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The Los Angeles Dodgers have made no secret about their offseason pursuit of a front-of-the-rotation starter to pair with ace Clayton Kershaw and keep them as legitimate World Series contenders.

The options are abundant, and they include their own free agent, Zack Greinke, and David Price, likely to be the game’s next $200 million man. Signing one of those top-end starters seems almost inevitable for the Dodgers, but so too should be a massive bullpen upgrade, as that part of the club has been a soft spot over the last two regular and postseasons.

Considering the Dodgers’ desire to collect the best talent available and with monetary cost of relatively minimal concern, they have to go after the best reliever available. That would be Cincinnati Reds flame-throwing closer Aroldis Chapman, a dominant back-end arm the Dodgers could pair with current closer Kenley Jansen to build arguably the best 1-2 bullpen punch on the planet.

The Dodgers could name either the closer or mix and match them in the eighth and ninth innings depending on matchups. Either would work as long as both pitchers bought into the arrangement a year before both can become free agents, and the thought has crossed the bright front-office minds in Los Angeles, according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports, who reported about a week ago that the Dodgers have checked in with the Reds about their closer.

They won’t, but the #Dodgers should absolutely go full boar after Aroldis Chapman. Changes dynamic of team with he and Kenley together #MLB

— Casey Stern (@CaseyStern) November 16, 2015

With former San Diego Padres closer Craig Kimbrel being taken off the market after his trade to the Boston Red Sox, Chapman is easily the best reliever available in trade or free agency.

Since becoming the Reds’ full-time closer in 2012, Chapman has compiled a 1.90 ERA, 145 saves, a 1.74 FIP, 206 ERA+, 0.958 WHIP and has averaged 16.1 strikeouts per nine innings and a 4.18 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He has also made four consecutive National League All-Star teams and is coming off a year in which he had a 1.63 ERA.

Since 2012, FanGraphs’ WAR calculations, which put heavy emphasis on strikeouts, has Chapman as the most valuable reliever in the majors. Kimbrel is second, with Jansen pulling in the bronze medal.

Putting two of those arms in the same bullpen, even for one season, could be a franchise-changing move that would go a long way in helping the Dodgers succeed in October, a month in which they have disappointed the last two seasons in part because they did not have trustworthy relievers before Jansen.

The Dodgers featured Kershaw and Greinke in last season’s rotation, but it was a jumble of questions beyond those two for much of the year, including the playoffs. Couple that with an unreliable bullpen—its 3.86 ERA over the last two years ranks 23^rd in the majors—and it led to early postseason exits for a team with the game’s highest payroll.

So even if the Dodgers re-sign Greinke—who had the lowest ERA in the majors last season—or Price and get back a healthy Hyun-jin Ryu, it still leaves them with significant bullpen holes before Jansen. In the age of building dominant bullpens to mask mediocre rotations, the Dodgers should go this route, even though their rotation could end up better than most.

That leads the discussion back to Chapman, although reports have the Dodgers looking in other directions that will not cost them a group of major league-ready prospects, which is what the Reds are looking for and considering now that the Padres got back a solid group of four prospects from the Red Sox for Kimbrel.

The Dodgers are reported to be in hotter pursuit of lower-profile relievers, including Darren O’Day, who might be the best free-agent reliever on the market with his 1.92 ERA over his last four seasons and a 1.52 mark in 2015 for the Baltimore Orioles. O’Day, 33, is said to be looking for a four-year deal.

“He’ll probably get it from the Dodgers,” one rival general manager told Heyman.

Heard today that the #Dodgers are pursuing Darren O’Day “big time.” It was the 2nd person in a week to mention it.

— Jerry Crasnick (@jcrasnick) November 19, 2015

The Dodgers have also contacted Ryan Madson, according to Heyman. In his first major league season since 2011, Madson had a 2.13 ERA with the Kansas City Royals in 2015.

The Dodgers have the prospects to go after Chapman, though. He is projected to make about $13 million next season, and the team could pull it off without giving up its best and brightest youngsters, like Corey Seager, Julio Urias or Jose De Leon. Chapman is worth the cost in money and players, and the Dodgers have the need for him.

While this is a short-term fix since Chapman and Jansen will be free agents after next season, it is the kind of temporary aid that could lead to the franchise’s first World Series title since 1988 should the Dodgers shock the market and deal for him.

