Preview/Prediction

One of the more intriguing position battles of the spring is taking place in St. Louis Cardinals camp where Joe Kelly, who went 9-3 with a 2.28 ERA in 15 starts last season, is trying to hold off talented 22-year-old rookie Carlos Martinez for the last spot in the starting rotation. 

I've been referring to the blockbuster that the Detroit Tigers and Texas Rangers pulled off in November as "the Prince Fielder trade." Beyond having a nice ring to it, it's struck me as appropriate to name the deal after its principal component.

Anything can happen between now and when the New York Yankees break from spring training at the end of March, but barring injuries, it doesn't appear as if the 25-man roster will be too difficult to project.

It's been an interesting offseason for the Baltimore Orioles, as they made mostly under-the-radar moves up until the past couple weeks, when they added a pair of the top remaining free agents on the market in slugger Nelson Cruz and right-hander Ubaldo Jimenez.

With spring training well underway throughout Major League Baseball, the evaluative process is already in the works for the Washington Nationals, as they look to put the best 25-man product on the field that they can.

Baseball's first month can set the tone for the entire season. As such, manager Matt Williams must be sure he produces an optimal roster to compete in the competitive National League East.

The St. Louis Cardinals reached the World Series last season for the fourth time in the last decade, and they did so with a roster of mostly homegrown players. Even after losing Carlos Beltran to free agency, the Cardinals were viewed as potential contenders headed into 2014 given the holdovers from last year’s club.

Considered a weakness for the Toronto Blue Jays going into last season, the team’s bullpen ironically turned out to be its biggest strength.

With the starting rotation struggling to pitch deep into games and often leaving in the early innings, the Blue Jays’ relievers ended up taking on that extra load and kept the team in most games.

Despite pitching the second-highest number of innings in the American League, Toronto’s bullpen finished the season with a 3.37 ERA, fourth lowest in the AL.

With the second pick in the 2008 MLB amateur draft, the Pittsburgh Pirates selected third baseman Pedro Alvarez.  As the Pirates have done so often in the last decade, they picked a gem, and Alvarez has a huge pull on the success of Pittsburgh in 2014.  

While high-profile free agent signings and blockbuster trades are what makes baseball's offseason the most interesting and intriguing in all of sports, the overshadowed, under-the-radar moves often prove to be equally as important to a team's success in the upcoming season.

You won't find any perennial All-Stars, MVP candidates or Cy Young Award contenders on this list, instead it is comprised of five players that don't get much attention—but who will make their new general managers look like baseball savants for adding them to their respective rosters.

The Los Angeles Dodgers entered spring training on the short list of World Series favorites following a 92-win campaign and a trip to the National League Championship Series in 2013. Last year’s success has led to heightened expectations for the 2014 MLB season. However, there’s already cause for concern coming out of the Dodgers camp in Glendale, Ariz.

Here are five storylines from the first two weeks of spring training that Dodgers fans should pay close attention to.