Opinion

The MLB offseason is just getting started, but key free agents have fallen off the board, and not every contract handed out so far will pay off.

Buying early has its advantages. It allows teams to address needs in a timely fashion and to gain clarity on their remaining priorities. But pre-winter splurges carry risks as well, most notably the dreaded overpay.

That label has been slapped on a few of the deals handed out so far.

The Seattle Mariners need a cleanup hitter. What position that hitter plays remains to be seen. The club was reportedly interested in shortstop Hanley Ramirez, but it lost out on the former Dodger when he signed with the Red Sox.

It is Thanksgiving, which means the holiday season is in full swing.

With Pablo Sandoval and Hanley Ramirez both going to Boston and a few other free agents already signed, it is clear that baseball's offseason is well underway as well. Rumors are swirling and whispers are making their way across the league about which teams are after certain players.

Risk versus reward.

My definition of "value" is based on two simple things: what will a player cost your team versus what will the player provide on the field.

Major League Baseball's offseason isn't yet a month old, and teams have already spent upward of $400 million combined in free agency, a majority of which came from the Boston Red Sox's same-day splurge on top position players Hanley Ramirez ($88 million for four years) and Pablo Sandoval ($95

For some baseball fans, the most exciting part of the game has absolutely nothing to do with how things unfold on the field. It's the offseason, chock-full of rumors, speculation and "what if' scenarios, that gets their hearts racing and works them into a frenzy.

You can't really blame them, for there's only one hot-stove league—and it's almost always a perfect mix of excitement and entertainment.

It's early yet, but so far this offseason, the Baltimore Orioles sure are acting like a team that just went 96-66 and won the American League East by a dozen games. You'd expect a team like that to play it cool, and that's what the Orioles are doing.

The Seattle Mariners haven't found a right-handed power hitter yet. But bless their heart, they sure are trying.

In the past, the Detroit Tigers have been ceaselessly ridiculed and lambasted for having awful defense and relief pitching. Despite this, the Tigers are quietly putting together a strong defensive unit.

The chance for debate in Major League Baseball never ends. The individual awards were just handed out, and as if on cue, here comes the announcement for the 2015 Baseball Hall of Fame ballot ready to provide the next topic sure to spark discussion and more than a little disagreement.