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As we approach the end of December, there is still work to be done in what has been one of the most eventful MLB offseasons in recent memory.

After a busy month of November, we saw a whirlwind four days in San Diego for the winter meetings, and the big moves have kept coming in the days since as 2014 draws to a close.

At this time last offseason, Shin-Soo Choo, Nelson Cruz, Ervin Santana, Matt Garza, Ubaldo Jimenez, A.J. Burnett and Fernando Rodney were the top names still looking for a new home in free agency.

This time around, the position player market is essentially barren, led by the likes of Colby Rasmus, Asdrubal Cabrera and Nori Aoki.

The pitching market still has some star power, though, with Max Scherzer and James Shields headlining a group that also includes Aaron Harang, Chris Young, Ryan Vogelsong, Francisco Rodriguez and others.

Cole Hamels is the big chip still being dangled on the trade market, while teams also continue to inquire about a trio of Colorado Rockies hitters in Troy Tulowitzki, Carlos Gonzalez and Justin Morneau. More realistic names to be moved include Welington Castillo, Seth Smith and Dillon Gee.

With all of that said, let’s take a look at the top remaining free-agent and trade options at each position.

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From the San Francisco Giants to the Washington Nationals, some of the best teams of 2014 have endured underwhelming offseasons.

The Giants missed out on two of the top free agents of the winter, while the Nationals haven’t done much of anything at all. With nearly all the big-money free agents and prominent trade targets already accounted for, it’s time to start wondering if the offseason’s most inactive contenders should be worrying. 

The Giants and the Nationals crack the list, and there’s also room for one contender who just made a splash on the international free-agent market. 

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While the last-minute holiday hordes descend on department stores across America, MLB teams still have time to finish their offseason shopping lists.

But the options are dwindling—fast.

As Christmas approaches, with New Year’s nipping at its heels, the number of players left on the shelf keeps shrinking.

That means clubs with glaring holes will have to sharpen their focus, and the few unsigned impact names will have to take realistic stock of their options.

Let’s examine five available free agents—we’ll leave out trade targets for the purposes of this discussion—who will add significant value wherever and whenever they sign…even if it’s after the holiday rush.

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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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The New York Yankees need Yoan Moncada, the next Cuban sensation readying to make his way to Major League Baseball. And they need him for oh-so-many reasons.

Moncada, in case you haven’t been paying attention, defected from his native Cuba and established residency in Guatemala, where he held a showcase workout for teams in mid-November. He already has been declared a free agent by MLB, but before open season on signing Moncada starts, teams still are awaiting word that he has been cleared by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the United States Department of the Treasury.

The quick must-knows about Moncada that make him such a phenom are as follows: He is a 6’0″, 210-pound, switch-hitting infielder with average or better tools across the board—all at the age of 19.

As a teenager, Moncada hit .273/.365/.406 for Cienfuegos in Cuba’s Serie Nacional from 2013-14.

Just about every team, of course, is interested in this sort of player, especially given the recent success other former Cuban stars have had in America.

But when it actually becomes time to sign Moncada, the Yankees should be at the top of the list.

Already this offseason, the Yankees have traded for new shortstop Didi Gregorius and right-hander Nathan Eovaldi, and they have signed free-agent third baseman Chase Headley and reliever Andrew Miller for a combined $88 million—a steep but reasonable amount by MLB and Yankees’ standards these days.

General manager Brian Cashman has indicated the club apparently will not be shelling out major money to land one of the two remaining premier high-priced free agents, righties Max Scherzer and James Shields, according to Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News.

Perhaps they’re keeping a little stashed away for Moncada? And why not?

The Yankees’ minor league system has been middle-of-the-pack to mediocre the past few years, and the club’s ranking has dropped three straight seasons, according to Baseball America:

A number of Yankees prospects have been stunted by injuries (Manny Banuelos, Ty Hensley, Jose Campos) or a failure to develop (Tyler Austin, Eric Jagielo, Angelo Gumbs). And that’s to say nothing of those top picks who were questionable selections even at the time they were drafted, like Cito Culver and Andrew Brackman, New York’s first takes in 2010 and 2007, respectively.

While a number of pitchers actually have graduated to the majors recently, including 2014 breakout reliever Dellin Betances, David Phelps, Adam Warren and Shane Greene, as well as David Robertson and Joba Chamberlain before them, there has been next to nothing out of the position players.

This is oft-cited but very much still disturbingly true: The last position player drafted and developed by the Yankees who has turned into a productive big leaguer for them is outfielder Brett Gardner, now 31, who was a third-rounder all the way back in 2005—or a decade ago now, if you’re counting along at home.

