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It’s already been a busy offseason around Major League Baseball, as teams have already crossed a number of items off of their to-do list so far this winter. 

However, as we get set to flip the calendar over to 2016, all 30 teams still have at least a couple of areas to focus on between now and the start of spring training.

Whether it is plugging a roster hole with a free-agent signing, trading off an expensive or unnecessary roster piece or extending a player ahead of free agency, every team has something left to accomplish.

So with that in mind, here is a look at all 30 MLB teams’ updated to-do list heading into the new year.

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It’s never too early to deem offseason acquisitions busts or steals, and there’s already been plenty of moves we can analyze so far this winter. 

Over the next few slides, we’ll identify a handful of those transactions that fall under those two categories. 

What constitutes a bust or a steal? In short, teams that overextend themselves either financially or with prospects have overpaid for a player. This winter, Ben Zobrist and Shelby Miller were involved in deals that teams may regret down the road. 

On the other hand, deals that are team friendly in relation to the free-agent and trade markets normally earn steal status. Johnny Cueto’s $130 million deal looks like a bargain when considering what other hurlers have gone for this winter, while Todd Frazier and John Jaso can each make an impact with their new teams for relatively little cost. 

Let us know what you think in the comments section below. Are you thrilled that your team added one of these players for the price that they did? Disappointed? Who else can be considered a steal or bust from this busy winter?

The games still need to be played, and each of the players on this list are talented enough to live up to their price tag. But as of now, we can still make some assumptions based off the data at hand. 

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Alex Gordon is the alternative.

Exactly what kind of secondary option on the free-agent market to someone like Jason Heyward he can actually be, well, every team with an outfield need is still calculating that.

In this era of ballooning market values, teams are still leery about what they consider overpaying for a player, especially one beyond 30 years old whose value is tied into being an elite defender and not a middle-of-the-order bat. This may be why the outfield market, even with Heyward setting the $184 million bar, has become so slow to play out. Gordon has a case to be a nine-figure player, but it appears, as of now, no club wants to make that kind of commitment to him.

Even still, one cannot deny Gordon’s place in the game. He has been one of the most valuable outfielders in the American League over the last five years, and for a team not wanting to hand out six or seven years and upward of $150 million, Gordon could be the most attractive alternative.

Gordon’s only franchise to this point in his career, the Kansas City Royals, reportedly have “no chance” of re-signing the left fielder as things currently stand, according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. That is because the club’s offer, according to ESPN.com’s Jim Bowden (via MLB Trade Rumors’ Steve Adams), would have topped out at around $52 million for four years. Gordon is reportedly seeking a deal that would pay him an average annual value of around $20 million, per Heyman, putting him at or over the $100 million mark over a five-year contract. 

“We have a tremendous amount of respect for Alex Gordon and what he has done here,” Royals general manager Dayton Moore told Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com. “He has been a terrific player. He’s played on a championship team. We all appreciate the history of Alex Gordon in Kansas City.

“But it would be reckless and inappropriate to comment on any negotiation,” Moore added. “We’re just not going to do that.”

So, let’s assume the Royals have “no chance” to get Gordon based on those reports. That leaves teams like the San Francisco Giants, Los Angeles Angels, St. Louis Cardinals and Baltimore Orioles, according to Heyman. And most recently, according to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports, the Chicago White Sox have gotten into the mix as they undergo a second roster shakeup in as many offseasons in their attempt to compete in the AL Central:

Sources: #WhiteSox showing interest in Alex Gordon, among others. Gordon appeals for several reasons: Knows division, LHH, defense, makeup.

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 22, 2015

The interest in Gordon is multifaceted.

As an offensive weapon, he can hit anywhere in the lineup. Last season for the World Series champion Royals he batted leadoff, second, fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth, and in the postseason, he occupied four of those spots in the lineup. Since becoming a full-time left fielder in 2011, Gordon has a .359 OBP and has flashed 20-homer potential that could easily be reached if he played his future home games in a more hitter-friendly ballpark.