All quotes, unless otherwise specified, have been acquired firsthand by Anthony Witrado. Follow Anthony on Twitter @awitrado and talk baseball here.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Following an active trade market last July, this MLB offseason has taken a while to get its footing and take off, resulting in a slow start to the free agent and trade markets as we enter December.

That could start changing this week in preparation for next week’s winter meetings, where things are always expected to shift into a higher gear. But as of now, only a couple of blockbuster trades have happened, with one major free-agent signing.

That is enough to dive into evaluations through the first month of the offseason. What team overpaid for what player, and what teams could end up with the steals of the market to this point?

We have seven significant trades and signings to dissect and conclude.

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Little to nothing is guaranteed in Major League Baseball. That includes player production, and especially when you are counting on it for an extended block of time.

That is why signing free agents to huge deals for hundreds of millions of dollars—or even tens of millions—is such a risky and unpredictable proposition for all 30 front offices. The long-term mega contracts always have a realistic chance of busting. It’s the nature of people; it’s the nature of the baseball business.

But on the open market, you have to pay those uncomfortable prices, which include years and in some cases draft picks, to get the player.

This offseason’s free-agent class is rich. There is power, there is defense, there is bullpen help and there is an abundance of starting pitching, with a couple of top-tier arms, some second-level ones and even more below that. Whatever need a club might have, it can cure it for the right price.

The concern with such deals is the player staying productive long enough to live up to the contract. But every year it seems there is a small group of players who appear destined to fulfill expectations. This offseason we can pick out a handful of players on the market who seem to be bust-proof, even with long-term, relatively big-money contracts to their names.

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Aroldis Chapman has created quite the market for himself.

Triple-digit fastballs on the regular, an ERA and FIP living below 2.00, nearly 16 strikeouts per nine innings and four consecutive All-Star appearances in four utterly dominant seasons have made the Cincinnati Reds lefty closer one of the best at his position in his era. And now he carries that title while the Reds embark on a rebuild that could bury them in the National League Central for the next few seasons, at least.

So, unsurprisingly, the team has put Chapman, its onetime Cuban prize, on the trade block for all to see, explore and bid upon. The asking price is high, even with other coveted back-end relievers floating around the free-agent and trade pools.

That pool previously included Craig Kimbrel, one of the sport’s most dominant closers. Chapman and Kimbrel were seen as the two biggest fish, but the Boston Red Sox angled Kimbrel two weeks ago for a haul of prospects in a deal that had mixed reviews for the Sox.

That deal slightly altered the market for Chapman in that the Red Sox are no longer players in the bidding, but in no way has it changed the way the Reds value their closer’s market value. They will still demand top-end talent in return, as they should.

“Kimbrel was a bit of a different animal than Chapman, in terms of club control,” Reds general manager Dick Williams told MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon. “We didn’t feel like we missed out on a deal with them. There will be other teams that are interested in Chapman.”

Several teams have interest in Chapman, but the asking price hurriedly puts an end to some of that. The Reds dangled him before the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline, though nothing came of it because teams like the Houston Astros, New York Yankees and Arizona Diamondbacks felt the cost was too rich. 

The potential suitors are deeper in the offseason—those three clubs and at least the Los Angeles Dodgers and Washington Nationals can be added to the list—but the Reds are still asking a ton in return for a closer with a salary in the $13 million range for next season before he can become a free agent. For comparison, Kimbrel is owed $25 million through 2017 with a $13 million club option. He is not just a one-year rental like Chapman.

Despite the lack of club control with Chapman, he will still draw a significant return because he is the kind of arm that can change a team’s postseason outlook. He can turn a hopeful team into a contender and a good team into a legitimate World Series threat simply by locking down the eighth or ninth inning.

And he might do that as soon as a week from now, as the Cincinnati Enquirer‘s C. Trent Rosecrans noted:

#Reds Walt Jocketty said there’s ‘nothing close’ with Aroldis Chapman. Hopes to get something done by the Winter Meetings

— C. Trent Rosecrans (@ctrent) November 19, 2015

Even teams with established closers, like the Dodgers and Nationals, are exploring Chapman’s market. The reason is the entire market is looked at differently now than it ever was in the past.

