Opinion

With some time having gone by and the New Year almost upon us, it has been a strange offseason thus far for the New York Yankees.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have signed up to take a chance on a 27-year-old shortstop who hit 40 home runs last season.

Yeah, you'll have to trust me that there is some chance involved with a player like that. Actually, "risk" might be the better word, as the shortstop in question is no sure thing.

We can say this, though: The Pirates are just the team to roll the dice on him.

Just when it seemed like Wil Myers might have found a new home, the young outfielder is the subject of trade rumors again. The San Diego Padres have been extremely active this offseason, and Myers might be moved for an ace pitcher. 

Meet Ian Desmond, the best shortstop in baseball who doesn't need a disclaimer in front of his name.

Unlike Colorado's Troy Tulowitzki, who we must preface anything we say or write about with "When he's healthy," Desmond needs no such introduction, having played in at least 150 games in all but one of his five full major league seasons.

This is going to be an offseason Major League Baseball fans look back on with a smile. With the exception of a few teams, virtually every franchise seems to believe that contention in 2015 is possible. It's why trades and signings have been happening more rapidly than we are used to. 

With nearly two months of the Major League Baseball offseason gone by, some teams have already put their best-laid plans into action and gotten us all riled up talking about how clever they are.

But we're not here to talk about them. We're here to discuss the teams that haven't put their best-laid plans into action, forcing us to talk about how screwed they might be.

Plenty involved, plenty underwhelming.

SAN DIEGO — Matt Kemp and his hips showed up here Friday afternoon, where the closest thing to Rihanna is Shamu.

Well, you know what I mean.

Say goodbye to Hollywood.

Say hello to the rebirth of baseball in San Diego.

Padres manager Bud Black met with Kemp on Friday and told him that this entire reconstruction project started with him. Kemp said he welcomes the responsibility of leading and is eager to help his new teammates get better.

The New York Yankees’ quietly good offseason continued Friday, as the team acquired right-handed pitcher Nathan Eovaldi, first baseman Garrett Jones and right-handed pitching prospect Domingo German from the Miami Marlins, according to Marc Carig of Newsday.

When the Atlanta Braves traded outfielder Jason Heyward to St. Louis in November, it signaled that the club might be initiating a rebuild.