Gordon stands out more defensively. Since 2011, he has obliterated all major league left fielders in all of the defensive metrics, based on FanGraphs’ formulas. And in terms of all big league outfielders, Gordon’s 94 defensive runs saved are second to only Heyward’s 107.

When it comes to wins above replacement, Gordon’s 25.1 FanGraphs WAR since 2011 is fourth in the majors among outfielders behind Mike Trout, Andrew McCutchen and Jose Bautista, as NBC Sports’ Aaron Gleeman noted. That includes the 2015 season when Gordon missed 58 games and spent nearly eight weeks on the disabled list with a groin injury.

Outfielders with the most total WAR during the past five seasons: 37.9 – Mike Trout 32.0 – Andrew McCutchen 27.2 – ALEX GORDON

— Aaron Gleeman (@AaronGleeman) October 28, 2015

Of course, it all depends on how much value a front office actually puts into WAR. While it is a nice catchall kind of statistic, the Baseball-Reference version of it had Tampa Bay Rays center fielder Kevin Kiermaier as the third-most valuable player in the American League behind Trout and Josh Donaldson last season. While we should understand Kiermaier’s worth in this day and age, no one is confusing him for the third-best player in either league.

Either way, Gordon is clearly an elite outfielder. And even going into his age-32 season, he figures to age decently—or as well as a 32-year-old on a potential five-year deal possibly can—because of his on-base skills and the fact that he won’t be asked to play center field, as the Chicago Cubs are expected to have Heyward do next season.

There is also the hugely obvious reason Gordon is valuable on this current open market, which also includes much younger and more powerful players like Justin Upton and Yoenis Cespedes—money. Gordon might seek and receive a nine-figure contract, but he won’t reach the heights of what Upton or Cespedes might get, let alone Heyward. We are talking about, potentially, up to $60 million less for Gordon than the other two available free-agent left fielders.

Gordon is an impact player, and as teams are looking to not overpay for position players the way they already have for pitchers during this offseason, he becomes as coveted as anyone still on the market. A team will not have to commit to him the way it will for Upton or Cespedes, and especially Heyward.

For a team expected to contend in the next few seasons, Gordon is the kind of piece to potentially change its fortunes for the better while still providing payroll flexibility. No other player on the market, at any position, can claim that.

All quotes, unless otherwise specified, have been acquired firsthand by Anthony Witrado. Follow Anthony on Twitter @awitrado and talk baseball here.

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The San Francisco Giants plunged into the offseason with two clear and pressing needs: upgrades in the starting rotation and reinforcements in the outfield.

The signings of Jeff Samardzija and Johnny Cueto equal mission accomplished on item one. Now, it’s time to add the final piece, a scary bat in left, and cement this all-in winter.

First, a few words abut those pitching upgrades. Samardzija is an intriguing reclamation project who should benefit from the Giants’ excellent defense and the spacious confines of AT&T Park. And Cueto, as I recently argued, could join forces with ace Madison Bumgarner to form the most potent one-two pitching punch of San Francisco’s recent title era.

The Giants’ outfield situation, however, is unsettled. Right fielder and former iron man Hunter Pence, who turns 33 in April, is coming off an injury-riddled campaign. Center fielder Angel Pagan, who turns 35 in July, has missed 186 games over the last three seasons with hamstring, back and knee issues. 

After declining team options on Nori Aoki and Marlon Byrd, San Francisco is penciling 32-year-old Gregor Blanco into left. No offense to Blanco, who’s been a valuable contributor in his four seasons by the Bay, but he’s a fourth outfielder on a team with championship aspirations. 

The good news for the Giants is that this winter is laden with available outfielders. The Chicago Cubs snapped up Jason Heyward, but a trio of All-Star-quality players—Alex Gordon, Justin Upton and Yoenis Cespedes—sit unsigned.

And, look at that, all three profile best as left fielders.

