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International free agents are receiving serious interest in the aftermath of Major League Baseball’s winter meetings, with teams looking for relatively cheap and creative options to plug holes on their rosters.

Cuban infielder Yoan Moncada, 19, is expected to be the most coveted international player this offseason, though that could change depending on when he’s officially cleared to sign. Meanwhile, power-hitting shortstop Jung-Ho Kang was posted Monday by the Nexen Heroes of the Korea Baseball Organization, and he could potentially be a fit for a variety of teams.

However, those are just a few international players drawing interest from major league teams.

Here’s an updated look at projected landing spots for five international players currently pursuing a major league contract, including Japanese right-hander Kenta Maeda, who’s yet to be posted but worth discussing given his potential impact on the open market.

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Major League Baseball’s 2014-15 offseason is only a month-and-a-half over, and big-name free-agent right-handers Max Scherzer and James Shields still remain unsigned. But what the hey? Let’s take a leap ahead and look at next offseason right now, based on what this one has taught us so far.

Next Year’s Russell Martin

Matt Wieters is the only big-time starting catcher set to hit the open market a year from now, which means the Baltimore Orioles star will be in almost the exact same position that Russell Martin was this time around.

Martin, of course, landed a five-year, $82 million pact from the Toronto Blue Jays, a deal that exceeded just about everyone’s expectations by at least a year and upward of $15-20 million.

Then again, that tends to happen when the demand is high and the supply is, well, one.

Fellow free-agents-to-be Dioner Navarro, Chris Iannetta, Alex Avila and John Jaso represent a better batch of second-tier options than what is available this year (read: Nick Hundley, Geovany Soto, A.J. Pierzynski, David Ross), but none of them are close to Wieters’ talent on both sides of the ball.

Provided Wieters’ recovery from Tommy John surgery takes, he’s in for a big payday.

Passing the Panda

With only third- or fourth-tier free agents left on the board by now, it’s safe to say that Pablo Sandoval’s five-year, $95 million deal with the Boston Red Sox will hold up as the largest contract awarded to a position player this offseason.

Perhaps the best candidate in 2015-16—but far from the only one—to surpass that in both years and dollars is Ian Desmond.

A 29-year-old shortstop with three straight 20-20 campaigns on his resume, Desmond already rejected a reported $90 million extension from the Washington Nationals last winter, according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports.

“As of right now, I’m here until 2015 and I’m doing everything I can to work as hard and be ready and prepared for 2015,” Desmond said, via Todd Dybas of The Washington Times.

After that, though? Given his age, skill set and ability to play a premium up-the-middle position, Desmond easily should reach nine figures if he hits the open market—it’s just a matter of how much north of $100 million he’ll be able to get.

Oh, and the fact that Jimmy Rollins, 37 next November, is in line to be the next best option in a shallow shortstop class will only help Desmond’s case.

Not to Be Left Outfield

For that matter, however, Desmond won’t be the only $100 million position player in the 2015-16 class.

Jason Heyward, Justin Upton, Yoenis Cespedes and Alex Gordon*—all outfielders—are strong candidates to blast past that threshold.

(*Note: Gordon has a player option for $13.25 million, but it’s hard to believe he wouldn’t cast that aside when the qualifying offer itself is likely to be around $16 million.)

After an outfield class topped by the likes of Yasmany Tomas ($68.5 million), Nelson Cruz ($58 million), Nick Markakis ($44 million) and Melky Cabrera ($42 million), expect big bucks to be shuttled this way starting about 10 months from now.

In other words, teams that didn’t splurge on an outfielder who can hit for power or get it done on both offense and defense will have plenty of opportunities to do so come the end of next year.

Teams Will Keep Handing out Qualifying Offers, Players Will Keep Declining

Once Scherzer and Shields ink, there won’t be a single qualifying offer rejecter left, and none of the 12 who turned that deal down this time saw that potential draft-pick compensation anchor weigh down their market or price point.

