Opinion

When you are the Chicago Cubs, maybe the most cursed, endearing and followed team in Major League Baseball, there is no hiding. When you are this popular and have lost this ugly for this long, you cannot duck great hope.

After missing the playoffs for the 21st straight season last year, the Toronto Blue Jays spent much of the offseason retooling their roster in an attempt to reverse their fortunes during the upcoming season.

Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos began his overhaul by first electing to part ways with several notable players from last season, such as Adam Lind, Melky Cabrera and Brett Lawrie.

After starting the offseason with a bang and following it up with some active winter meetings, the Red Sox transaction wire has been practically dormant for over a month. The team is in solid shape but could use a few more moves to transition into a genuine title contender.

There has been no greater riddle this offseason than James Shields, the marquee free agent nobody wants.

OK, "nobody" is an overstatement. But while other elite arms—Jon Lester, Max Scherzer—have fallen off the board, the market for Shields remains a puzzling mess.

Add the Arizona Diamondbacks to the list of teams that say they're out on the 33-year-old right-hander.

The St. Louis Cardinals have been successful by almost any standard. The team has consistently found itself in the postseason. It has managed to develop talent at most key positions on the field. It has often been the blueprint by which other teams hope to do business.

The Los Angeles Dodgers have nearly filled their roster. Their depth chart is balanced and complete, with multiple quality options at many positions. The biggest potential weakness is an injury in the middle infield, as Darwin Barney and Justin Turner are competent players but would be stretched too far if given extended playing time.

The 2014/15 MLB offseason will be ending soon and for teams like the Baltimore Orioles, they'll need to add at least one or two more pieces before the start of spring training.

Without hyperbole or hesitation, one can reasonably say the Washington Nationals, on paper, have constructed one of the best starting rotations in baseball history. 

The Detroit Tigers have lost their ace. Mr. Scherzer is going to Washington, where he’ll reportedly earn a massive amount of cash, per Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports, pitching alongside the likes of Stephen Strasburg and fellow former Tiger Doug Fister.

The St. Louis Cardinals have been blessed with the gift of pitching over the last few seasons. So much so that Trevor Rosenthal, once viewed as having a future in the starting rotation, has seemingly settled in to his role as the team's closer. He pitched well there at times last season, but he still has a plan to improve in 2015.