MLB

Former New York Yankees starting pitcher Phil Hughes is headed to the Minnesota Twins after signing a three-year, $24 million deal, reports La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.

Chicago White Sox general manager Rick Hahn should give his counterpart with the New York Mets a call and offer up Dayan Viciedo for second baseman Daniel Murphy.

It could be an ideal scenario for both the White Sox and the Mets, actually.

With one month of the MLB offseason complete and the winter meetings coming up, what has already been a busy first few weeks of transactions promises to only get busier in the weeks ahead.

With the MLB winter meetings rapidly approaching, there's sure to be a flurry of activity on the free-agent market.

That means it's time to re-rank the top 10 MLB offseason targets as the calendar turns to December. With big names like Brian McCann and Jhonny Peralta already off the board, there's some reshuffling to be done. 

Even though it is still early in the offseason, there have already been a few MLB teams that have taken big steps forward for the 2014 season.

Some franchises have looked to the trade market to fill a pressing need, while others have been able to pick up impact free agents.

There is still a lot of time left this winter, and there are many big-name players on the market. Thus far, there are some clear early winners of the 2014 MLB offseason.

For a Chicago Cubs team that will be continuing their rebuild in 2014, the starting lineup presents a major question mark at several different positions. While prospects will be coming up sporadically through the minor leagues this season and next, the Opening Day lineup figures to be full of fill-in players or players looking to bounce back from last season.

The Cincinnati Reds recently made two quick fixes to their roster that will solidify their team in 2014.

Teams around Major League Baseball that are unable to find the right player for a reasonable price in free agency turn to the trade market instead. It could become a common theme this winter with a limited number of impact free agents available.

It comes down to maximizing value. General managers must decide whether it makes more sense to pay slightly over market value to secure a free agent or move an asset already within the organization to acquire a player to fill the same void.

The Los Angeles Dodgers might be big spenders, but they haven't made any major signings so far this offseason.

The Cincinnati Reds' core group of players is capable of winning a World Series title in 2014.

The team possesses a quality starting rotation, a brilliant general manager and two hitters in Joey Votto and Jay Bruce who are amongst the best at their respective positions. While they certainly will need to add a few players in order to complete their lineup, and possibly their bullpen, there are pieces in place for the team to make a serious run next season.