While it was universally accepted—and surely still is, but with this new twist—that bullpens can be remade and revamped at minimal cost, the elite, premium arms are being coveted more than ever because of what dominant bullpens have recently meant to teams like the San Francisco Giants and Kansas City Royals. Those teams have won the last two World Series with massive contributions from their bullpens and in spite of just so-so starting pitching—Madison Bumgarner aside, of course.

That has put a new premium on top-flight relievers, even with high price tags. That is why the Reds will not, and should not, budge on their asking price. Not before the winter meetings, at least.

“I don’t control who is out there or who will be interested,” Williams told Sheldon. “We feel that there are other offers. We feel that he’s the best closer out there, so [we] hope good stuff can happen.”

@jaysonst Other teams say Reds are targeting big-league ready young players in any package they get back for Frazier or Aroldis Chapman

— Jayson Stark (@jaysonst) November 16, 2015

The Red Sox are obviously out of the Chapman picture after acquiring Kimbrel, and so are the Detroit Tigers, most likely, after trading for Francisco Rodriguez. With those arms off the board, along with Joaquin Benoit after he was traded to the Seattle Mariners, the interest in Chapman could pick up in the next week or so.

Looking forward, if Chapman remains on the trading block beyond December, his price could drop. The Reds cannot afford to keep him through next season and gain nothing more than draft-pick compensation when he walks into free agency. He is too valuable an asset to get just one player in return.

The problem for the Reds is other teams also know this, and they could wait out the reliever market until names like Darren O’Day and potentially Andrew Miller are signed or traded. That would lower the number of teams with a desire for Chapman and could cause the Reds to pull the trigger on a lesser deal than what they currently envision.

What is clear is that, as of now, the Kimbrel trade has not shifted the Reds’ belief that they should get a premium player package for Chapman this offseason. However, the sooner they can strike a deal and before the reliever market changes much more, the more likely they are to get something close to what they want. Chapman’s market has not played out much to this point, but that could change dramatically in the next week or two.

All quotes, unless otherwise specified, have been acquired firsthand by Anthony Witrado. Follow Anthony on Twitter @awitrado and talk baseball here.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Opting out didn’t surprise anybody. 

Not the Los Angeles Dodgers decision-makers, not the team’s fans, not the media that covers the organization and entire industry, not the man’s teammates and not rival teams.

No one was stunned when ace Zack Greinke left $71 million and three years in his wake by opting out of his deal with the Dodgers. With possibly double that dollar amount available in free agency after Greinke’s outstanding and historic 2015 season, it was the right-hander’s best option.

However, just because Greinke is on the open market and available to virtually any team he wants to play for does not mean he should leave Los Angeles or his co-ace, Clayton Kershaw. And according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports, the team has made convincing Greinke of that its top priority this offseason.

That would be wise, because without Greinke, the Dodgers rotation suddenly becomes thin and questionable after Kershaw. But for Greinke, signing up to be a Dodger for what will likely be the rest of his career makes just as much sense, as he can be part of the game’s best 1-2 punch with Kershaw.

There have been almost no reports on Greinke’s thought process since the Dodgers’ season ended in the National League Division Series. All we know for certain is Greinke had nice things to say immediately after the playoff run ended.

“That would be nice,” Greinke told reporters last month when asked if he wanted to return to the Dodgers. “I guess that is my whole response.”

That was not the whole response, though.

“It’s got to be the best franchise in the game, I would think,” Greinke added. “They’re in a great situation.”

The comments might be enough to convince Dodgers fans Greinke, who had a 1.66 ERA and 225 ERA+ last season, will re-sign with the team before spring training. Then again, it is common baseball knowledge by now that Greinke chose the Dodgers in the first place mostly because they were able to offer him the most money.

The Dodgers are still in a position to do that this winter, but there is going to be competition and possibly just as much money offered by other clubs. For instance, the rival San Francisco Giants reportedly have serious interest in Greinke, who finished second in the National League Cy Young Award voting and was the league’s Player’s Choice Outstanding Pitcher. The Giants could make him their No. 1 target this offseason, significantly boosting their rotation while weakening the Dodgers, who have won the NL West in three consecutive seasons.

rivals giants seen as threat to steal greinke away from dodgers. https://t.co/uKo2R2JiCo

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) November 20, 2015

The Giants are not the only big-money club with potential eyes for the ace. Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal (h/t CBS Sports) has speculated the Boston Red Sox have real interest, and despite their mantra not to spend big in free agency, it would be negligent not to believe the New York Yankees could jump into the fray.

