MLB

On Wednesday, I projected how the Texas Rangers' revamped offense would look in 2014. Today is the second installment in the projection series: the rotation. Bullpen projections, the final piece of the series, will be coming soon.

On the one hand, the moves made by Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane this winter seem out of character for a team that had a payroll of $61.9 million in 2013. The team has spent money to bring in an experienced closer in Jim Johnson and also signed free-agent starter Scott Kazmir.

The Chicago Cubs' collection of top prospects is among the best in baseball, with four players who will rank in next week’s top 50 prospects update and a few more who would land in the top 100.

Leading the pack is shortstop Javier Baez, who is arguably the most exciting offensive prospect in the game. Last season, the now-21-year-old posted a .920 OPS with 37 home runs and 20 stolen bases in 537 plate appearances between High-A Daytona and Double-A Tennessee.

With spring training just a couple of months away, the MLB trade rumors are still swirling around the league.

There have already been a lot of big free-agent signings around the league, including big names like Robinson Cano, Carlos Beltran and Jacoby Ellsbury.  The biggest trade of the offseason so far came in November, with the Detroit Tigers trading Prince Fielder to the Texas Rangers for Ian Kinsler.

In 2012, Boston’s dismal season and last-place finish in the American League East obscured the enormous progress made by their top prospects down on the farm.

Last season, though, everything clicked for the organization from top to bottom.

The major MLB awards have seen something of a renaissance in recent years—or at least the debate around them has. Voters still cling to dubious criteria to determine how to cast their ballots, but the discussion surrounding the MVP, Cy Young and, to a lesser extent, Rookie of the Year awards is increasingly shaped by the growing influence of sabermetrics analysis.

With the ability to follow beat writers and insider sources on Twitter, rumors have been swirling at faster rates than ever before. But that doesn’t necessarily mean the rumors are more real.

There are some Texas Ranger fans who believe that it could be in the team's best interest to eventually trade shortstop Elvis Andrus.

Parting with Andrus, who was a core member of the 2010 and 2011 Rangers teams that made consecutive World Series appearances, would be an extremely difficult call to make.

But there are pretty fair arguments on both sides of the coin here.

Teams have been busy over the past two months, putting their offseason plans in place and trying to fill as many holes as possible. For many of those teams, however, there are still needs to address, and time is running out before it's time to report to spring training. 

Through the first two seasons of Bryce Harper's career, he's shown prodigious power at a young age. If his offseason plan comes to fruition, he'll be bigger and stronger than ever in 2014.