They also won’t come cheap. Gordon is seeking somewhere in the neighborhood of $20 million annually, per CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman. Cespedes will likely demand at least that much and told ESPN in September that any contract he signs “has to be six years or more.” 

Upton, a 28-year-old five-tool talent, can use Heyward’s eight-year, $184 million deal as a comp. He may not match it, but he could come close.

The Giants have already invested $220 million into Samardzija and Cueto (assuming Cueto doesn’t pull the opt-out ripcord two years into his deal). Will they really dole out another eight- or nine-figure contract?

General manager Bobby Evans sounded skeptical in recent remarks on MLB Network Radio.

“The middle-of-the-order bat is probably harder to get,” Evans said regarding left field. “We’ve seen guys stay on the market a lot longer, so there’s clearly an expectation as to where they’re going to be [financially]. And I think at some point, the market will get them what they’re looking for. And that could put us in a tough spot.”

Translation: We’re not getting a Gordon, a Cespedes or an Upton unless their prices come down. Which, you know, probably isn’t happening.

It’s an assessment shared by Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News, who predicted after the Cueto signing that “the Giants will lower their sights in left field…”

That shouldn’t shock Giants fans. After all, prior to this offseason, the team hadn’t made a major commitment to an outside free agent (meaning a player who wasn’t already a Giant) since Aaron Rowand in 2007. Before that, it was Barry Zito in 2006.

Neither of those contracts worked out especially well, to put it mildly. Rowand’s production tumbled in his four seasons in San Francisco, to the point where the Giants paid the veteran outfielder $12 million to stay away in 2012. And Zito, transcendant postseason moments aside, never lived up to his seven-year, $126 million payday, which was a true headline-grabber by 2006 standards.

So there may be a bit of gun-shyness in the Giants’ front office. If so, however, they obviously pushed past it to nab Cueto and Samardzija and address a glaring need.

Now, they should do the same in left. Not because it’s an even year or any such nonsense (although it is an even year).

Rather, they should do it because a right-handed power bat like Cespedes sandwiched between Pence and Buster Posey in the middle of the lineup would make this club exponentially more dangerous. Also because they set a National League record for the most consecutive sellouts. And, finally, because it’s not my money, or yours either.

The Giants are set with an enviable homegrown infield of Brandon Belt, Joe Panik, Brandon Crawford and last season’s surprise rookie, Matt Duffy. They’ve got a battle-tested bullpen, a revamped rotation and Posey, the face of the franchise and the best backstop in baseball.

They just need to find that missing piece, one way or another.

Here’s another interesting nugget from Evans’ MLB Network Radio interview: “We have the flexibility to spend some money now. But we also recognize a good number of options in the trade market, too.”

If your mind didn’t immediately go to the Colorado Rockies‘ Carlos Gonzalez, you’re not dreaming big enough.

Gonzalez’s name has been churning through the rumor mill since before the offseason began. He’s coming off a strong bounce-back season that saw him club 40 home runs and post an .864 OPS. And the two years, $37 million left on his contract make him a bargain in today’s market.

He’d cost more than money, of course. It’s unclear what, exactly, the Rockies would demand. But any deal would surely start with one (or two) of the Giants’ top prospects, including right-hander Tyler Beede and shortstop Christian Arroyo.

If Colorado asks for Panik or Duffy, forget it. But if the Giants could get this done without sacrificing any current big league starters—backup catcher Andrew Susac could be an enticing chip—they should make a serious play.

Any trade or free-agent signing carries risk. Gonzalez’s injury history is a red flag and AT&T’s right-field dimensions are an imposing sight for left-handed hitters not named Barry Bonds. If you’re playing pessimist, Gordon, Cespedes and Upton could all succumb to ailments or declines, as well. That’s the nature of the beast.

So, yes, the safe move is probably for San Francisco to give fewer dollars and years to someone like Gerardo Parra and call it an offseason. Or they could pair Blanco with a young player from their system such as Mac Williamson, Jarrett Parker or journeyman/mountain-of-a-man Kyle Blanks and hope for the best.

