Rankings/List

The MLB winter meetings may have left baseball fans with more questions than answers as a number of top names still have yet to find new homes, but that will only add drama to the coming months leading up to spring training.

The  biggest free-agent names will get all the attention. But while closers like Rafael Soriano, Joakim Soria and Jose Valverde have made headlines, they're not the only relievers who could make a difference next season.

While the biggest names on the free-agent market—Josh Hamilton and Zack Greinke—remain in play, teams have not waited for those two to find new homes before making moves of their own.

The action on the free-agent market might not be coming as fast and furiously as some would like, but teams are slowly and steadily adding key pieces as they build their rosters towards World Series runs in 2013.

With the MLB winter meetings behind us, some teams have taken on a very new look, while others are still left with many pieces left to move around before heading into spring training.

The overall quality of the Baltimore Orioles’ farm system took a major hit last season with the graduation of Manny Machado, a consensus top-10 preseason prospect, to the major leagues. Luckily, the O’s boast the game’s top pitching prospect, right-hander Dylan Bundy, who reached the major leagues in mid-Sept. after opening the year with Low-A Delmarva.

Well, the "Boys of Summer" have faded into the sunset, and we are now almost three months removed from the Midsummer Classic. 

With a lot of water under the bridge and the award season discussion already in full swing, I thought I'd release my 68 picks if the All-Star Game were held today instead of in July

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In the month of September dreams can come true, or they can just as easily be broken.

Right now for any fan of baseball, the month of September has been extremely entertaining. While two division races have been locked up and both the Cincinnati Reds and Washington Nationals have punched their postseason tickets, there are still several teams vying for that playoff berth.

Once MLB free agency begins this winter, a number of teams will be going after Josh Hamilton. He is the crown jewel of the 2013 MLB free agent market, and Hamilton will draw an incredible amount of attention.

Hamilton has been to the MLB All-Star Game in each of the past five season, and he has not disappointed with his production in 2012. There are few players in baseball that have the offensive abilities that Hamilton possesses.

With just a couple weeks left in the 2012 regular season, a number of pending free agents are likely playing their last games with their current teams, as many players will certainly change locations during the offseason.

We've made it to that bittersweet juncture of the MLB playoff races where the remaining regular-season series' can be counted on one hand.

Which contenders are scheduled to slip during the sprint to the finish? Continue reading, curious person.

The following teams have something at stake, whether it be a postseason berth, division title, home-field advantage or some combination of the three.

From innocuous to overwhelming, these rankings order baseball's elite by the difficulty of their impending matchups.

With less than two weeks remaining in the 2012 MLB season, most of the playoff field has been determined.

Thanks to the addition of a second wild-card playoff spot, however, hope is alive for more teams as we approach the end of the season. We count 16 teams that have a chance of playing past Oct. 3 on their schedules. 

What are the odds of those contenders making the playoffs? Well, that's what we're here to figure out.