MLB

In an offseason that already features a number of quality free agents, MLB teams could also improve their rosters by trading for elite young stars.

Due to salary restrictions, lack of a fit on the current club or simply high demand from around the league, a few talented players are on the trading block this offseason. Although it will take a big offer for any of them to move, the future production could make any deal worth it.

Just two years ago Terry Francona had reached rock bottom in his baseball career. What a difference two years can make.

Francona's masterful managerial performance this past season was recognized today when he was named the 2013 American League Manager of the Year, according to MLB:

The Kansas City Royals enter the offseason with a few needs, and upgrading right field or second base ranks high on their list.

A reunion with Carlos Beltran, whom the team drafted in 1995, would certainly answer one of those needs.  A trade with the Cincinnati Reds for Brandon Phillips would address the other.  It appears that both of those options have been discussed.

Jarrod Saltalamacchia is your value item of the 2013 free-agent catcher market.

Any team prone to clipping coupons or value hunting would do well to take a gander at the Red Sox backstop.

MLB Contributor Gabe Zaldivar breaks down one of the premier catchers on the open market at the moment, and at 28, he is clearly one of the rare players at the position with looming upside.

Clint Hurdle of the Pittsburgh Pirates was recognized as 2013's best manager in the National League on Tuesday, beating out the Atlanta Braves' Fredi Gonzalez and the Los Angeles Dodgers' Don Mattingly. 

The Pirates had the news:

Hurdle had some stiff competition for the award, which was voted on by the Baseball Writers Association of America. 

A year after being major players on the trade market, the Toronto Blue Jays are at it again, except from the other side of the aisle.

According to the Boston Globe's Nick Cafardo, the Blue Jays are getting inquiries about star outfielder Jose Bautista:

The starting rotation of the Detroit Tigers is one of the best in baseball. It had the most wins (76), the lowest ERA (3.44) and the least homers allowed in the American League last season while leading the majors in innings pitched and strikeouts.

The Cardinals made it known that Trevor Rosenthal will remain their closer in 2014.

After taking over for the fatigued and broken down Edward Mujica, Rosenthal, 23, was phenomenal in the second half of the 2013 season and the postseason.

The hard-throwing Rosenthal was unhittable. He routinely made opposing hitters look foolish as they whiffed at his 98-plus mph heat.

On Monday, the Braves shocked the baseball world with the announcement of plans to build a new stadium in the suburbs of Cobb County, Georgia, per The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. If it feels like Turner Field just opened yesterday, your sense of time isn't that far off from reality.

Imagine a scenario where the Miami Marlins calls Jay Z's sports agency, Roc Nation, and tells him they are prepared to offer All-Star second baseman Robinson Cano the 10-year, $300 milllion contract the New York Yankees aren't willing to put on the table.