Opinion

With the shocking Ian Kinsler for Prince Fielder trade on Wednesday night, the Texas Rangers took the baseball world by storm.  

Finally—and let me emphasize that—Texas has a premier power bat at first base.  Since GM Jon Daniels traded Mark Teixeira to the Atlanta Braves in 2007, the club has tried desperately to fill the position on a trial-and-error basis.  

It shouldn't be surprising that the Boston Red Sox are expressing interest in the Los Angeles Dodgers' Matt Kemp as has been reported by the Boston Globe's Nick Cafardo.

There's a player on the free-agent market who has a history at a premium position, is coming off a season in which he hit over .300 and is still in multiyear contract territory at 31 years of age.

You'd think that this guy would be one of the biggest no-brainers for a big contract. Instead, he's probably the hardest guy to figure of anybody out there in the free-agent waters.

Three weeks removed from the end of the World Series. Not even two weeks removed from the general managers meetings. Winter meetings still on the horizon.

Such is the precise location of Major League Baseball's offseason. It's still more or less in the "getting to know you" phase.

Robinson Cano is the crown jewel of MLB free agency this offseason.

After two weeks of banter, rumors and potential offseason landing spots opening up, the Hot Stove has finally started to burn.

So, we woke up this morning and the New York Mets did something. That was new. They signed free-agent outfielder Chris Young to a one-year deal worth $7.2 million. It's a little weird, but let's talk this through before we react.

Philadelphia Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. recently spent half an hour talking to Mike Missanelli on 97.5 The Fanatic. The presumptive goal of Amaro Jr.'s participation in the interview was to placate Phillies fans.

The St. Louis Cardinals have agreed to a deal that will send former World Series MVP David Freese and reliever Fernando Salas to the Los Angeles Angels in exchange for outfielder Peter Bourjos and prospect Randal Grichuk.

As MLB free agents continue to get exorbitant contracts, general managers are instead looking for ways to improve through trades.