Opinion

It’s long been known that Russell Martin, the top free-agent catcher on the market, would command a large contract this offseason.

The MLB offseason figures to be a busy one for many teams across the league, and we can expect to see many familiar faces in new places once the dust settles.

Giancarlo Stanton is about to ink a deal of epic proportions.

The Miami Marlins are close to signing the 25-year-old outfielder to the richest contract in baseball history: an unprecedented 13 years and a ghastly $325 million. The news was first reported by Jon Heyman of CBS Sports.

The qualifying offer slump now has reached epic proportions, to the point where Major League Baseball should be at least a little worried that this still relatively recent format just isn't going to hack it.

We all knew it was a matter of when, not if, Jeremy Hellickson's days with the Tampa Bay Rays were officially over.

Every team plunges into the MLB offseason with unanswered questions. That's what makes things interesting.

Some enter with a plan. Maybe they're rebuilding, maybe they're retooling; either way, they know which direction they're swimming.

Other clubs, meanwhile, look lost as the calendar turns to November. Are they buying? Selling? A bit of both? 

Even though spring training is when you start to see what a team is capable of doing in the regular season, the offseason is when you get a real sense of where all 30 Major League Baseball teams view themselves heading into the next year. 

While many rumors will be floated around, some of which will never happen, it's important to keep track of them because you can learn how a front office is thinking.

Despite frequent insistence to the contrary, free-agent signings are almost always about the money. That's what it's all about, you know.

But not for A.J. Burnett. On Friday, he decided to be a very rare exception to the rule. And for good reasons, to boot.

Linked to major free agents this offseason like Jon Lester and Russell Martin, the Chicago Cubs are expected to make a big splash this winter in one way or another. Signing free agents is surely a way to improve the team quickly, but teams can also do that via trade.

For a team with $182.5 million already committed to the 2015 roster, the Los Angeles Dodgers actually have a surprising amount of flexibility. They have a couple veteran outfielders they need to get rid of, a massive budget and a farm system that is finally bearing fruit.

Whether or not the new front office will want to make a massive deal is up in the air, but it certainly has the resources to do so.