For Greinke, the problem with those places could be the clubhouse atmosphere and media coverage. While Los Angeles is a major world market, the traveling media corps is relatively small and far less critical than those in Boston or New York, where every misplaced fastball might be chronicled as the end of good times and evidence of Greinke’s nine-figure contract being a busted one.

In October, Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald quoted a source close to Greinke as saying he “definitely wouldn’t want any more stress or additional media attention” with a new club. Greinke, who has discussed his social anxiety disorder and clinical depression in the past, would be walking into exactly that if he ended up with the Red Sox or Yankees.

This is another reason why Los Angeles seems like the place for him, because even in San Francisco, another relaxed media market, he would enter next year being looked at as the reason the Giants should win a fourth World Series in seven years. While the Dodgers seem to need him to win their first since 1988, Greinke is already comfortable with the expectations and media there.

He is also comfortable as the team’s No. 2 starter. Kershaw is the all-world ace of the team, and much of the pressure to win a title lands on his left arm. Despite Greinke’s historic season, he was able to pitch in Kershaw’s shadow most of the year even when he was the team’s best pitcher for months at a time. For Greinke, that seems ideal.

According to Molly Knight, author of The Best Team Money Can Buy, via Yahoo Sports’ Jeff Passan (h/t Fox Sports), there has been clubhouse discord involving Greinke and Yasiel Puig, but that is likely not enough to scare him into the arms of another organization. That is especially true if the Dodgers are indeed prioritizing Greinke, 32, as their top free agent and willing to pay him as such.

The rub is the Dodgers might not be willing to overextend. Team president Stan Kasten does not like to extend pitchers with a certain number of innings on their arms, and the front office, led by President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman, has said in the past he does not want to be handcuffed in the future by huge contracts to a group of players in their mid- or late 30s.

“They’d certainly like to retain [him], but…the Dodgers know that he’s going to command a lot of money on the open market,” Los Angeles Times writer Bill Shaikin said on MLB Network on Monday. “They also know they don’t want to get into six- and seven-year territory with a guy who is going to be pushing 40 years old at the end of the contract.”

This comes down to how badly Greinke would like to remain with the Dodgers, who will pay him market value but maybe just not for six or seven years. It also might be decided by Greinke’s comfort level with the organization and clubhouse, and if that is the case, he should realize he might not find a better situation for himself and his wants and needs than the Dodgers.

Greinke has already had lots of success with the Dodgers as the No. 2 guy to Kershaw’s ace, and he can continue to pitch as one of the best in the majors within that setup. It works for him, as does the cash the Dodgers are going to put on the table.

Now, it is up to Greinke to make the call.

Advanced statistics courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com. 

All quotes, unless otherwise specified, have been acquired firsthand by Anthony Witrado. Follow Anthony on Twitter @awitrado and talk baseball here.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Without a doubt, Major League Baseball teams hand their players the most ridiculous contracts—in money and length—in all of North American professional sports. 

It is a reason to scoff at cynics who claim baseball is a dying sport, but it is also ammunition for heated debates about just how bad some deals might be, in terms of dollars, duration or both. There are plenty to choose from thanks to owners and front offices willing to pay players greatly for past production while crossing their fingers for some of that production to happen in the future.

While certain players may be grossly and obviously overpaid, and for long periods of time, it does not mean they are bad players. And if some of them are considered in decline, it does not mean they are without value to their current teams or possibly new ones via offseason trade.

That is what this list of players is all about—those with bloated contracts who can still have some decent-to-high value on the trade market. Some of the players seem close to being completely washed up, while others still have the potential to be heavy contributors or even MVP candidates.

Trades for some of them might seem unlikely, but never say never when teams have more than three months of cold weather to negotiate.

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One year ago, the air around Chris Davis was purely negative. 

The one-time MVP candidate, home run champ and dominant offensive force was coming off a disappointing, subpar 2014 season and missed the final 17 games of the season after being suspended 25 games for a second positive test for unauthorized Adderall use. He was no longer an All-Star or the middle-of-the-order superstar he was the year before for the Baltimore Orioles.

Davis became a question mark in a baseball uniform, with nobody knowing how he would bounce back from the down season and embarrassing ban that caused him to miss the Orioles’ playoff appearance.