That is just staggering.

Heck, even the top-of-the-line, can’t-miss hitting prospects New York has traded away haven’t been any good for their new teams, either. Just ask the Seattle Mariners how they feel about Jesus Montero.

And the likes of Mason Williams, Slade Heathcott and Dante Bichette Jr., all considered to possess impressive potential not long ago, have shifted gears to reverse and put the pedal to the floor, devolving from highly regarded prospects into complete suspects.

Also especially troubling? Not a single, solitary amateur picked by the Yankees in the past four drafts has made it to the majors yet.

Because of all that, combined with an aging, increasingly injury-prone and expensive roster—Alex Rodriguez, CC Sabathia and Mark Teixiera, among others, say hello—the Yankees have a dire need for young position players who represent potential franchise building blocks.

To wit, the average age of the Yankees’ position players in 2014 was 32.6, nearly two full years more ancient than any other club in baseball. And several key members of the roster, from Teixeira and Carlos Beltran to Sabathia, Masahiro Tanaka, Ivan Nova and Michael Pineda, missed significant time to disabled-list stints.

Sure, there’s finally some hope in the minors, thanks to slugging outfielder Aaron Judge, offensive-minded catcher Gary Sanchez and Greg Bird, a first baseman with a knack for getting on base.

But there has to be more. That is why the Yankees must go all-out to land Moncada for all of the above—his youth, his wide-ranging skill set, his steep ceiling, his marketability—once he’s declared an amateur international free agent.

“We scout Cuban players extensively,” Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said via Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com, who writes that Moncada is the “most celebrated young prospect to leave Cuba since Jorge Soler, who signed with the Cubs in 2012.”

In the past handful of years, a number of prominent Cuban stars have come to MLB and had an immediate impact, including Soler, Aroldis Chapman, Yoenis Cespedes, Yasiel Puig and Jose Abreu, who ran away with the AL Rookie of the Year Award in 2014.

“In most cases, a lot of those teams have benefited from doing their transactions,” as Cashman points out, per Sanchez, “but we’d like to scout a player, but also get a chance to know the player before we make recommendations at those financial levels. It’s harder when you don’t have access to get background and stuff like that.”

As for Moncada, here’s a take from Christopher Crawford of ESPN Insider (subscription required):

In terms of pure talent, he’s as good as any Cuban prospect there is…Moncada has big-time bat speed from both sides of the plate, with the tools to hit for both average and power. Add in plus speed and the fact he already has a track record of performing well in tournaments against upper-level competition, and you have a potential superstar, though expecting him to contribute at the big league level before 2016 is probably asking too much of the 19-year-old.

For all that hype and hope, Moncada could command a contract upward of $30 million to $40 million, as Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports speculated, an amount that would obliterate what teams are supposed to pay for international amateurs.

In that regard, Moncada is somewhat restricted by MLB’s rules, which state that any international free agent who is younger than 23 and doesn’t have five years in another pro league must count against an MLB team’s allotted international signing bonus pool.

But the Yankees already have blown past that mark for the 2014-15 signing period, so they’re facing the penalty and coinciding overage charges for the 2015-16 period, which begins next July 2.

In fact, that’s yet another reason the Yankees should go hard for Moncada: Since they’re already going to be taxed on their spending this time and won’t be able to give out a contract north of $300,000 to an amateur international free agent for the 2015-16 signing period anyway, they might as well go all-in right now.

As Ben Badler of Baseball America writes:

The top players at every position on [the Yankees’] depth chart are at least 30. The farm system takes more heat than it should because it’s New York, but the Yankees have struggled to produce good young talent in the big leagues, and there isn’t a star position prospect who’s close to helping in the majors. The Yankees have the money to beat anyone’s offer. They’re willing to invest in international talent, whether it’s unprecedented spending on Latin American amateurs or $175 million for Masahiro Tanaka. When you line up all the evidence, if the Yankees truly want Moncada, they’re going to be tough to beat.

That assumes, of course, OFAC unblocks Moncada and MLB declares him a free agent before the next signing period begins—otherwise the Yankees are out of luck.

With no more Core Four, and no Derek Jeter or Mariano Rivera around, the Yankees need a new face of the franchise.

If they get Moncada, and he pans out and plays to his potential, he could be just that.

The Yankees need Moncada. For oh-so-many reasons.

Statistics are accurate through the 2014 season and courtesy of MLB.com, Baseball-Reference and FanGraphs unless otherwise noted.

