Opinion

Going into the offseason, the Seattle Mariners obviously weren't satisfied with their production up the middle. To address their concern, the Mariners boldly handed Robinson Cano a $240 million contract to man second base for the next decade. And with the more defensively apt Brad Miller entrenched at shortstop, it leaves 22-year-old Nick Franklin without a starting job.

The long-awaited debut of Masahiro Tanaka finally took place Saturday afternoon, when the New York Yankees' prized pitcher took the mound for two innings of spring training work against the Philadelphia Phillies.

In March, it's common to introduce an opinion of a player or performance by reminding readers that it's very early, spring training statistics don't count and the real games are about a month away from reality.

With New York Yankees pitcher Masahiro Tanaka, that edict isn't just necessary—it's vital.

All eyes were on Jose Abreu Friday afternoon, as the Cuban slugger made his highly anticipated White Sox debut after signing a four-year, $68 million contract during the offseason.

Had the first two years of Bryce Harper's career happened in, say, 2010 and 2011, we undoubtedly would have celebrated the young Washington Nationals slugger as the great young player in MLB. 

While Stephen Drew, Ervin Santana and Kendrys Morales are still free agents as February comes to a close, the rest of Major League Baseball is in the full swing of spring training.

C.J. Wilson's knowledge of the game as well as his stomach were pushed to the limit recently—and all for your entertainment. 

For the Win's Ted Berg spotted this video of Wilson attempting to answer questions while flying with Kirby Chambliss, who Red Bull's two-time Air Race world champion.

You know the strike zone, right? That box-like thingamajig where pitchers prefer to throw the ball and hitters prefer to hit the ball?

Yeah, you know the one, and you probably have a pretty good idea of what it looks like: the width of the plate from side to side, and basically from midsection to knees from top to bottom.

For the first time in years, the New York Mets spent significant money on free-agent talent during the offseason. Among the expenditures: Curtis Granderson's four-year, $60 million deal.

The Tampa Bay Rays have most of their roster spots already locked in for 2014.

Unless a player like Sean Rodriguez has a completely terrible spring, there are only two spots available on the 25-man roster. Those openings are for the final bench player and final reliever.

Jeremy Hellickson’s surgery has opened a need for a fifth starter; though that position is a temporary fill until he returns in May.