Now, Davis is a bat-wielding exclamation point looking for a new, or possibly familiar, uniform as he has re-established a strong market value coming off a resurgent 2015. Davis is again the game’s home run king and is being hailed by his agent, Scott Boras, as the best free-agent hitter at three different positions as he looks to cash in on a new multiyear contract far north of $100 million.

“Chris Davis grades out as the top free agent because he’s the top outfielder, the top first baseman and the top DH,” Boras told Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com. “He’s all of those. He’s three in one.”

In 2013, Davis went from good player to a bright star after he hit 53 home runs, drove in 138, had a 1.004 OPS and 168 OPS+. He struck out 199 times, but in this age of huge whiff numbers, it was hardly seen as a detriment to anything but his batting average as he still finished third in American League MVP balloting.

In 2014, much changed. Davis no longer had a therapeutic use exemption (TUE) to help him control his ADHD, and whether that was a cause or not, his production went into massive decline. He hit a respectable 26 home runs, but that total was not even half of his output the previous season. His .196 batting average was the lowest of any qualified major leaguer, his OPS dropped 300 points and his OPS+ tumbled 72 points. Then came the late-season suspension that forced Davis to miss Baltimore’s trips to the American League Division Series and Championship Series, and Opening Day of this past season.

Once Davis came back to the Orioles lineup in April, he was armed with a TUE for new ADHD medication and launched himself back onto the top tier of power hitters. He hit a major league-leading 47 homers, drove in 117, had a .923 OPS and 146 OPS+, good for 10^th highest in the majors and important for Davis in his walk year.

“I thought he was going to have this kind of year all the way back to spring training,” a scout told Crasnick. “Maybe the medicine helps him stay focused in his approach. I saw him stay on balls and hit some pitches the other way, and it kind of snowballed. He looked like he was locked back in to two years ago, when he was a monster [and hit 53 home runs].”

This past season forced Davis’ market to rebound. He became a feared hitter again, and Boras’ claim that his client should be seen as a three-way positional player is not outrageous. Davis played some right field in 2015, and while he will never be mistaken for a Gold Glove outfielder, he will get to the balls he should get to and is capable enough to not hurt his club, unlike, say, Hanley Ramirez.

“I’m not a big Scott Boras guy, but I don’t disagree with that opinion,” the scout told Crasnick. “I don’t think he’s selling you a bag of beans on this one.

“Let me put it this way: Chris Davis is not Alfonso Soriano in the outfield. If an average grade is a 50, he’s a 45. And what I say about 45s is, they don’t hurt you.”

That reality could open Davis’ market more since a team could certainly stick him in right field for the first couple of years of the deal before moving him back to first base or DH. That might be part of the reason that as many as seven teams have already been linked to Davis, who will be 30 at the start of next season.

Those clubs do not even count the New York Yankees, who could take huge advantage of the left-handed Davis in Yankee Stadium, or the Boston Red Sox, who will be without the DH services of David Ortiz after next season, or the Orioles, who have said they have the money in the coffers to re-sign their slugger.

Plus, the money to re-sign Chris Davis too https://t.co/SYseq67tCI

— Jim Duquette (@Jim_Duquette) November 15, 2015

Davis’ impact comes with the downside of his strikeouts, of which he had 208 last season and leads the majors with 749 over the past four years. However, the strikeout stigma has changed in that time, and it will not stop teams from doling out nine figures for a player projected to hit 37 home runs by Marcel and 33 by Steamer, though those projections could be low depending on where Davis plays his home games.

Based on what players like Jacoby Ellsbury and Shin-Soo Choo earn, Davis topping $100 million seems like an easy call. Michael Tampellini speculates at FanGraphs that Davis will get exactly $100 million over five years, and Tim Dierkes at MLB Trade Rumors thinks six years and $144 million is possible.

However, with true power being one of the game’s most coveted tools in an age of dominant pitching, do not be shocked if Davis tops those predictions.

All quotes, unless otherwise specified, have been acquired firsthand by Anthony Witrado. Follow Anthony on Twitter @awitrado and talk baseball here.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The Korean Baseball Organization has to be taken seriously.

The country’s premier baseball league’s last two significant imports have both produced at high major league levels, and now a third has the potential to be the best of the group.

On the heels of Hyun-jin Ryu and Jung-ho Kang, the KBO has posted its first potentially impactful power-hitting prospect in Byung-ho Park. The 29-year-old first baseman hit 53 home runs in the KBO last season, 52 the year before and was the league’s MVP in 2012 and 2013. He could recapture the award for the 2015 season.

