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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.

Even with most of the top free-agent targets off the board, teams are still looking to fill important roster voids.

And while remaining free agents like Shin-Soo Choo, Ervin Santana and Ubaldo Jimenez would have big impacts on their new prospective teams, general managers will still need to fill roster spots with lesser, veteran options too.

For some position groups on the MLB free-agent market, it's down to slim pickings following the torrid pace of the offseason action so far. For other spots on the diamond, there are still several marquee players available after the ho-hum winter meetings wrapped up earlier this week.

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.

And then there was one.

With news Friday that James Loney has re-upped with the Tampa Bay Rays for $21 million over three years, according to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports, there aren't many first basemen of note left on the free-agent market.

With the 29th annual Cubs Convention just around the corner and Spring Training on the horizon, there are still some things the Cubs need to get figured out before they break camp.

It's clear that the Cubs aren't going to get big players on the free-agent market, but there are subtle moves both on and off the field that need to be made by late February.

This is a look at five changes the Cubs need to make in order to make 2014, and more importantly the future, more successful.

The very thought of trading Craig Kimbrel can't help but rile up Atlanta Braves fans.

Although it's not necessarily even an actual rumor, the concept of trading baseball's best closer—as suggested recently by Buster Olney of ESPN (subscription required) merely as speculation—is just the kind of proposition that is, in a word, divisive.

Olney writes:

A headline declaring "Phillies Grab Whatever Roberto Hernandez is", per Jeff Sullivan of FanGraphs, reaffirms the sad state of affairs at 1 Citizens Bank Way. With a roster in flux and a determination to disappoint in 2014, the Philadelphia Phillies will have to rely on some prospects at some point in the upcoming season.

MLB’s winter meetings in Orlando have reached their conclusion, but plenty of deals still have yet to be made in the baseball world. On the final day of the meetings, the San Francisco Giants made the biggest deal of the day, signing outfielder Michael Morse.

The MLB winter meetings were lacking in major transactions, but all 30 teams returned home with a better understanding of their roster needs and which players are capable of addressing them.

Rest assured, front office staffs intend to continue exploring free agency and the trade market in preparation for the 2014 season.