The good news for MLB‘s most inactive contenders—like the Kansas City Royals and Los Angeles Dodgers—is that it’s not even Christmas yet, which means there’s still plenty of time to shop.
The bad news for those clubs is that the offseason hasn’t gone to script—at least not yet.
As the baseball world prepares to shut down for the holiday season, this is the perfect time to survey the league and figure out which contenders can afford to be patient and which ones should be hitting the panic button.
The squads that fall on the “patient” side of the equation have prominent needs that can be readily filled either via free agency or the trade market. But the teams that land in the “panic” camp have some major weaknesses and happen to be playing in fiercely competitive divisions.