To talk baseball or fantasy baseball, check in with me on Twitter: @JayCat11.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

On Monday we learned the Pittsburgh Pirates have won negotiating rights to Korean shortstop Jung-Ho Kang, tweets Jon Heyman of CBS Sports.

Kang’s Korea Baseball Organization team, the Nexen Heroes, accepted Pittsburgh’s high bid of slightly more than $5 million, per Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and the two sides now will have 30 days to negotiate a deal.

According to Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News, Kang is said to be seeking a contract in the three-year, $24 million range.

A lot has been made of Kang this offseason, as the 27-year-old was long expected to pursue a career in Major League Baseball following a career-best season in the KBO. Should he reach the major leagues, he’ll become the first player to make the jump directly from the KBO. On top of that, Kang is set to arrive at a time when there’s a scarcity of impact hitters, let alone shortstops, on the open market.

But is Kang the next great international player, or should expectations be tempered?

Kang posted huge numbers in 2014, his final KBO campaign, hitting .356/.459/.739 with 40 home runs, 36 doubles and 117 RBI in 117 games. While it was easily the best season in his career, it wasn’t as though Kang came out of nowhere.

Originally a second-round selection in the 2006 KBO draft, Kang debuted as a 19-year-old but didn’t emerge as an everyday player until 2008.

The 2012 season was when everything seemed to click for Kang, as he raked at a .314 clip over 124 games while contributing 25 home runs and 32 doubles. Kang also demonstrated vastly improved plate discipline by accruing nearly as many walks (71) as strikeouts (78), and, just for good measure, he added a career-high 21 stolen bases.

Kang failed to build off his success the following year, but he still hit .291 in 126 games and showed a promising combination of power and speed with 22 home runs, 21 doubles and 15 stolen bases.

And then, of course, came his monster 2014 season.

However, whether Kang’s robust power and production will translate in the majors next season, provided he works out a deal with the Pirates in the next month, remains up in the air.

Those who have scouted Kang generally seem to agree that the right-handed batter’s power will play in The Show.

From ESPN’s Keith Law (subscription required):

…I see a swing that will generate legit plus power even once he leaves his hitter-friendly home park in the Yangcheon District of Seoul. Kang has a huge leg kick and gets his lead foot down late, which could create timing issues, but the swing is rotational, and I don’t think the power surge he has had the past three years is strictly a function of the rising level of offense in the KBO.

Building off Law’s comments, Kang, at 6’0”, 210 pounds, uses an upright setup at the plate that allows him to employ an elongated and distinct load and leg kick, which is relatively common among power hitters from Asian leagues.

More specifically, Kang tries to hold his weight on his backside for as long as possible, which in turn forces him to rush his front-foot timing and prevents him from achieving a favorable point of contact. However, he does appear to maintain good balance throughout his swing and doesn‘t land as violently on his front side as you’d expect.

On top of that, Kang possesses above-average bat speed as well as raw power to all fields, so he should still run into his share of pitches even if he fails to hit for average. In a recent article, Jeff Sullivan of FOX Sports (among other places) offered a similar take about Kang’s power in the major leagues:

On the one hand, we can’t expect Kang‘s power to totally translate to the majors. On the other hand, it’s a legitimate skill of his. Kang appears capable of hitting big-league home runs, with a big swing load and power to the pull side and up the middle. Here are a bunch of video highlights, and while Kang hits some wall-scrapers, he’s also responsible for his share of no-doubters, and he can hit a big-league baseball 400 feet.

Still, I wouldn’t be surprised if Kang were to struggle against good velocity in the big leagues; his timing mechanism could make him susceptible to fastballs on the inner half, resulting in a significant amount of swing and miss and weak contact.

On the other side of the ball, Kang, based on video, appears to move well enough at shortstop, showing good athleticism with average range in all directions, and he also plays the position with a sense of creativity that aids him in making difficult plays. Kang’s arm strength is probably a better fit at second base than shortstop, though his smooth transfer and arm stroke allow him to get rid of the ball quickly.

Not everyone views Kang as a big league shortstop, though.

From Ben Badler of Baseball America (subscription required):

While Kang is a solid offensive player, the consensus in the international scouting community is that he won’t be an everyday payer. He doesn’t have the range to play shortstop in the majors, and scouts also expressed concerns about his ability to make the routine plays. Kang doesn’t have a plus tool, but there’s enough potential at the plate for him to be an offensive-oriented utility player who starts his U.S. career in the majors.

Sullivan believes Pittsburgh’s winning bid for Kang reflects the 27-year-old’s perception across the industry, writing that: “If teams believed he were a starter, the bid would’ve been at least triple this.”

