Fan News

In a big-picture sense, spring training doesn't mean anything. In fact, here's a helpful analogy: Spring training is to meaningful baseball what Adam Dunn's career ERA is to meaningful pitching.

But on an individual level...OK, fine. That's where spring training can actually matter. Though most players come into spring training simply looking to get ready for the upcoming season, others come needing to prove something.

Projecting prospects is as much a baseball pastime as hot dogs, brush-back heaters and PEDs.

Debates ensue, disappointment is ever present and the occasional can’t-miss gem actually doesn’t miss. So is the way of the prospect world, one filled with teenagers and young 20-somethings full of unpredictability in a game that relies heavily on seeing the future.

The 2015 MLB draft is now less than six months away. 

The order is set (well, mostly). The top talents have been identified.

College baseball squads are getting ready to head back to the diamond, and high school squads across the country are waiting for the fields to thaw so they too can get back on the field.

This year's draft class isn't particularly strong, and while it doesn't offer that one guy who's a surefire No. 1 pick, it does offer a great variety of players.

The Chicago Cubs made several big moves this offseason to help them in 2015 and beyond. For the first time in a while, they should be relatively competitive this upcoming season. However, they didn't sign these players just to be good in 2015, they signed them to be good through the life of their contract.

The Detroit Tigers reached a settlement agreement on a one-year deal with ace David Price on Friday, avoiding salary arbitration in the process. The starting pitcher will make just shy of $20 million in 2015.

Free-agent outfielder Norichika Aoki has reportedly found a new home for 2015. 

John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle first reported the news:

CBS Sports' Jon Heyman confirmed Shea's report with more detail:

After winning the bidding for South Korean infielder Jung-ho Kang, the Pittsburgh Pirates reached an agreement on a contract with the 27-year-old. 

The Pirates made the deal official Friday, Jan. 16:

Jon Heyman of CBS Sports divulged some financial details:

The Washington Nationals and Stephen Strasburg reached an agreement on a one-year deal to avoid arbitration Friday. The ace will earn more than $7 million in 2015.

The team confirmed a deal was in place:

William Ladson of MLB.com provided the details:

A handful of Major League Baseball teams are scheduled to have pitchers and catchers report Feb. 18, which means only one thing: We're barely a month out from the official start of spring training.

That makes right about now as good a time as any to update the winners and losers of this active offseason so far.

Now that it's mid-January and spring training is just about a month away, the hot stove has started to settle down, at least a little.

Sure, there's still a pair of big-name free-agent arms available in Max Scherzer and James Shields, and a trade or two tends to come to fruition every few days. But for the most part, the wave of transactions reached its peak in December.