About a year-and-a-half has passed since the Boston Red Sox gave Rusney Castillo a seven-year, $72.5 million contract, and he's still a riddle with mystery and enigma coverings.

But maybe not for much longer. Castillo has star potential in him somewhere, and he's finally in a position to let it out in 2016.

You get what you pay for. It's a truism in life, but not necessarily in baseball.

Every season features at least a few low-budget Davids who rack up victories despite puny payrolls. And, likewise, there are invariably some deep-pocketed Goliaths who sink in the standings.

Arizona Diamondbacks center fielder A.J. Pollock turned in a career season in 2015, and the team rewarded him financially as a result.

According to Buster Olney of ESPN The Magazine, the Diamondbacks and Pollock avoided arbitration Monday with a two-year, $10.25 million deal.

Regardless of whether a team is a perennial World Series contender, a fringe playoff team or a cellar-dweller, there is always at least some reason for excitement looking ahead to the future.

Whether it is a single player destined to be a superstar or a deep minor league system overflowing with talent, the "next big thing" is always waiting just around the corner to change the outlook of a franchise.

Hype and actual on-field production are two very different things, and not every next big thing pans out, but it gives fans a reason for optimism nonetheless.

Tim Lincecum has spent the duration of his big league career in an orange and black uniform. So there would be a certain poetry if he ditched the San Francisco Giants and flew to the Baltimore Orioles as he attempts to come back from an extended decline and recent surgery.

Don't tell the Chicago Cubs and the New York Mets that baseball is boring.

Thanks to Chicago's absurd collection of bats and New York's contingent of power arms, those two teams are set up to be two of the most exciting MLB squads in 2016.

In the process of drawing up the excitement rankings, we searched for three key attributes:

As Cliff Lee looks to continue his pitching career in 2016, the former American League Cy Young winner needs to find a team willing to take a chance on him.  

Continue for updates. 

Alex Cobb has been one of the Tampa Bay Rays' best starting pitchers when healthy, so if the team wanted to explore a trade market for him, it would certainly be robust. 

Veteran right-hander Freddy Garcia has decided to retire at the age of 39 after making one final start for Venezuela in the Caribbean Series on Sunday.

According to Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com, Garcia will attempt to lead Venezuela to victory in the championship game against Mexico before hanging up his cleats. 

The start of spring training is still a few weeks away, but it's never too soon to start planning for this year's fantasy baseball draft.

Hitting on your early round picks and anchoring your roster with superstar talent is important, but more times than not, it's the late-round sleeper picks that prove to be the difference when it comes to contending for a league title.