They’d still arguably be the favorite to win the NL West, though the Arizona Diamondbacks are loading up on pitching and the Los Angeles Dodgers are perennial contenders, despite an underwhelming offseason.

This is a chance, however, for the Giants to get greedy and charge full steam toward their fourth title in seven years. 

They can solidify their dynasty beyond reproach. They can reward the fans who religiously pack their sparkling waterfront ballpark. They can hoist the trophy yet again. 

All they need to do is be bold and, OK, a little reckless. It is an even year, after all.

All statistics and contract information courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com unless otherwise noted.

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Former MLB outfielder Dave Henderson died Sunday, a month after undergoing a kidney transplant. He was 57. 

MLB Communications on Twitter confirmed the news. Henderson played 14 seasons of pro ball with five teams. He made the 1991 All-Star team, won the 1989 World Series with the Oakland Athletics and was a color commentator for the Seattle Mariners after his playing career.

Henderson debuted in 1981 with the Mariners and played his first five-plus seasons in Seattle before a 1986 trade to the Boston Red Sox. In Boston, Henderson became an instant star after helping lead the Red Sox back from a 3-1 deficit against the California Angels in the 1986 American League Championship Series. His ninth-inning home run in Game 5 helped extend the series, and Boston won Games 6 and 7 before losing to the New York Mets in the World Series.

The best stretch of Henderson’s career came during his six-year run with the Athletics. He not only made his only All-Star team, but also helped Oakland to its first World Series title in 15 years. He had four 20-homer seasons with the A’s, including 1988, when he finished 13th in MVP voting.

After a one-season stint with the Kansas City Royals in 1994, Henderson left the game. He finished his career with 197 home runs and 708 runs batted in. Had it not been for injuries—Henderson missed extended time in nearly every season he played in—he may have finished with far better numbers. Still, Henderson remained a beloved figure in Boston, Oakland and Seattle. 

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Christmas may have slowed down baseball’s rumor mill, but not even jolly old St. Nick is capable of completely shutting down America’s pastime. 

A pair of notable signings took place over the past week, with the St. Louis Cardinals inking starter Mike Leake to a five-year deal while the Washington Nationals found their second baseman of the present, adding Daniel Murphy on a three-year pact.

But it was the rest of the chatter on the rumor mill that brings us the key takeaways from the Hot Stove League’s seventh week of action.

Frugal Ways Have Mets Looking Like Offseason Losers

Everything was lined up for the New York Mets to hit one out of the park this offseason. Instead, the team has struck a lazy fly ball to straightaway center field.

Rather than take advantage of a weakened division, extra revenue generated by a run to the World Series and having the most dominant, inexpensive starting rotation in baseball history, the Mets chose to flex their muscles by once again tightening their purse strings.

It’s not that shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera, outfielder Alejandro De Aza and second baseman Neil Walker are bad ballplayers. But none of them strike fear into the hearts of the opposition like outfielder Yoenis Cespedes could or are as consistent as Murphy was, the two players who were the main catalysts for the team’s late-season heroics.

In fact, the team has made little-to-no effort to re-sign Cespedes, while it completely ignored Murphy, who signed a three-year, $37.5 million deal with division-rival Washington. As you’d expect, that’s not sitting well with the team’s ravenous fanbase, as NJ.com’s Brendan Kuty wrote on Christmas:

As of midnight Friday, there were 3,827 votes in a poll posted early Wednesday morning asking whether the Mets could already be considered among the losers of the hot stove season.

About 70 percent (2,666 votes) said the Mets had, in fact, disappointed since losing in the 2015 World Series. Only about 30 percent (1,161 votes) said they hadn’t.

The team would likely tell its fans that full seasons from outfielder Michael Conforto, catcher Travis d’Arnaud and third baseman David Wright will help replace some of the lost production, and that by saving now, the Mets will have room to add salary at the trade deadline if needed.

