Fan News

There has been no greater riddle this offseason than James Shields, the marquee free agent nobody wants.

OK, "nobody" is an overstatement. But while other elite arms—Jon Lester, Max Scherzer—have fallen off the board, the market for Shields remains a puzzling mess.

Add the Arizona Diamondbacks to the list of teams that say they're out on the 33-year-old right-hander.

Free-agent outfielder Jonny Gomes is the type of blue-collar, veteran player who can play a key role on the field and in the clubhouse. The Atlanta Braves coveted his valuable traits enough to sign Gomes on Thursday, Jan. 22.

Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports first reported Gomes' signing:

The St. Louis Cardinals have been successful by almost any standard. The team has consistently found itself in the postseason. It has managed to develop talent at most key positions on the field. It has often been the blueprint by which other teams hope to do business.

Having gone all Dr. Frankenstein to put together the perfect hitter and perfect pitcher by taking certain attributes of various sluggers and hurlers across Major League Baseball to form such a specimen, we've decided it's now time to do the same for an entire team.

That's right: The goal here is to concoct the perfect 25-man roster.

The Los Angeles Dodgers have nearly filled their roster. Their depth chart is balanced and complete, with multiple quality options at many positions. The biggest potential weakness is an injury in the middle infield, as Darwin Barney and Justin Turner are competent players but would be stretched too far if given extended playing time.

In an attempt to make a comeback after suspensions and injuries have essentially kept him out of baseball for the past two years, New York Yankee Alex Rodriguez has reportedly enlisted the services of another controversial superstar in his day, Barry Bonds.

After splitting time between the Boston Red Sox and Oakland Athletics in 2014, free agent Jonny Gomes is reportedly attracting interest from the Atlanta Braves.      

MLB.com's Mark Bowman provided the news:

Gomes hit a combined .234/.327/.330 with six home runs and 37 RBI in 112 games between the Red Sox and A's last season.

Amid talks of a pitch clock and other more radical approaches, Major League Baseball has come up with a more novel idea for shortening game lengths: stop warming up for so long.

The 2014/15 MLB offseason will be ending soon and for teams like the Baltimore Orioles, they'll need to add at least one or two more pieces before the start of spring training.

The Washington Nationals' moves this offseason have them poised to challenge for a World Series title immediately, but life goes on beyond 2015, and so do the careers of the team's latest acquisitions.