Fan News

The Pittsburgh Pirates haven't had a winning season in two decades, but few deny that they have one of the most passionate fanbases in Major League Baseball.

The Boston Red Sox entered this offseason with an impossibly long checklist. They needed a new manager, for starters, and then they had to go on a scavenger hunt for talent.

The Minnesota Twins' crop of young players in 2013 is much more exciting than years prior simply because they won't be filling in for injured or ineffective big leaguers. Instead, there will be a team full of healthy, young competition vying for spots on the major-league roster.

Nearly every position player will have a battle on their hands during spring training. This is good, because competition breeds success—and success is something Minnesota needs dearly.

Five years ago when I was still living in sunny San Diego, I once sat in a bar watching Josh Hamilton hit like 124 home runs in the All-Star Home Run Derby. It was a pretty awesome thing to see, and it ended up keeping me around well after I finished sipping my Vanilla Coke. 

The New York Yankees have conducted business during this offseason under a mandate from principal owner Hal Steinbrenner. The team's payroll must be under the $189 million luxury tax threshold for 2014.

Earlier in the week, Mike Morse's name was added to the trading block.

The New York Yankees are one of about six or seven teams that have been confirmed to have interest in the Washington Nationals hitter.

It's hard to believe that, after winning their second World Series in two years, the Giants would have much room for improvement heading into 2013.

But it could be argued that they won last season despite some of their best players struggling through the regular season. And how could anyone have predicted that the team that finished dead last in the major leagues in home runs would win it all?

But that is exactly what the Giants did, and now they're entering the new season with just about the same roster as last season, and with the potential to improve in several areas.

After months of trade rumors it's looking more and more like Justin Upton will remain on the Arizona Diamondbacks' 25-man roster.

In Kevin Towers' first season as the general manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks, he orchestrated a worst-to-first turnaround that brought the team from 65 wins to 94—a 29-win improvement good enough for the NL West crown in 2011.

If ever there was an excuse for the Boston Red Sox to walk away from Mike Napoli, a trade for Washington Nationals slugger Mike Morse is it.