He also acknowledges that some teams simply avoid the “blind risk” involved with international hitters, using Ichiro Suzuki’s first contract with Seattle for three years and $14 million as an example.

All of this is just speculation, obviously. The only real way to gauge Kang’s potential in the big leagues is to have him compete against big leaguers. Unfortunately, that won’t happen until spring training, and that’s only if he and the Pirates work out a deal.

But the fact that clubs bid on Kang in the first place is significant in and of itself, as it’s at least partial confirmation that he’s perceived to have potential in the major leagues.

For the Pirates, finding out what that potential might translate to is a risk worth taking.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The Boston Red Sox are one of baseball’s most active teams this offseason.  In the last eight weeks, they added high-priced All-Stars to bolster their lineup and made several moves to strengthen their depleted starting rotation.  Boston also re-signed arms for its bullpen and recently completed a trade for a new backup catcher.

But of everything the Red Sox have done so far, which deal brought them the most bang for their buck in return?  Which transaction qualifies as the biggest steal to this point?

The answer is the acquisition of Rick Porcello.

The Red Sox traded Yoenis Cespedes, Alex Wilson and Gabe Speier to the Detroit Tigers for Porcello.  Wilson and Speier are a pair of young pitching prospects that Boston was not concerned about letting go of.  In his analysis of their value in the trade, Ian Cundall of SoxProspects.com wrote:

[Wilson] doesn’t have back of the bullpen potential, but could comfortably slot into a sixth inning or maybe even seventh inning role on some nights, especially against right-handed dominant lineups. The Red Sox, however, have a surplus of potential relievers who have a similar profile in the high minors, thus in dealing him they move from a position of strength. … 

Speier is a long way from the majors and already has Tommy John surgery on his resume, making him a lottery ticket at this point. … Speier doesn’t have much physical projection, but could develop an average three-pitch mix with some upside potential. 

The meat of the deal was clearly Porcello for Cespedes.

Both players are in line to become free agents after the 2015 season.  The Red Sox can extend a qualifying offer to Porcello that would result in a compensatory draft pick should he decline it.  As noted by WEEI.com’s Alex Speier, Cespedes‘ contract does not include that provision, which was likely the impetus for the inclusion of the two minor leaguers in the trade.

Cespedes was an All-Star in 2014 who hit 22 home runs along with 100 RBI.  But he also batted .260 with an on-base percentage of just .301.  After adding free-agent Hanley Ramirez earlier this offseason, the Red Sox have a new slugger who can play left field and replace Cespedes‘ bat in the lineup.  Boston also owns more than enough outfield depth in Rusney Castillo, Mookie Betts, Shane Victorino, Allen Craig, Jackie Bradley Jr. and Daniel Nava.

In late October, a New York Daily News report from Bill Madden stated that Cespedes and the Red Sox were unlikely to agree on a new contract after Cespedes fired his previous agent and hired Jay-Z’s Roc Nation:

Roc Nation, which — like it did with Robinson Cano — is expected to seek a much larger, long-term contract and make a big splash about it. Two other reasons the Red Sox are open to dealing Cespedes are his open disenchantment with Boston and his refusal to pay any heed to their coaches. “He marches to his own drum and the coaches all hate him,” said a Red Sox insider.

Clearly, Boston was happy to move Cespedes.  Receiving Porcello in return has the potential to provide enormous dividends for the Red Sox in 2015.

In a rotation that currently includes Clay Buchholz, Wade Miley, Justin Masterson and Joe Kelly, Porcello is the one who appears most likely to grab the reigns as the No. 1 starter.  Even though he has six full seasons as a major leaguer under his belt, Porcello is still just 26 years old.  In 2014, he threw a career-high 204.2 innings with a career-low ERA of 3.43.  Porcello also led the American League in shutouts last year with three.

Over his first five seasons, Porcello posted a combined 4.51 ERA.  Via Brian MacPherson of The Providence Journal, Red Sox manager John Farrell credits Porcello‘s improved curveball for his better 2014 numbers.

“Particularly this past year, where he’s starting to use his curveball a little bit more, it spread the strike zone top and bottom a little bit more consistently where his sinker becomes that much more effective,” said Farrell.

Speier suggests Porcello was actually that good all along:

However, his breakthrough may have had as much to do with the defense behind him as with his own work on the mound. A pitch-to-contact sinkerballer, Porcello had suffered for years as a result of a Tigers infield that had myriad defensive deficiencies. The team upgraded in 2014, with Nick Castellanos taking over at third for Miguel Cabrera, Cabrera moving to first and Gold Glove candidate Ian Kinsler joining the club as a second baseman. The result was a year in which Porcello‘s actual ERA reflected the kind of contact that he elicits, as well as the frequency of his strike-throwing (he averages 5.5 strikeouts and just 2.2 walks per nine innings in his career).

