Kuzul

With Spring Training in full swing and only three weeks until the season begins, this offseason can now be put to rest, and what an offseason it was.

Some moves were expected, such as Derek Jeter staying with the Yankees. Others seem to come out of nowhere, such as Cliff Lee signing with the Phillies. A few even left us scratching our heads, such as Jayson Werth signing with the Washington Nationals.

Perhaps a good thing about offseason signings is that no team is perfect, and no team does anything nonredeemable. Here are the best and worst moves done by each team this past offseason.

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Major League Baseball is known for one thing on the finance front, and that is the lack of a salary cap. As the result of this, there are many contracts given out that are just flat-out ridiculous. For example, if I made as much in a year as Alex Rodriguez made in a game, I would be set for life.

Due to the lack of a salary cap, many players are greatly overpaid for their efforts. Before you say anything about Yankee bias, every team is guilty of overpaying at least one player on their roster, including the small-market teams.

Who are the most overpaid players in baseball, period? That’s a question for debate. Who are the most overpaid players on each of the 30 MLB teams? That’s a question that will be answered right now.

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The St. Louis Cardinals looked like they had everything ready for one final good run in 2011, before Albert Pujols hits the free agent market. Unfortunately, they have now received possibly the worst news they could hear outside of Pujols signing elsewhere.

Adam Wainwright, ace pitcher for the Cardinals, is being sent back to St. Louis to have tests done on his elbow, and Tommy John surgery is likely. If this is the case, then he’s done for the 2011 season.

Besides dashing playoff hopes for the season (the Reds and Brewers make this a very tough division), this could throw a wrench in the works on the Albert Pujols contract situation. How will this injury affect Pujols’ re-signing with the Cardinals?

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After a 2010 free agent market that, aside from Cliff Lee, really was not all that impressive, the 2011 free agent market is starting to look incredible.

Albert Pujols talks with the St. Louis Cardinals are not going well, and the odds of him signing a contract before the noon deadline tomorrow is virtually nil. It has become known as well that CC Sabathia has an opt out clause in his contract, and can become a free agent after this season and look for more money elsewhere.

Having the best hitter of this era and one of the best pitchers of this era in the same free agent market will undoubtedly cause fireworks should it actually happen. Then again, both players could easily re-sign with their own teams and knock down this upcoming free agent class’s quality.

Which one of these two superstars is actually more likely to leave?

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Anyone who has been watching MLB trade rumors in the past month knows about the Michael Young situation.

After the signing of Adrian Beltre and being moved to primarily a DH role, Young has since requested a trade. Now, half the teams in the league have been linked to Young.

Hidden beneath all the trade possibilities is the question of whether or not the Rangers should actually let him go. After all, Young is a big part of their deep lineup, and he’s been with the team forever.

Should the Rangers actually trade Michael Young and give him what he wants, or hold down the fort and see if he changes his tune?

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Albert Pujols is the face of the St. Louis Cardinals and the superstar of his era. In fact, he’s likely up there with Ozzie Smith and others who are considered Cardinals legends.  As a result, when he asked for a Spring Training deadline to negotiate a contract extension, I figured they would be able to get it done.

Instead, with less than two weeks to go until that deadline is up, negotiations are not going well. The talks are being held in private, so this could very well be smoke and mirrors, but if he does end up becoming a free agent, there is a very real possibility that he will be gone when the 2012 season begins.

I would love to see Albert Pujols finish his career in St. Louis and stick with one team for his entire career.  Having said that, here are 10 reasons why he will not finish his career with the Cardinals.

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Derek Jeter is the shortstop for the New York Yankees. That’s how it’s always been, and we figured that’s how it always would be. However, come 2011, this may no longer be the case, as there are talks about moving Derek Jeter to center field.

Now, anyone who followed the complaints about Derek Jeter winning a gold glove in 2010, can’t feel too bad about this move. After all, he’s never been that good as a shortstop in terms of fielding. Still, he’s never played center field before, so who knows if it will be implemented.

As shocking as this may seem that a legend is moving to a new position, this happens all the time in baseball. Most legends went on to play a new position part-way through or near the end of their careers. Here are 15 legends of the game that made the move from the position they were known for to a new frontier.

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Major League Baseball has all sorts of different players. You have the speedster outfielders who usually lead off the lineup, the power hitting middle-of-the-order guys who usually stick to first base because they can’t field, the power and finesse pitchers and once in a while, the five-tool player.

Aside from these, most teams also have one or a handful of scrappy players. As for what a scrappy player is, the accepted definition is one who makes the most of limited talent. There’s no way to quantify scrappiness, it’s merely a situation of knowing it when you see it.

Because it can’t be quantified, many consider the variable of scrappiness to be entirely useless. Nonetheless, gaining this label has helped many have nice careers over baseball’s history. Here are the top 15 current scrappiest players in baseball.

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The MLB free agency season is winding down, with pitchers and catchers reporting to camp only a few weeks from now. Even so, many deals are still being made by teams looking for that extra edge when the season begins.

With spring training just over a month away, many teams are wrapping up their rosters. What final moves are they making? What players have been signed so that their teams avoid arbitration? Also, what is going on behind the scenes in the Yankees clubhouse after the Rafael Soriano signing?

All of the above will be looked at as the MLB hot stove news is reported.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Major League Baseball, despite being firmly in the middle of its offseason, continues to have a lot of buzz. Most of it is due to arbitration coming up, as players who are eligible continue to gradually sign with their teams.

There are still 26 players eligible for arbitration. Which of these players seem close to signing deals, and how many who were eligible have now signed? On the free agent market, the Rays have acquired two big names, perhaps leaving Vladimir Guerrero as the biggest non-signee. Where will he end up?

For that matter, where will Armando Galarraga end up? Read on to find out.

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