Fan News

The Detroit Tigers have all but relegated themselves to playing next season without last season’s ace, Max Scherzer. 

The MLB offseason is just getting started, but key free agents have fallen off the board, and not every contract handed out so far will pay off.

Buying early has its advantages. It allows teams to address needs in a timely fashion and to gain clarity on their remaining priorities. But pre-winter splurges carry risks as well, most notably the dreaded overpay.

That label has been slapped on a few of the deals handed out so far.

Justin Upton and Matt Kemp should probably keep their phones nearby. 

The Seattle Mariners need a cleanup hitter. What position that hitter plays remains to be seen. The club was reportedly interested in shortstop Hanley Ramirez, but it lost out on the former Dodger when he signed with the Red Sox.

It is Thanksgiving, which means the holiday season is in full swing.

With Pablo Sandoval and Hanley Ramirez both going to Boston and a few other free agents already signed, it is clear that baseball's offseason is well underway as well. Rumors are swirling and whispers are making their way across the league about which teams are after certain players.

Risk versus reward.

My definition of "value" is based on two simple things: what will a player cost your team versus what will the player provide on the field.

We are just a month into the 2014-15 MLB offseason, but there have already been a number of significant signings around the league, as the free-agent market has developed quicker than in years past.

The position player market in particular has been busy, as Russell Martin, Pablo Sandoval, Hanley Ramirez, Yasmany Tomas, Adam LaRoche and Michael Cuddyer have all found new homes, while Victor Martinez re-signed with the Detroit Tigers.

Major League Baseball's offseason isn't yet a month old, and teams have already spent upward of $400 million combined in free agency, a majority of which came from the Boston Red Sox's same-day splurge on top position players Hanley Ramirez ($88 million for four years) and Pablo Sandoval ($95

The Atlanta Braves have generally focused more on trades and building from within the organization over recent years.

However, with the Braves trading Jason Heyward and actively shopping Justin Upton—as reported by the New York Post's Joel Sherman—they could open up some payroll to get players in the free-agent market.

For some baseball fans, the most exciting part of the game has absolutely nothing to do with how things unfold on the field. It's the offseason, chock-full of rumors, speculation and "what if' scenarios, that gets their hearts racing and works them into a frenzy.

You can't really blame them, for there's only one hot-stove league—and it's almost always a perfect mix of excitement and entertainment.