If Porcello can repeat his 2014 success in 2015, the trade should be a huge win for the Red Sox.

Last summer, they dealt impending free-agent ace Jon Lester for Cespedes.  In essence, Boston gave up two months of Lester on a last-place team this year for a full season of Porcello next year—when the outlook is suddenly much brighter.

It’s hard not to view that as a steal.

Statistics via Baseball-Reference.com.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

With some time having gone by and the New Year almost upon us, it has been a strange offseason thus far for the New York Yankees.

They have not been quiet, signing free-agent reliever Andrew Miller and re-signing third baseman Chase Headley. They also traded for shortstop Didi Gregorius and starter Nathan Eovaldi in an attempt to get younger. They let both David Robertson and Brandon McCarthy walk, choosing to not even offer them contracts.

In surprising Yankees fashion, the team has yet to make a big splash, passing on all of the market’s big names up to this point. That includes coveted starter Max Scherzer, who remains a free agent. In the end, the Yankees’ biggest regret may be passing on him when they could have added an ace to their staff.

The Yankees have been linked to Scherzer throughout the offseason, but nothing has yet to materialize. From the sound of things, nothing probably will. Without mentioning Scherzer by name, team president Randy Levine explained that The Bronx Bombers were unwilling to make any expensive additions.

“The chances of us bringing in a guy for six (years) and $25 million or over in my opinion is virtually none,” Levine said at a presser to announce a broadcast deal between the YES Network and the New York Football Club. “At the end of the day you have to be realistic in any organization.”

Scherzer is looking for a guaranteed $200 million after turning down a $144 million extension from the Detroit Tigers last spring training. The righty has gone 39-8 the last two seasons, putting up a 3.02 ERA and 492 strikeouts over 434.2 innings in that span.

The guy is a gamer and would give the Yankees rotation a much needed boost. He would also be the third pitcher in that rotation making at least $20 million in 2015, assuming he sticks close to his current asking price. Masahiro Tanaka and CC Sabathia are slated to make $22 million and $23 million, respectively.

Even with “Mad “Max’s” astronomical asking price, the Yankees could end up remorseful if they do in fact pass on Scherzer. 

The Yankees rotation will have plenty of question marks in 2015, with Tanaka, Sabathia, Michael Pineda and Ivan Nova all injury risks. Eovaldi, whom the Yankees had to give up Martin Prado and David Phelps for, is electric but erratic as well. He struggled mightily in 2014. Then there is Chris Capuano, who the Yankees also re-signed, but he should be nothing more than a spot starter if and when others are healthy.

The Yankees used 13 starting pitchers in 2014, with only Hiroki Kuroda making more than 20 starts. He had 32 and and likely will not be back next year. With McCarthy and Shane Greene gone (he was traded for Gregorius), the Yankees are quite low on reliable, durable pitchers.

Scherzer is both of those things—and dominant too.

It is hard to imagine money being a limiting factor for the Yankees, but right now that seems to be the case. It does not look like this is a negotiation tactic or a ploy either—New York seems serious about not spending big.

In the end, they could regret it.

All stats were obtained via Baseball-Reference.com.

Question or comments? Feel free to follow me on Twitter @GPhillips2727 to talk New York Yankees and Major League Baseball.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Major League Baseball is a month-and-a-half into the offseason and already oh-so-many moves have been made. But there’s no shortage of rumors and speculation—and questions—around a number of free agents and trade candidates, as well as teams’ objectives and plans of attack.

Some of the latest buzz centers on the surprisingly aggressive San Diego Padres, the bidding for star Korean shortstop Jung-Ho Kang and why there doesn’t seem to be much chatter around free agent James Shields.

Having covered a number of topics last time, what better way to continue taking the temperature of the hot stove than by running through a batch of the hottest questions to cover the latest potential transaction action across the sport?

See, that’s a question in and of itself, although the four to follow are a bit more meaningful. Promise.

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The holiday season is here and the Mets are still in the midst of the current offseason. Not too many moves really need to be made at this point generally speaking, but that does not mean that any trade or free-agent possibilities should be ruled out by any means.

There is still a lot of time in the offseason to make some moves if general manger Sandy Alderson chooses to do so. Time will tell whether anything ends up occurring.

Here are three available players still within the Mets’ reach.

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