Not even reliever David Robertson ($46 million) nor righty Ervin Santana ($54 million) nor Cruz, the latter two of which were going through the QO process for a second straight offseason.

Santana and Cruz, you’ll recall, got stuck waiting until spring training had started before having to settle for one-year deals in 2014, for $14.1 million and $8 million, respectively. Both scored $50 million-plus over multiple seasons this time around.

If those two examples, as well as the Stephen Drew and Kendrys Morales debacles last offseason, weren’t enough motivation for players to accept in November, then why should teams think anyone will be agreeing in 2015?

In the three years since MLB created the QO system, players have gone 34 of 34 in saying thanks, but no thanks. At some point, that streak will end. But don’t bank on it happening next winter.

The Internationals Will Draw Interest—and Money

Just like Masahiro Tanaka last year and Yasmany Tomas this year, there’s likely to be at least one or two highly sought-after international stars from Cuba, Japan and Korea.

It’s hard to predict this market because so much of it is conjecture based on players either being posted by their club or defecting from their native country.

In fact, there’s still a chance that top right-hander Kenta Maeda could be posted by the Hiroshima Toyo Carp of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball. But if not, the 26-year-old certainly would be at or near the top of any international class in 2015-16.

Other names undoubtedly will go from never-heard-of internationals to must-have next big things.

The Pitching Bottleneck Will Continue

It happened in 2013-14, in part because everyone was awaiting Tanaka.

It happened again this year thanks to all the speculation surrounding Jon Lester, who finally agreed with the Chicago Cubs for $155 million in the early-morning hours of Wednesday, Dec. 10, after which the winter meetings became an utter madhouse over the final two days.

Well, guess what? The trend is going to continue because there are so many high-end arms coming up on free agency after 2015 that it’s going to take a little while to have the top of the market set.

Just take a look at some of these names: David Price, Jordan Zimmermann, Johnny Cueto, Jeff Samardzija, Doug Fister, Rick Porcello, Hisashi Iwakuma and Mat Latos.

That group also might include Zack Greinke, who can opt out of the final three years and $71 million of his deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Even in a pitching-rich market, the right-hander would do better on the open market, so that’s a possibility.

“What happens with Lester and Scherzer will say a lot,” Greinke told Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times in July.

With $155 million in Lester’s pocket and almost certainly more going in Scherzer‘s bank account, it’s a good time to be a top-of-the-rotation starting pitcher.

Whether that’s this offseason or next.

Statistics are accurate through the 2014 season and courtesy of MLB.com, Baseball-Reference and FanGraphs unless otherwise noted. Information about 2015-16 free agents comes from MLB Trade Rumors.

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

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

It didn’t take long for the Los Angeles Dodgers‘ new front office to leave its mark on the city and franchise this offseason.

In a span of 24 hours during the recent winter meetings, President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman and general manager Farhan Zaidi orchestrated deals that saw the Dodgers plug a hole at shortstop, replace their All-Star second baseman and dump a former franchise cornerstone seemingly without a moment’s hesitation.

When the dust settled, it appeared Los Angeles had improved its roster in a variety of ways—albeit perhaps more subtly than usual. And if last week’s flurry was any indication, the new conductors of this Dodgers train surely have more up their sleeve between now and the start of spring training.

Advanced Metrics

The hiring of Friedman and Zaidi shortly after the Dodgers were eliminated early in October signaled a cultural shift within the organization.

Both staunch believers in the concept of advanced metrics, Friedman and Zaidi cultivated the practice in the small markets of Tampa Bay and Oakland, respectively, where a lack of financial flexibility called for shrewd, cost-effective baseball decisions.

In fact, Zaidi spent time working directly under Athletics general manager Billy Beane, who gained national recognition through Michael Lewis’ 2003 book, Moneyball, and the 2011 film of the same name.