While all of that might be true, none of it makes it any easier to ignore the fact that, as presently constituted, the Mets appear to be more likely to disappoint during the regular season than mount a successful defense of the National League pennant.

Brandon Phillips Guarantees Reds’ Rebuild Will Take Longer Than It Should

B/R’s Anthony Witrado touched on Cincinnati’s rebuilding process in this space last week, but it’s worth re-visiting in the wake of Brandon Phillips’ inexplicable decision to block a deal to a contender in Washington, ensuring he remains part of a mediocre Reds team.

Granted, as a 10-and-5 player, Phillips has earned the right to dictate the terms of any potential trade he’s involved in. But even he had to know his extension request wasn’t going to be granted—no team is eagerly looking to lock up a 34-year-old player for his age-36 season and beyond.

So now, instead of finding out whether Eugenio Suarez or the newly acquired Jose Peraza is the team’s long-term answer at the keystone, the Reds are stuck playing an aging, inconsistent veteran in Phillips who, while still a stellar defender, isn’t the perennial All-Star he once was.

It’s not entirely fair to only point the finger at Phillips, of course. Closer Aroldis Chapman saw his trade value disappear when domestic violence charges emerged, while Jay Bruce’s lackluster 2015 campaign has led to the slugging right fielder drawing hardly any interest on the trade market.

But in light of that, moving Phillips became all the more important, even if the return would have been mediocre at best. That the Reds were unable to do so only ensures that the team’s mediocrity will continue.

Alex Gordon Is Starting to Feel the Squeeze on Free-Agent Outfielders

We recently looked at the current situation between Alex Gordon and the only team he’s known, the Kansas City Royals. I called it a fact that Gordon would not return to the Royals, based on reports from ESPN’s Jim Bowden and CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman, noting the two sides were playing chicken.

Now, it appears Team Gordon has blinked.

Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe writes that Gordon still prefers to stay in Kansas City, despite drawing interest from other teams. Having spent his entire career as a Royal, Gordon understands better than most the financial constraints the club operates within.

Paying one player $20 million per year, which Heyman notes is Gordon’s target salary, simply isn’t something the Royals are going to do. If there was another team willing to meet his asking price, it’d stand to reason that Gordon would have already signed a new deal elsewhere.

With the likes of Cespedes, Dexter Fowler, Gerardo Parra, Denard Span and Justin Upton still available as free agents—not to mention a slew of potential trade chips such as Colorado’s Charlie Blackmon, Corey Dickerson and Carlos Gonzalez—Gordon may be feeling the squeeze.

Teams have choices, and those with the need for an outfielder don’t necessarily have to pay top dollar to obtain an upgrade over their current in-house options.

It wouldn’t at all be surprising at this point if Gordon were to return to the Royals on a far more team-friendly deal than he considered accepting a week ago—and the other impact free-agent outfielders may have little choice but to follow his lead.

For with each passing day, teams are spending their disposable income elsewhere, taking away potential landing spots for this crop of free-agent outfielders.

Unless otherwise noted, all statistics courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com and FanGraphs. All contract information courtesy of Cot’s Contracts (via Baseball Prospectus).

Hit me up on Twitter to talk the Hot Stove League and all things baseball: @RickWeinerBR.

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This year’s crop of MLB free agents ranks as one of the most talented in recent memory. There’s not only a ton of front-line talent but also plenty of depth across the board.

As a result of that depth, a few players have gone relatively unnoticed this offseason, with little in the way of buzz surrounding their potential landing spots.

Ahead is a closer look at seven free agents who are not getting the attention they deserve this winter.

It’s a collection of role players, proven veterans and intriguing buy-low candidates who could all make a bigger impact than expected during the 2016 season.

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Tony LaRussa and Dave Stewart just couldn’t help themselves when it came to Zack Greinke.

When the Arizona Diamondbacks chief baseball officer and general manager saw the chance to bring the righty to the desert and punch a Greinke-sized hole in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ rotation, they pounced—even if the price tag was a staggering $206.5 million including deferred money.

