Kuzul

On February 19, the Chicago White Sox will officially begin preparations for the 2015 campaign with the start of spring training. It marks the beginning of what the fanbase hopes will be a season that ends with an American League Central title.

Unlike seasons past, however, there is legitimate optimism surrounding the White Sox. General manager Rick Hahn made an extraordinary amount of progress this offseason, acquiring multiple players to fill just about every hole on the roster.

To be sure, the work isn’t complete. There are still evaluations to be made by manager Robin Ventura and the rest of the coaching staff, but the outlook is decidedly more upbeat than it was one year ago.

So let’s dig into a complete spring training preview for the White Sox, looking at individual battles, players to watch and the projected composition of the lineup, starting rotation and bullpen.

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With seven new high-profile additions, the Chicago White Sox will lift the lid on the 2015 season with a 25-man roster that is dramatically different than the one that opened last year’s campaign.

Because of the stark differences between the two rosters, expectations on the South Side are quite lofty. That leads to a natural question: Which players are the most important for success this season?

Well, that question can be answered in any number of ways, but we’ve identified five guys—two pitchers and one starter from each third of the lineup—who can sway the outcome on a nightly basis.

Keep in mind that there is no scientific formula used in determining the composition of this list. Just about every projected member of the Opening Day roster warrants inclusion on some level.

This is merely our take on the guys who will determine whether or not the 2015 White Sox make the playoffs or find themselves on the outside looking in for the seventh consecutive season.

Here are the five players whose performances are most important to success this season for manager Robin Ventura’s crew.

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With 2015 finally upon us, MLB general managers are in the stretch run of preparations prior to the beginning of spring training. As such, there is an ample amount of buzz and speculation regarding each franchise.

That makes this a fine time to play a round of Fact or Fiction with the latest news.

To be sure, we can’t cover every rumor that’s floating around. Rather, we will focus on a few select pieces of information that have circulated over the past several days. That way, we can stay as current as possible.

After all, MLB storylines change in an instant. It is the nature of the beast.

Here is a look at three buzzworthy stories and our take on whether they will come to fruition or become an afterthought in what is a raucous offseason.   

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General managers around MLB have reached the point where the available free agents are largely unimpressive, forcing them to focus on trades as a means to improve their rosters.

Sure, Max Scherzer and James Shields are still on the open market, but other than them, Nori Aoki is largely all that’s left in the way of impact players. Nothing against either of them, of course, but the fact of the matter is that swinging a trade is an attractive alternative for many clubs.

Here are three MLB scenarios based on actual need and published rumors from the last week. 

The following proposals are nothing more than speculation. The point here is to build a trade based on someone else’s written or spoken word.

They are balanced deals that are fair for each team, taking into consideration each franchise’s strengths and weaknesses. They are also independent of one another. Each trade presented is a singular move and does not take into account any of the other proposals put forward.

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Per usual, this MLB offseason is filled with interesting moves. Unlike seasons past, however, the amount of activity since the end of the World Series leaves much to dissect when analyzing the surprises and disappointments.

To be clear, we will stay away from individual contracts or trades. Instead, we will focus on things at the franchise level.

Which general managers, for example, have been surprisingly active even though their clubs finished well out of the playoffs? Conversely, which executives have been disappointingly quiet this offseason after reaching the MLB postseason in 2014?

Sure, every club could be included in one of those two sets. Frankly, some teams make sense in both. As a result, we will avoid honorable mentions and keep things pointed.

Here are two disappointments and three surprises two months into the frenzy of activity this offseason.

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The buzz around MLB this time of year is intense. While it is a blast keeping up with the latest rumors surrounding your favorite team, much of the speculation ends up being nothing more than hearsay.

Let’s play a round of Fact or Fiction with the latest news.

To be sure, we can’t cover every rumor that’s floating around. Rather, we will focus on a few select pieces of information that have circulated over the past several days. That way, we can stay as current as possible.

After all, MLB storylines change in an instant. It is the nature of the beast.

Here is a look at three buzzworthy stories and our take on whether they will come to fruition or become an afterthought in what is a raucous offseason.   

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With most of the quality free agents already inked to fresh money, general managers around MLB are formulating trade ideas that will help improve the product on the field.

And while it would be fantastic to have a lens into the mind of the executives in charge of such decisions, all we have are the rumors and speculation floating around various media outlets. It’s time to see what the old MLB trade machine can conjure up.

Here are two MLB trade scenarios based on actual need and published rumors from the last week. 

The following proposals are nothing more than speculation. The point here is to build a trade based on someone else’s written or spoken word.

They are balanced deals that are fair for each team, taking into consideration each franchise’s strengths and weaknesses. They are also independent of one another. Each trade presented is a singular move and does not take into account any of the other proposals put forward.

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A lot of talented MLB trade targets are still available after the winter meetings in San Diego came to a close Thursday afternoon.

True, the annual summit filled Twitter feeds across the country with arguably more news than any one person could conceivably digest in four days. For a rundown of the winners and losers of the four-day melee, see this post by Bleacher Report’s Jason Catania.

That said, we are here to look at the top 15 trade targets left after the dust settled.

To be clear, only players who had active rumors tied to them during the winter meetings will be included. That way, names aren’t randomly selected off MLB rosters.

Each player will be ranked based on bWAR (Baseball-Reference’s version of wins above replacement). This gives the list some structure, as several of the players are within decimal points of each other, and we are not about to debate the inherent value of a catcher against that of a left-handed reliever.

Beginning with two players who did not make the list, here are the top 15 targets potentially available via trade following the MLB winter meetings.

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With the MLB winter meetings starting recently, the number of rumors around the game has skyrocketed. It is all quite consuming, actually.

From the trade of Brandon Moss from the Oakland A’s to the Cleveland Indians (first reported by Yahoo Sports’ Jeff Passan) to the rumors regarding Jeff Samardzija (we’ll get to that in a second), the baseball world is flush with speculation.

Here are three MLB trade scenarios based on actual need and published rumors from the last week. 

The following proposals are nothing more than speculation. The point here is to build a trade based on someone else’s written or spoken word.

They are balanced deals that are fair for each team, taking into consideration each franchise’s strengths and weaknesses. They are also independent of one another. Each trade presented is a singular move and does not take into account any of the other proposals put forward.

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With the winter meetings beginning Sunday in San Diego, the trade talk around MLB is going to reach a fever pitch soon enough (not that there aren’t a bevy of rumors currently making their way around Twitter).

To that end, here are three MLB trade scenarios based on actual need and published rumors from the last week. 

As a standard note, the following proposals are nothing more than speculation. The point here is to build a trade based on someone else’s written or spoken word.

They are balanced deals that are fair for each team, taking into consideration each franchise’s strengths and weaknesses. They are also independent of one another. Each trade presented is a singular move and does not take into account any of the other proposals put forward.

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