When analyzing the metrics of the Dodgers roster they inherited from former general manager Ned Colletti, Friedman and Zaidi probably noticed that the defense could use some work. After all, there was a gaping hole at shortstop. Los Angeles chose not to re-sign Hanley Ramirez primarily because of his defensive shortcomings.

A common barometer used to value a player’s defense is a metric called defensive runs saved (DRS). Zero is considered average, 10 is great and minus-10 is poor. According to Fangraphs, Ramirez ranked 29th among all shortstops who played at least 500 innings at the position last season with minus-nine DRS.

When Ramirez commanded a contract that the Dodgers probably deemed too expensive given his age and declining defense, Friedman and Zaidi opted to go in a different direction. Rather than completely sacrifice offense by rolling the dice on a sure-handed, yet unproven, in-house option like Erisbel Arruebarrena, the Dodgers acquired Jimmy Rollins from the Philadelphia Phillies, per ESPN’s Buster Olney. 

Last season, Rollins ranked 10th in DRS among shortstops with at least 500 innings under their belt, per Fangraphs. He also produced a higher on-base percentage, four more home runs and 14 more stolen bases than Ramirez.

For a moment, it looked like Rollins and second baseman Dee Gordon were going to constitute the 2015 double-play combination for the Dodgers. But Los Angeles then traded their all-star infielder to the Miami Marlins in exchange for four prospects, per Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald.

The major haul for the Dodgers in the deal was Andrew Heaney, MLB.com’s top-ranked pitching prospect in all of baseball heading into 2014. Heaney didn’t stick around very long, though, as Los Angeles quickly flipped the southpaw across town in exchange for the Angels veteran second baseman Howie Kendrick.

Yes, the Dodgers gave up a dynamic game-changer in the speedy Gordon. But upon closer inspection, Kendrick’s .347 on-base percentage trumped Gordon’s in 2014. As the old saying goes, “You can’t steal first base.”

Moreover, Kendrick’s DRS ranked seventh among all second basemen with at least 500 innings played last season, per Fangraphs. Gordon’s minus-five DRS ranked 25th.

Saving Money

Although Friedman and Zaidi now have more money to work with than they ever could have dreamed of in Tampa and Oakland, the pair remains committed to their cost-effective approach to improving the team.

Financial flexibility was lacking within the Dodgers organization last season. Former general manager Ned Colletti shoulders some of the blame for that reality, as does the Guggenheim Baseball Management ownership group that gave Colletti permission to dole out massive player contracts in order to re-establish the Dodgers’ brand following the tumultuous Frank McCourt era.

Los Angeles’ Opening Day payroll in 2014 came out to $229.3 million, the highest in the majors.

Regarding the 30-year-old Ramirez, the Dodgers were simply not willing to give him anything close to the $88 million over four years that he received from the Boston Red Sox last month.

The Dodgers’ top prospect, Corey Seager, plays shortstop but by all accounts, will not be ready for full-time MLB service until 2016. That’s why Los Angeles nabbed Rollins, a player whose contract comes off the books following the 2015 season but someone who should make for a quality stopgap next year.

One of the loftiest contracts that Colletti handed out was the eight-year, $160-million commitment to Matt Kemp. Not only did the outfielder miss most of 2012 and 2013 due to various injuries, those same injuries had seemingly sapped Kemp of his defensive capability. According to Fangraphs, Kemp registered a minus-23 in DRS, the worst among qualifying MLB outfielders in 2014.

Kemp’s hefty contract and poor defensive metrics contradicted two of the central ideals that Friedman and Zaidi champion.

It’s why Kemp was a prime piece to be moved in a trade, and that’s exactly what the Dodgers did when they sent him to the San Diego Padres in exchange for catcher Yasmani Grandal, pitcher Joe Wieland and pitching prospect Zach Eflin, per Kirk Kenney and Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune.

It also helped that Kemp’s value was higher than it had been in three years because of his resurgent second half at the plate in 2014.

Los Angeles agreed to eat $32 million of the $107 million remaining on Kemp’s contract, thereby immediately freeing up $75 million while reducing the well-documented outfield logjam at Dodger Stadium.