During Major League Baseball’s general manager meetings last week, it was announced that the Minnesota Twins submitted the winning bid—$12.85 million—for the rights to negotiate a contract with Park. If the Twins cannot work out a deal with Park within 30 days from the time they won the bidding, which happened on Nov. 9, they will be refunded the bid and Park will return to Korea.

“Our evaluators think he can make the transition [to the majors],” Twins general manager Terry Ryan told John Shipley of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. “We’ve seen him play a lot and we think he can help lengthen our lineup and make it work out for everybody.” 

The KBO is known as a hitter-friendly league, but coming on the heels of Kang’s breakout 2015 with the Pittsburgh Pirates, who posted a $5 million bid to negotiate with him, there is a more legitimate belief that Park can step into the majors and have a meaningful impact right away.

Kang, a former teammate of Park in Korea, was not seen as the kind of player who might finish third in National League Rookie of the Year voting when he finished his first spring training with the Pirates. He batted .200 with 17 strikeouts in 45 at-bats after hitting .356/.459/.739 the season before in the KBO. But after making the team’s Opening Day roster and eventually becoming its starting shortstop, Kang finished the season with a .287/.355/.461 with an .816 OPS and 124 OPS+.

Knowing it is possible for dominant KBO hitters to have success in the majors, Park is being looked at as more than just a player who would succeed in the minors. According to two MLB officials with teams that pursued Park, the exit velocities off his bat were on par with some of the best hitters in the majors, Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports reported.

“The thought process from our scouts who have seen him extensively is that this guy has an outstanding chance to come over here and be a middle-of-the-order presence,” Twins manager Paul Molitor said on MLB Network last week. “We decided to pursue it mainly because it’s a big right-handed bat that we feel is going to play over here.”

Other successful KBO players have all been pitchers before Kang. Most recently it has been Los Angeles Dodgers left-hander Hyun-jin Ryu, who has given his club a 3.14 ERA and 2.97 FIP over his two seasons. He missed last year with a shoulder injury, but during his first two years with the Dodgers, Ryu’s FanGraphs WAR was on the same level as ace Zack Greinke.

Of course, hitters are different and come with a different set of judging criteria. As an example, Eric Thames, who managed to play only two major league seasons with the Toronto Blue Jays and Seattle Mariners, hit 47 homers in the KBO last season. Also, pitchers typically throw much slower in Korea. 

Park hit .343/.436/.714 with a 1.150 OPS last season, but he also struck out 161 times in 622 plate appearances. Those strikeouts are a result of a long swing, and it will most certainly have to be compacted if he is going to hit the kind of fastballs with which major league pitchers will definitely challenge him.

Attention Twins Fans: Park Byung-ho hit a solo home run tonight against Mexico to help Korea get the win pic.twitter.com/38tR3jclsk

— Dan (@MyKBO) November 14, 2015

But again, Kang’s success as a hitter this past season with Pittsburgh is seen as a positive thing for Park’s transition, assuming the Twins are able to sign him.

“He’s right in the prime of his career,” Ryan told Shipley. “He’s got of lot of baseball behind him in that Korean league, which is similar to the Japanese league. They have some decent players there that have had some success in the major leagues.”

Park is likely to find some of that in the American League, where he’d likely be a designated hitter. Those exit velocities do not lie, and there are plenty of current major leaguers who are All-Stars despite massive strikeout totals. 

Park has the talent to be the next player of that ilk, further solidifying the KBO as more than just a place to find pitchers.

All quotes, unless otherwise specified, have been acquired firsthand by Anthony Witrado. Follow Anthony on Twitter @awitrado and talk baseball here.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

In the span of eight days, Brandon Crawford became the most decorated San Francisco Giants shortstop in franchise history, and he also became its richest.

Already holding two World Series rings in his pocket, the 28-year-old Crawford added an unexpected Gold Glove award and an expected Silver Slugger trophy within the last week in the same season in which he made his first National League All-Star team.

The year got even better Tuesday when Crawford and the Giants, the team he wildly cheered for as a kid, agreed to a six-year, $75 million contract extension, per Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal, making him an organizational pillar well into his 30s. The deal buys out Crawford’s last two arbitration years and four free-agent seasons, making him a Giant through age 34 and a potential bargain for the Giants.

