Prospect Pipeline

Many of baseball’s top prospects are playing in the Australian, Dominican, Mexican, Puerto Rican and Venezuelan winter leagues this offseason as they look to get a head start on the 2014 season and improve their chances of cracking an Opening Day roster. 

The New York Yankees bolstered their lineup in a big way this offseason by signing top-tier free agents Carlos Beltran, Jacoby Ellsbury and Brian McCann. As for the pitching aspect of the equation—well, the organization still has work to do if it plans on contending next year. 

International free agents are receiving serious interest in the aftermath of Winter Meetings, with teams looking for relatively cheap and creative options to plug holes on their rosters.

This week’s big news features another high-profile Cuban player defecting in order to pursue a career in Major League Baseball, although it will likely be several months until he’s cleared to sign with a team.

If we learned anything from last year’s MLB offseason, it’s that blockbuster trades are more likely to happen when previously untouchable prospects are made available.

By this time last year, the Royals had already dealt Wil Myers and three other prospects to the Rays in exchange for right-handers James Shields and Wade Davis.

Similarly, the Blue Jays' last-minute decision to include top prospects Travis d’Arnaud and Noah Syndergaard in the trade for R.A. Dickey ultimately brought the deal together.

Trades went down left and right last week during Major League Baseball’s annual winter meetings.

Unfortunately, none of those deals involved notable prospects.

Well, that changed on Monday when the Chicago White Sox acquired third baseman Matt Davidson from the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for closer Addison Reed.

Many of baseball’s top prospects are playing in the Australian, Dominican, Mexican, Puerto Rican and Venezuelan winter leagues this offseason as they look to get a head start on the 2014 season and improve their chances of cracking an Opening Day roster.

Value is in the eye of the beholder when it comes to the Rule 5 draft, with each team hoping to find a potential hidden gem amongst a seemingly endless list of eligible players.

After coming up short in the sweepstakes for Prince Fielder and Josh Hamilton in each of the last two offseasons, respectively, the Seattle Mariners were determined to land one of the few elite hitters in this year’s free-agent class.

Well, they got one Friday.

Beyond offering hope to fans of struggling teams, prospects serve a more important purpose at this time of the year.

With Major League Baseball’s free agency underway and every team evaluating their rosters for the 2014 season, prospects can be the deciding factor when it comes to an offseason blockbuster trade.

Last year, top-ranked prospects Travis d’Arnaud, Jake Marisnick and Will Myers were each featured (as part of larger packages) in trades for All-Star players and went on to reach the major leagues during the 2013 season.

The latest news on baseball's international free-agent front is that a pair of high-profile Cuban players have defected and already established residency in another country.