MLB

Masahiro Tanaka is supposed to be a star. After all, he went 24-0 last season in Japan, and he seems to have all of the tools necessary for success. Read this analysis by our own Adam Wells if you want a more technical breakdown of this phenom, but let me give you a few highlights.

Several players have their roster spots already locked up in Chicago, while others will be fighting hard in spring training to join the Cubs in Pittsburgh on Opening Day. Here's a look at some of the obvious and not-so-obvious roster selections to look for.

Starting Rotation

Behold a pale horse, the Pittsburgh Pirates are serious contenders for the World Series in 2014.

2014 is an even year, so the San Francisco Giants have to win the World Series. Right?

Not exactly, but San Francisco does have the pieces in place to make a playoff run if all goes well. Several players in particular will be important in making 2014 a season to remember, unlike 2013.

Criteria:

With nearly a decade gone since the Montreal Expos relocated and granted D.C. and its metropolitan area residents the gift of a professional baseball team for the third time in Major League Baseball history, the Washington Nationals have long-buried the ineptitude of their geographical predecessors.

We've reached the month of February, meaning pitchers and catchers will begin reporting to spring training in a matter of weeks.

The month January was not nearly as busy as prior months, but it was not without notable moves. Japanese right-hander Masahiro Tanaka finally found a new team, and Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw netted a record-breaking extension, among other notable moves.

There is still work to be done this offseason, with handful of impact arms still on the market and a few everyday position players still looking for new homes as well.

Taking a temperature reading in the dead of winter is never fun, but with February officially underway and spring training just around the corner, it won't be long before everything starts to thaw and eventually warm up in Major League Baseball.

On the heels of a week that saw the New York Yankees come to terms with Japanese right-hander Masahiro Tanaka on a seven-year, $155 million deal, this past week has been a significantly quieter one around the league.

February can be a rough time to be a big-name MLB free agent. In fact, it can be a rough time to be any kind of free agent.

There are still plenty of teams searching for that one final piece. The problem, of course, is that by this point in the offseason nearly every club has long since surpassed its respective budget. 

Anybody interested in a guy who has logged at least 199 innings in nine straight seasons and has posted ERAs under 4.00 in four of the past five?

Knowing that the guy those numbers belong to is still floating on the free-agent waters, apparently not. And figuring out why that's the case is harder than it should be.