No more big checks need to be signed. Negotiations have concluded. Though it may murmur quietly in the early stages of spring training, free agency is essentially over.
But that doesn’t mean that teams are done adding to their rosters. It only means it won’t be as simple as writing a check.
Now if a team wants to add, it will need a trade partner—and the assets to shop.
To identify those teams, they must be among the contenders. Any club in a rebuild will be looking to accumulate assets (translation: prospects) and not trade them away.
Instead, teams eyeing a World Series in 2016 might be willing to part with young, talented prospects to bolster their chances. We know the majority of the transactions come closer to the trade deadline, but the negotiations start now.
Teams will make calls, trying to determine which clubs are willing to trade which players. The marketplace has its constant ebb and flow. And regardless of the level of competition in the marketplace, whichever team holds the most assets is at an advantage.
Who might those teams be? You’ll have to wait for the season to progress. Or you can just read on.