Giants general manager Bobby Evans had this to say, per MLB.com:

Brandon is an exceptionally talented baseball player who has earned this through his hard work, dedication and competitive spirit. He took great strides both offensively and defensively last season, winning his first-ever Gold Glove and Silver Slugger award. This is a great day for Brandon and his family, for the Giants and for our fans.

Crawford had been a defense-first shortstop through his first four seasons, compiling just a 91 OPS+, but he has been among the very best glovemen at his position. He ranks third among major league shortstops in defensive runs saved since 2011, according to Fangraphs, despite playing in just 66 games that season, his rookie year.

Had Crawford continued to be a defensive whiz, the Giants certainly could have lived with him at the position for the foreseeable future.

But in 2015, his bat caught up with his glove, as he set career bests in batting average (.256), runs (65), doubles (33), home runs (21), RBI (84), OPS (.782), OPS+ (114) and wRC+ (117). He also had the best Baseball-Reference WAR (5.6) and the best Fangraphs WAR (3.1) of his career.

It is this breakout season that pushed the Giants to lock up Crawford, realizing he has become a premier player at a premium position. The year also put him in elite Giants company, with Crawford becoming the first Giant since Barry Bonds in 1997 to win a Gold Glove and Silver Slugger in the same season.

Tentative breakdown on Brandon Crawford’s contract: $1.2M signing bonus, $5.8M next year, $8M in 2017, then $15M in subsequent 4 years.

— Andrew Baggarly (@extrabaggs) November 18, 2015

The deal could end up being a huge win for the Giants. Neither the Marcel nor the Steamer projection systems see Crawford duplicating his offensive prowess in 2016, but if he exceeds their expectations for the next few seasons and can remain a quality defensive player, he will be paid well below market value for a player of his sudden ilk.

To compare, Los Angeles Angels shortstop Andrelton Simmons is the superior defender at the position and, until last season, was a comparable offensive player to Crawford. The Atlanta Braves signed him to a seven-year, $58 million extension before the 2014 season, which at the time was the largest average annual value ever for a player with one-plus years of major league service time.

The Baltimore Orioles signed J.J. Hardy, who is not as good as Crawford defensively and was nowhere close to him offensively in 2015, to a three-year, $40 million deal before the 2015 season.

And the king of the shortstop paydays, Troy Tulowitzki, is not as good as Crawford defensively and had major Coors Field splits while with the Colorado Rockies. He signed a 10-year, $157.75 million contract in 2010.

This offseason, Ian Desmond, who struggled majorly on defense this past year (27 errors) but could be better with the bat going forward, could get north of $75 million as a 30-year-old.

ZiPS thinks the Crawford extension is fair, but I still think I rather have the 2 years of arbitration rather than the 6 year deal.

— Dan Szymborski (@DSzymborski) November 17, 2015

The deal could always end up as just a “meh” kind of deal for the Giants if Crawford were to revert back to the below-average offensive player he had been before 2015. Not to mention the team entered into extension talks when Crawford’s stock might never be higher.

Even if Crawford starts to regress in the next three seasons, it’s possible the Giants could still be getting him at a reasonable price if he is a league-average hitter and remains a strong defender. It’s the last three years, the age-32-34 seasons, for which the Giants might end up overpaying.

That is the part that makes the no-trade clause baffling. The $15 million a year he will be owed could end up burdensome, but a team like the Giants certainly can absorb that if Crawford ends up a below-average shortstop in the second half of the deal.

Crawford’s breakout season put him right in line for this extension, and the Giants, banking on his continued offensive production, were willing to negotiate with him from a position of minimal leverage. That is how much Crawford potentially means to the franchise, especially as it enters its lucky even-year season.

All quotes, unless otherwise specified, have been acquired firsthand by Anthony Witrado. Follow Anthony on Twitter @awitrado and talk baseball here.

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The Houston Astros stunned Major League Baseball when they drafted shortstop Carlos Correa with the first overall pick in 2012. 

With MLB’s slot bonus system and signability playing such a big part in who teams take in the first round, Correa was the first name called on that June night in Secaucus, New Jersey. Three-and-a-half years later, Correa, a 21-year-old Puerto Rican shortstop who idolized Derek Jeter but has the body and tools of Alex Rodriguez, has developed into the franchise’s cornerstone player.

