With his 14th major league season set to begin on March 31 against the Minnesota Twins, Chicago White Sox slugger Adam Dunn is just 10 home runs away from reaching the 450-homer mark for his career.

At this point of the MLB season, it's all about spring training as players get tuned up for 2014 in Arizona and Florida.

While trades during spring training are pretty rare, the MLB trade rumor mill is still alive with a few rumblings that involve a couple of starters and other players that could have big impacts this season.

Here's a look at the latest buzz from around the league on the trade front.

Going into the offseason, the Seattle Mariners obviously weren't satisfied with their production up the middle. To address their concern, the Mariners boldly handed Robinson Cano a $240 million contract to man second base for the next decade. And with the more defensively apt Brad Miller entrenched at shortstop, it leaves 22-year-old Nick Franklin without a starting job.

The Kansas City Royals finished the 2013 spring training with a record of 25-7, and fans were excited to see the potential of the young guns on this team.  

The long-awaited debut of Masahiro Tanaka finally took place Saturday afternoon, when the New York Yankees' prized pitcher took the mound for two innings of spring training work against the Philadelphia Phillies.

In March, it's common to introduce an opinion of a player or performance by reminding readers that it's very early, spring training statistics don't count and the real games are about a month away from reality.

With New York Yankees pitcher Masahiro Tanaka, that edict isn't just necessary—it's vital.

Last year, the Kansas City Royals were playoff contenders for much of the season.

After winning 86 games during the 2013 campaign, KC is looking to build on that in 2014.

In order to get there, the Royals will need several players to step up and play at a higher level this season.

Here are five players the Royals need big contributions from this year.

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