a safe assessment.

The Cleveland Indians are going to win the World Series.

If that prediction sounds familiar, maybe it's because you saw it last year on the cover of Sports Illustrated.

FORT MYERS, Fla. — A little sugar on your Grapefruit?...

1. He's Got Friends in Low (and High) Places

He is the Rick Steves of the American League East, a man so well-traveled he could author a guide, rate beaches in St. Petersburg and tell you where to get the best Szechuan in Toronto's Chinatown.

So while other starting pitchers work on command and secondary pitches this spring, David Price has one other item on his to-do list.

Here’s what is certain about the Los Angeles Dodgers’ starting rotation: Clayton Kershaw. Things that are questionable about Los Angeles’ starting pitchers include everything else.