For good measure, the Dodgers recently agreed to deals with starting pitchers Brandon McCarthy and Brett Anderson, per Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports and ESPN’s Buster Olney. The common denominator between McCarthy and Anderson—besides being Twitter-savvy—is that they are both former Athletics and thus catch the eye of Zaidi.

While it can be argued that McCarthy’s four-year $48-million contract is excessive for a pitcher with a career 4.09 ERA, Friedman and Zaidi may be looking a little deeper. Sure, McCarthy’s most recent work was a stellar second half of 2014 with the Yankees. Even that might be an anomaly, though. Historically, McCarthy has struggled in hitter-friendly parks like Yankee Stadium.

But what about spacious parks like Dodger Stadium?

A reasonable comparison is O.co Coliseum, home of the A’s. McCarthy’s ERA during his two seasons with Oakland was lower than it has been with any other team throughout his nine-year career. As a No. 4 starter in Los Angeles, there will also be less pressure on McCarthy. Plus he will be working with one of the game’s best pitching coaches in Rick Honeycutt.

Anderson’s $10 million deal is incentive-laden due to his extensive injury history. But Pedro Moura of the Orange County Register points out an interesting piece of information that gives this signing the potential to be another cost-saving steal for the Dodgers in today’s high-stakes pitching market:

Although there is major injury risk associated with Anderson, Los Angeles appears confident the can provide better upside than Dan Haren, who was shipped to Miami in the Gordon deal.

What’s Next?

Whenever a team pulls off six transactions involving 17 players in a matter of two days, it’s probably a good bet that more moves are on the way.

The Dodgers certainly addressed some issues—filling out the back end of the starting rotation, finding a replacement at shortstop and replenishing the farm system—but what’s to say these recent acquisitions will even make it to spring training wearing Dodger blue?

Just ask Andrew Heaney or Stan Kasten.

The Dodgers president recently shared similar sentiments with Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register:

I’ve always said to my GMs, the roster you have in December or January is not the roster you’ll need or want or have in August or September or October. They’re always going to be needs that arise, holes that have to be filled, adjustments or improvements that you need to make. So whatever you do, don’t ever think you’re finished.

One option that has been dangled around the league and whose name always seems linked to the Dodgers is Cole Hamels. The veteran Phillies southpaw will turn 31 later this month and is owed $94 million over the next four years.

With statistically comparable pitchers Max Scherzer and James Shields set to rake in contracts north of $100 million, Friedman and Zaidi might view Hamels as a bargain, and they’ve clearly shown how much they like a good bargain.

The additions of McCarthy and Anderson would seemingly take Los Angeles out of the Hamels sweepstakes, but if the Dodgers are willing to dump a resurgent fan favorite in Kemp, there’s no telling what the team might do if it means a better chance at reeling in a pitcher like Hamels.

Stay tuned.

All stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com unless otherwise linked/noted.

Follow @NickOstiller

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

It has been two years since the New York Yankees made the postseason, so naturally there were going to be some changes and transactions this winter.

So far we have seen the Yankees take a slow and careful approach.

They have yet to land a big-name free agent, and with Jon Lester, Pablo Sandoval and Hanley Ramirez already signing elsewhere, there are few left. They were also absent from trade talks at the winter meetings when players like Matt Kemp, Jimmy Rollins, Howie Kendrick, Mat Latos, Yoenis Cespedes and Jeff Samardzija were dealt.

The Yankees have lost some key players as well. Gone are Brandon McCarthy and David Robertson. McCarthy, who had a downright stellar stint in his half-season with New York in 2014, signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers for four years and $48 million. Robertson, a homegrown closer, decided to take a deal in The Windy City, signing a four-year, $46 million pact with the Chicago White Sox.

However, the Yanks have not been entirely silent this winter. They re-signed Chris Young early on, giving them a fourth outfielder to replace Ichiro Suzuki. They also traded catcher Francisco Cervelli to the Pittsburgh Pirates for lefty reliever Justin Wilson.

