MLB

The MLB offseason figures to be a busy one for many teams across the league, and we can expect to see many familiar faces in new places once the dust settles.

Giancarlo Stanton is about to ink a deal of epic proportions.

The Miami Marlins are close to signing the 25-year-old outfielder to the richest contract in baseball history: an unprecedented 13 years and a ghastly $325 million. The news was first reported by Jon Heyman of CBS Sports.

When we think power and baseball, our thoughts immediately drift to the steroid era, with its larger-than-life sluggers putting up video game-like home run totals.

Make no mistake about it: Baseball is still enjoying the benefits of power, but where it rests has shifted roughly 60 feet and six inches from the batter's box out to the pitcher's mound.

Welcome to the era of the power pitcher. 

The qualifying offer slump now has reached epic proportions, to the point where Major League Baseball should be at least a little worried that this still relatively recent format just isn't going to hack it.

Seattle Mariners second baseman Robinson Cano admirably decided to represent Major League Baseball in the MLB Japan All-Star Series, but the 32-year-old veteran wasn't exactly rewarded for his commitment.

We all knew it was a matter of when, not if, Jeremy Hellickson's days with the Tampa Bay Rays were officially over.

The MLB All-Stars looked as though they just wanted to get this series over with as they crashed to a third defeat in a row against the Samurai Japan. A pitching shutout sparked the 4-0 rout for the hosts in the Tokyo dome.

The most impressive pitcher was undoubtedly Takahiro Norimoto. He didn't allow himself to be even remotely intimidated by his more illustrious opponents.

Norimoto's numbers from the mound were spectacular, per the MLB official Twitter account:

The free-agent market is yet to develop, but it’s only a matter of time until the dominoes will start to fall. When they do, expect the trade market to take shape as well.

Front-of-the-rotation pitchers Max Scherzer, Jon Lester and James Shields headline this year’s crop of free-agent starters, while Pablo Sandoval and Cuban prospect Yasmany Tomas stand out among hitters in a class that’s thin on impact players.

Every team plunges into the MLB offseason with unanswered questions. That's what makes things interesting.

Some enter with a plan. Maybe they're rebuilding, maybe they're retooling; either way, they know which direction they're swimming.

Other clubs, meanwhile, look lost as the calendar turns to November. Are they buying? Selling? A bit of both? 

The Tampa Bay Rays have agreed to trade starting pitcher Jeremy Hellickson to the Arizona Diamondbacks for prospects Andrew Velazquez and Justin Williams

The Diamondbacks tweeted out the official particulars of the trade:

For the Rays, this move is the latest in a string of changes for the franchise this offseason. Andrew Friedman and Joe Maddon took their talents elsewhere, so Hellickson is the first player to be moved.