Opinion

Point your ear in the direction of Chavez Ravine, and you'll hear the sound of silence. So far, the eerily quiet Los Angeles Dodgers have been letting other clubs dictate the MLB offseason's headlines.

Let's put this in the "Probably Not Gonna Last" file. Knowing their situation, the Dodgers' silence is likely the calm before the eruption. 

Now that December has arrived, the annual winter meetings are next up for the New York Mets and the other MLB teams. At that time, all the general managers will meet up and discuss potential signings and trades with each other for a few days.

The 2014-15 MLB offseason is just getting started. The winter meetings begin Dec. 7 in San Diego, but even that much-scrutinized annual confab is usually more about laying groundwork than swinging massive deals.

Many years from now, we may find ourselves recalling how the first great bidding war between the megarich Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees of the 2000s was not over a hulking slugger or a fire-balling starter, but over a left-handed reliever.

That means you, Andrew Miller. Potentially, anyway.

General manager Neal Huntington and the Pittsburgh Pirates have been busy this offseason, making small moves for players they hope will play to their maximum potential in 2015.  

The Seattle Mariners have reportedly signed Nelson Cruz.

General manager Jack Zduriencik and the Seattle Mariners aren't bashful. We'll give 'em that.

The Seattle Mariners are betting big that Nelson Cruz, whose 40 home runs led all of Major League Baseball in 2014, can help get them to the playoffs for the first time in a long time. Like, 13 years long.

The 2014-15 MLB offseason began like any other.

Then everything changed.

There was a time when Gaby Sanchez was considered an offensive threat at the plate for opposing pitchers. 

That time was five seasons ago, as the young first baseman was coming off his second straight 19-home run season.  Between 2010-2011 as a member of the then-known-as Florida Marlins, Sanchez drove in 163 runs in 310 games.