Speaking of relievers, the Yankees signed the best one on the market in Andrew Miller, who agreed to a four-year, $36 million deal. With Robertson having departed and Miller now around to shut down the eight inning, the Yankees will promote Dellin Betances to the closer’s role, a job he seems more than capable of handling after his breakout rookie season in 2014.

The Yankees also found Derek Jeter’s successor in Sir Didi Gregorius (he was officially knighted). New York acquired the defensive stud in a three-team deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks and Detroit Tigers that saw the Yanks send Shane Greene to Detroit.

Perhaps their biggest move came on Monday, when they re-signed Chase Headley to a four-year, $52 million deal.

With Headley back, everywhere-man Martin Prado can stick to second base, where he proved to be most comfortable. That means prospect Rob Refsnyder will have trouble winning a starting spot on this year’s roster.

It also means that Alex Rodriguez, who is coming off a yearlong suspension and two hip surgeries at age 39, could be relegated to nothing more than bench duties. He will not play third base with Headley around, and with aging players and injury risks like Carlos Beltran, Mark Teixeira and Jacoby Ellsbury on hand, the Yanks cannot afford to have one permanent designated hitter.

That, of course, is assuming that Rodriguez is even on the Yankees’ roster come Opening Day.

So it has not been the biggest offseason, especially by the Yankees’ standards, but the Bronx Bombers have certainly gotten better.

With a strong bullpen and a lineup that should be improved both offensively and defensively, what is next for the Yankees?

Well, the rotation could really use another front-line starter, or just a starter in general for that matter.

While Masahiro Tanaka and Michael Pineda were dominant last year, CC Sabathia could presumably return to the pitcher he once was and Ivan Nova has shown flashes of brilliance, all four are injury risks. That is only four starters, too: With Greene and McCarthy gone, the Yankees still need a fifth, and the only on-roster options are David Phelps, Adam Warren and Manny Banuelos.

While the Yankees could do worse, they could most certainly do better.

The big fish still in the pond is Max Scherzer. With him and Tanaka as a one-two punch and Pineda pitching as well as he did in 2014, the Yankees could go far. All it would take is one guy…and seven years…and, give or take, $180 million.

Scherzer will not be cheap, but with him the Yankees would have arguably the best pitching staff in an American League East Division currently dominated by hitting.

Does it have to be Scherzer? Of course not, but another top-of-the-rotation pitcher could do wonders for this team. At the very least, they need to consider someone to fill that fifth spot.

The rotation is the Yankees’ biggest weakness. Sure, they could use another bat if they could move some pieces around, but going forward their focus should be on obtaining one more talented arm.

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

Just because Major League Baseball’s busy-as-all-get-out winter meetings are in the rearview mirror doesn’t mean the hot stove has to cool down any time soon.

Having been over the winners and losers of the busiest four days baseball has had in quite some time, it’s time to turn attention toward what still might happen next.

The offseason is only a month-and-a-half old, which means there’s enough time for a heck of a lot more moves to be made before pitchers and catchers report in mid-February.

Like, perhaps, some of these predictions.

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Now that left-hander Jon Lester has signed with the Chicago Cubs, Max Scherzer is easily the No. 1 free agent remaining on the market. Heck, a strong case could be made that the right-hander, who won the 2013 American League Cy Young Award, was the top talent in free agency when the offseason began.

Combine that with the fact that Scherzer, who spent the past five years with the Detroit Tigers, is represented by agent Scott Boras, and the stud starting pitcher is in line for a massive payday.

Question is: Just how massive?

As you’ve probably heard, seen and read by now, the asking price coming out of Scherzer‘s camp is—gulp—north of $200 million, as Jon Morosi of Fox Sports reported:

Sounds steep, right?