The crazy part about the D-backs’ big-money play for Greinke is that it’s not even the move that could end up causing the club the most remorse.

The winter shopping season isn’t over just yet, but already, LaRussa and Stewart aren’t the only big league execs whose free-agent and trade activity could prove more regrettable than attending a wedding in Game of Thrones.

The three teams who crack this list all acquired top-tier free-agent and or trade targets who have the potential to make a decisive impact in 2016. The problem is that all three clubs did so while paying an exorbitant sum of money which could end up hamstringing the respective franchises down the line.

Let’s get this thing started with none other than the brass at Chase Field.

Arizona Diamondbacks

The D-backs sure aren’t messing around.

Having assembled a rotation headlined by Greinke, Shelby Miller and Patrick Corbin and a batting order anchored by Paul Goldschmidt and A.J. Pollock, this team is all in.

In 2016, the D-backs will be trotting out a squad that has the potential to cause fits for the Dodgers and San Francisco Giants.

The question is whether Arizona mortgaged the franchise’s future for a potentially brief window of opportunity.

In order to snatch Greinke from the Dodgers’ grasp, the team had to dish out a six-year, $206.5 million pact. That’s a ton of years and dollars to hand out to anybody—even a pitcher as supremely talented as Greinke, who is fresh off a season in which he posted a 1.66 ERA.

Here’s a bit of context to explain just how impressive that figure was:

But his new deal will carry Greinke through his age-38 season. As Mark Whicker of the Los Angeles Daily News argued, even the heavy-spending Dodgers and their president of baseball operations, Andrew Friedman, “can’t be rationally criticized for failing to match” that commitment.

There’s been no shortage of rational criticism for the D-backs’ decision to bring in Miller and minor league left-hander Gabe Speier from the Atlanta Braves in exchange for outfielder Ender Inciarte, 2015 No. 1 pick Dansby Swanson and right-handed pitching prospect Aaron Blair.

ESPN.com’s Keith Law dubbed the acquisition cost “comically high,” noting that Arizona was potentially swapping 18 years of big league control for three seasons of Miller.

According to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports, one major league executive flat-out roasted the move: “Worst trade I’ve ever seen.”

From this early juncture, it’s much too soon to make such an assessment. But one thing is for certain: The D-backs’ offseason of gambling is either going to pay major dividends in the immediate future or cripple the franchise for years to come.

Chicago Cubs

Only a fool would question the wisdom of Theo Epstein.

With that qualification in mind, let’s go ahead and question the wisdom of the Cubs president of baseball operations.

From the stockpile of high-upside position players to the team’s sneaky-good rotation, the Cubs are a rising force. But that doesn’t mean that Epstein is immune to making the rare, yet expensive, misstep or two.

It starts with Ben Zobrist.

The switch-hitter is the official Swiss Army Knife of baseball, but his four-year, $56 million deal could get ugly on the back side.

Both of the final two years of that agreement could be an issue for Chicago. In 2018, when Zobrist will turn 37 in May, the utility man will be making a cool $16 million. The year after that, he’ll rake in $12 million.

While those salaries sound awfully high for a player of that age, the counterargument is that the Cubs will gladly absorb that money if Zobrist helps lead the team to a World Series before then.

It’s the team’s deal for Jason Heyward that looms as a scarier liability.

No one is debating the worth of the 26-year-old’s glove.

The debate is over his worth as a player, as one manager explained to Tom Verducci of Sports Illustrated:

The problem with Jason Heyward is that the things you value the most about him now are the things you are not going to have at the back half of the contract: youth and defense. Over time, those only get worse. I would love to have him on a high [average annual value] over a short period of time—give me just his best years—but that’s not going to happen. If I did have him, I would bat him second or fifth, not in the middle. He’s not that kind of hitter. Listen, I get the metrics. I really do. But let’s remember, he’s a corner outfielder. He doesn’t play in the middle. You better love, love, love corner outfield defense to sign him.

