Opinion

Entering the offseason, general manager Brian Sabean and the San Francisco Giants front office faced a question regarding free agent Pablo Sandoval that seemingly had no correct answer.

Seven Seattle Mariners prospects concluded play at the Arizona Fall League last weekend.

The Mariners sent three position players and four pitchers to the league, which lasted nearly a month-and-a-half and attracted some of the top prospects in baseball.

Among those representing Seattle were Taijuan Walker and D.J. Peterson, two of the top young players in the club's system.

Giancarlo Stanton is rich. You and I are not. 

Perhaps this explains why we weren’t slamming $20,000 champagne and presumably playing high-stakes ostrich polo with Stanton inside a Miami nightclub this week.

Stop being surprised. It has been happening for years, and the end is nowhere in sight.

Whether you think it is bad or good, the level of care from the payers and the payees is virtually nonexistent. There will always be a market, and there will always be someone willing to meet the price.

New general manager John Hart may need to learn how to operate a construction truck in order to be fully qualified to take on the enormous reclamation project that is the Atlanta Braves. 

Hart began the process Monday by shipping beloved outfielder Jason Heyward and reliever Jordan Walden to St. Louis for starter Shelby Miller and pitching prospect Tyrell Jenkins.

The MLB All-Stars put the finishing touches on a stronger finish to their Japanese tour on Tuesday, beating Samurai Japan 3-1 to seal back-to-back victories over their hosts. 

The titans of Major League Baseball nevertheless slump to a 3-2 championship defeat after five games, though, with the official MLB Twitter account confirming the scoreline:

A few pitchers looking for big contracts this offseason might need the money to pay for hefty phone bills.

Despite a deep list of free agents at the position, a number of starters on the market are already gaining tons of interest on the open market. While it might take some time before decisions are made and contracts are finalized, it is good for each player to know they are in high demand.

After a relatively quiet weekend, several notable MLB moves were made in rapid succession on Monday.

First, Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reported that the Miami Marlins and Giancarlo Stanton had reached an agreement on a 13-year, $325 million contract.

When the Seattle Mariners signed Robinson Cano last winter, a prevailing train of thought was that they were probably more than one star away from being a contender.

Except not, as it turned out. With Cano in tow, the Mariners improved from 71 wins to 87 wins and barely missed the postseason in 2014. Since one star was good enough to take them that far, you wonder what one more star could do.

It’s not a coincidence that many of the biggest trades in recent years have involved blue-chip prospects. With the market rate for impact players on the rise and teams trying to manage their payrolls more economically, prospects, though unproven in nature, have come to represent a form of currency.