That position was solidified with his first significant major league award, possibly the first of many individual trophies he will acquire in his blossoming career.

Correa won the American League Rookie of the Year Award on Monday, announced by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. Not only was he the best rookie in the league, but he was also arguably the best all-around shortstop in the majors, rookie or veteran.

“It’s hard to argue there’s a more deserving player given the impact Carlos had in every aspect of the game and also on our team,” Astros manager A.J. Hinch told reporters, per Jose de Jesus Ortiz of the Houston Chronicle. “To be able to hit third on a playoff-contending team and really showing zero signs of being a rookie, he’s earning every accolade.”

Congrats #Astros SS @TeamCJCorrea, the 2015 @officialBBWAA AL Rookie of the Year! #Represent #CorreaROY pic.twitter.com/6PFgIuMRPw

— Houston Astros (@astros) November 16, 2015

Correa, who received 17 first-place votes, hit .279/.345/.512 with an .857 OPS, 22 home runs and a 132 OPS+ in 432 plate appearances. Despite making his major league debut on Jun. 8, he led all American League rookies and major league shortstops in home runs and slugging percentage. Additionally, he led all shortstops in OPS, isolated power (.233), wOBA (.365) and wRC+ (133), according to Fangraphs.

He started batting third in the lineup on Jun. 29, his 21st game of his first season, and he stayed in that spot for the remainder of the year, including the playoffs, where he hit two more home runs in six games. He played most of the season as a 20-year-old, not turning 21 until Sep. 22.

#Astros Carlos Correa had 4.1 WAR in 2015. He is the youngest shortstop with at least 4.1 WAR in a season since John McGraw in 1893.

— Ace of MLB Stats (@theaceofspaeder) November 16, 2015

Correa’s defensive numbers did not stand out, but he showed the athleticism and arm to eventually develop into a good defender at a premium position. And while the advanced metrics do not love his glove yet, he made his share of highlight-worthy plays.

Correa’s raw power jumped out most in his first season, and it was evident immediately once he got to Houston. He hit his first home run in his second game and ended up with five in his first 22 games to earn the league’s Player of the Month honor for June.

His 18 home runs before his 21st birthday were the second-most for a shortstop before that age, five behind Alex Rodriguez. And no shortstop in the last century hit more home runs in his first 100 games.

“This guy has a chance to be what Alex Rodriguez was 15 years ago,” MLB Network analyst Dan Plesac said on the award show.

The only other Astro to win the Rookie of the Year Award, Jeff Bagwell, was just as impressed with Correa. That became particularly true after Correa started hitting third in the lineup, a spot typically designated for the team’s most dangerous bat.

“Correa did a tremendous job this year and had a lot of weight on his shoulders hitting third in the lineup for a team that reached the playoffs, so I’m very proud of him,” Bagwell told Ortiz. “I saw him in spring training. The ball just sounded different coming off his bat.”

Cleveland Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor was Correa’s chief competition in this vote—Lindor received 13 first-place votes—and could end up being his rival to the game’s shortstop throne.

That Correa won was actually something of a surprise given the numbers, much like Correa’s selection as the first pick of the 2012 draft.

#Indians Francisco Lindor 2015 – 99 games 4.6 WAR & 10.0 DRS #Astros Carlos Correa 2015 – 99 games 4.1 WAR & 0.0 DRS

— Ace of MLB Stats (@theaceofspaeder) November 16, 2015

Down the stretch, last 55 games played #Indians Francisco Lindor .365/.409/.578 #Astros Carlos Correa .264/.344/.495

— Ace of MLB Stats (@theaceofspaeder) November 16, 2015

The Astros themselves were a surprise team by not only contending a year after losing 92 games, but also by earning one of the AL Wild Card berths and advancing to the AL Division Series. And there were a number of standout players who helped them accomplish the feats, including Cy Young Award finalist Dallas Keuchel.

But Correa is the face of this franchise now. He has the flash, he has the power and he has the smile and personality to endear himself to Houston fans for the next five years at least.

And if his progression continues along the trajectory it is currently on, he could easily put himself atop the shortstop totem pole and the game’s overall rankings.

All stats acquired from Baseball-Reference.com, unless otherwise specified. 

All quotes, unless otherwise specified, have been acquired firsthand by Anthony Witrado. Follow Anthony on Twitter @awitrado and talk baseball here.

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