Back at the winter meetings, that skipper guessed that Heyward would reel in an eight-year, $144 million payout. The outfielder smashed that prediction, netting an eight-year, $184 haul from the Cubs—with opt-out clauses after the third and fourth seasons to boot.

That’s one expensive No. 2 hitter—especially since so many other prime-time outfielders can’t seem to get so much as a bite on the free-agent market. With New Year’s rapidly approaching, here’s a look at the premier guys capable of patrolling an outfield corner and who remain unaccounted for:

• Yoenis Cespedes
• Chris Davis
• Alex Gordon
• Justin Upton

As the winter wears on, the negotiating power for all those stars just keeps on waning. Ultimately, there’s a real chance that a couple of those players will wind up without a seat in the offseason game of outfield musical chairs. 

As a result, they could be forced to settle for a contract that is just a drop in the bucket compared to what the Cubs guaranteed Heyward.

Boston Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox badly needed an ace when the offseason began.

And the American League East heavyweights checked that bullet point off the organizational to-do list in a big way, inking David Price to a seven-year, $217 million deal.

If that sticker price sounds egregious, that’s probably because it was. Just let Bob Nightengale of USA Today provide the details.

“Price, a native of Murfreesboro, Tenn., was enamored with joining the [St. Louis] Cardinals, who have reached the postseason the last five seasons, with two pennants and a World Series title. Yet, the Red Sox’s offer simply was too strong for him to refuse.”

So, just how strong was too strong?

According to Nightengale, the Red Sox outbid the Redbirds by “at least $30 million.” Even in the absurdly extravagant world that is the free-agent marketplace, that’s a dramatic overpay on the Red Sox’s part. What’s more, the team sweetened the deal by granting Price the power to bolt town after the 2018 season via an opt-out clause.

The Red Sox got their ace. so good on them. But he’s an ace who’s never won a postseason start and whose seven-year deal costs just three million less than what the Giants will be paying Johnny Cueto and Jeff Samardzija combined for 11 years of employment.

Note: All stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com and MLB.com. All salary information courtesy of Cot’s Baseball Contracts on BaseballProspectus.com.

If you want to talk baseball, find me on Twitter @KarlBuscheck.

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It appears as though one of the things New York Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard wanted for Christmas was for veteran teammate Bartolo Colon to re-sign with the team.

Santa Claus may not have made it happen, but that’s only because the Mets’ front office had already taken care of it.

Colon and the Mets reached a deal earlier this month to bring the fan favorite back for the 2016 season. That news apparently was a big hit with the Syndergaard family.

On Christmas Eve, Syndergaard posted a picture of his family wearing “Big Sexy” shirts in honor of Colon. And they now have a picture to use on Christmas cards for many years to come.

[Noah Syndergaard, h/t Fox Sports]

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Merry Christmas to all of you loyal B/R readers!

As you’re enjoying the opening of gifts this morning, there will likely be gear from your favorite MLB team underneath the wrapping paper. Representing your team is your duty as a fan, but some will sport their team’s logo with a little more excitement than others. 

Those fanbases are the ones we’ll profile over the next few slides—the supporters that have the most to be excited about this Christmas. 

Of course, teams like the Chicago Cubs, Arizona Diamondbacks and Boston Red Sox that hit home runs this offseason made their way onto the list. How can Arizona fans not get excited about its newly constructed starting rotation? Red Sox fans for the acquisitions of David Price and Craig Kimbrel? Cubs fans for the additions of Jason Heyward, Ben Zobrist and John Lackey? 

Those aren’t the only fanbases that should be buzzing about the futures of their organizations, though. A young, exciting Minnesota Twins team is well ahead of schedule in terms of its rebuild, while the Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies have made significant strides toward contending sooner than expected through trades for prospects. 

Every team has different expectations, and the games still have to be played next season. Still, the following fanbases should be thrilled with the direction of their teams this Christmas. 

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