Lester, of course, just got $155 million over six years from the Cubs, or $11 million more than Scherzer rejected as an extension offer from the Tigers last March, and an amount that Scherzer should top based on his stuff as well as his status in the market.

But $200 million? As great as Scherzer is, and even factoring in that any clubs that missed out on Lester might feel a little more desperate to spend on a front-of-the-rotation star, he’s not close to $45 million better than Lester.

And given that Scherzer already is 30 and will turn 31 in late July—he’s about six months younger than Lester—the team that eventually does sign him is going to be paying for two, maybe three more above-average-to-ace seasons followed by his declining years.

In case you need a reminder, the history of players who signed nine-figure deals as free agents, especially pitchers, ain’t pretty.

Kevin Brown. Mike Hampton. Barry Zito. CC Sabathia. Cliff Lee. Zack Greinke. Masahiro Tanaka.

Cha-ching?

And for further context, since Scherzer and Boras apparently want $200 mil—or at least, that’s the price at which they’re starting the negotiations—here’s a rundown of the 10 largest pitcher contracts in baseball history.

You’ll see Lester’s $155 million smack dab in the middle of that well-paid group. But what do you also notice?

That the only pitcher to surpass—let alone sniff—a contract with a “2” followed by eight zeroes is Clayton Kershaw of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Kershaw, who by age 26 has won a record four straight MLB ERA titles and three Cy Youngs in the past four seasons, became the first—and so far only—$200 million arm because he’s a freak of nature still in his prime who also happens to play for one of about five teams that can afford to spend that much on a single player.

In other words, the circumstances were just right for Kershaw to get his $215 million, even if he wasn’t yet a free agent like Scherzer is now.

So throw out the idea of $200 million for Scherzer. Ain’t happening.

That said, Scherzer is worth more to some teams than others, namely contenders, and particularly contenders that need pitching—but only contenders who also have the financial fortitude to max out on Max.

That’s simultaneously a larger cross section of clubs than you might think and a small enough subset that the price likely won’t be driven up by more than two or three teams at most.

The clubs who fit the bill include, perhaps: the Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Angels, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco Giants and maybe the Washington Nationals and Chicago Cubs.

Detroit already has indicated it’s out of the Scherzer game, according to general manager Dave Dombrowski via Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press:

The Yankees? They seem intent on not splurging this winter after forking over half a billion dollars to drop from 85 wins to 84, and they have too many 30-plus-year-olds making $150 or more (Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira, Jacoby Ellsbury and Sabathia).

The Red Sox still need an ace after coming up short on Lester, but they were hesitant to pay him more than $135 million, per Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com, so why would they go much higher than that for Scherzer?

The Angels are up against the luxury-tax threshold, thanks to albatross contracts they handed out to Albert Pujols, Josh Hamilton and C.J. Wilson.

The Dodgers, meanwhile, just paid more than $32 million to unload Matt Kemp on the San Diego Padres, and they don’t have a pressing need for a stud starter, what with Kershaw and Zack Greinke atop the rotation.

Even for big-market contenders, the reasons to avoid giving in to Scherzer and Boras‘ $200 million demands stack up quickly. But let’s not pretend Scherzer isn’t going to get his money from some team—and a whole lot of it, too.

Going back to the top-10 pitcher contracts table above, there’s a pretty sizable gap in two places: after Kershaw ($215 million) and after Hernandez. That second range, between Sabathia’s $161 million and Hernandez’s $175 million, could be Scherzer‘s sweet spot.

The amount he signs for won’t be what’s being asked for up front, but Scherzer will top Lester. The real question, then, is whether he’ll approach Verlander and Hernandez in the $175 million-to-$180 million range.

If that happens, Scherzer and Boras may have to “settle” for being the second-highest-paid pitcher ever.

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

With the 2014 winter meetings having come to an end, the New York Mets did not control the majority of the baseball headlines this week. The Mets, though, did not go into the winter meetings with a big agenda of tasks to complete. There were only a few particular areas the Mets really needed to look into, and they accomplished some, but not all, of their goals this week.

About a month ago, the Mets’ offseason began with the signing of outfielder Michael Cuddyer to a two-year contract. At the winter meetings this week, the only notable Mets headlines included the re-signing of left-handed reliever Scott Rice to a minor league contract and the signing of outfielder John Mayberry Jr. to a one-year deal to be a right-handed bat off the bench.

With Mayberry, the Mets addressed their lack of right-handed bench depth. However, there are still three other particular roster areas to address before spring training.

The first issue is the rest of the bench. Do the Mets want to stick with the bench depth they already have, or will they look at free agency for other options?

Along with Mayberry, the Mets bench right now should consist of Anthony Recker, Ruben Tejada, Eric Campbell and Matt den Dekker. While Kirk Nieuwenhuis could be another bench candidate, the Mets could still look at free agency for more potential depth. Again, the bench may look set now, but don’t be surprised if the Mets sign another hitter for more bench depth.

The second issue has to do with left-handed relievers. The Mets do not have another left-handed reliever in the bullpen aside from Josh Edgin. During the winter meetings, the Mets checked in on left-handed free-agent relievers, including Craig Breslow, Neal Cotts and Phil Coke.

Mets did meet with Neal Cotts’ reps yesterday I’m told. Met with Breslow as you know. Seems neither are likely options though.

— Marc Carig (@MarcCarig) December 10, 2014

Mets have cast wide net on lefty relievers. Told nobody in that group stands out and nothing’s close. Not engaged with Phil Coke.

— Marc Carig (@MarcCarig) December 10, 2014

#Mets have had preliminary contact with free-agent LH reliever Phil Coke, but no substantive discussions yet. @FOXSports

— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) December 10, 2014

However, right now, it does not seem too likely that any of these southpaws will end up signing with the Mets.

The third and most significant issue, though, resides at the shortstop position. Will the Mets stick with Wilmer Flores as the everyday starter? Does Ruben Tejada still have a shot to start? Or will the Mets sign or trade for a different shortstop?

Nothing is for sure just yet. No one on the Mets has confirmed anyone being a definitive starter at this point, so time will tell how it ends up working out.

But it seems like no matter what, any shortstop upgrade that may occur will not be the significant upgrade that fans are probably hoping for.

For those asking about Troy Tulowitzki, Starlin Castro, Elvis Andrus, etc., forget it. Sandy Alderson says any SS upgrade would be modest.

— Adam Rubin (@AdamRubinESPN) December 9, 2014

There is still a lot of time, but unless the they end up pulling off some sort of unforeseen trade, Flores will most likely be the Mets’ starting shortstop on Opening Day.

As far as trading current Mets elsewhere goes, the team is looking to move Dillon Gee with all the excess pitching it has. However, despite quite a few different teams showing interest in Gee, there has not been too much progress on this just yet.

As @Jim_Duquette just said on air, up to 6 teams on Gee

— Andy Martino (@MartinoNYDN) December 10, 2014

#Rockies and #Twins have spoken to #Mets about Dillon Gee, sources say. #Rangers have been involved, too. No deal imminent.

— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) December 10, 2014

#SFGiants are among teams that have checked in with #Mets on Dillon Gee, sources say.

— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) December 10, 2014

Hopefully, the Mets will end up getting a trade done for Gee so that there aren’t too many roster issues by spring training. The Mets could look to move Bartolo Colon as well, but it will probably be tougher to move him at the age of 41.

All in all, the Mets’ 2015 roster looks pretty set in most areas, but a few more notable moves should still occur by March.

For a grade, I’d give the Mets’ offseason thus far a “B” for addressing some of the team’s needs, while there are still other areas to address before spring training.

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The 2014 MLB winter meetings have come and gone, with the Boston Red Sox as one of the event’s most active participants.

Now that the dust has settled in San Diego, it’s time to evaluate Boston’s offseason to this point.  Below are individual grades for each move the Red Sox have made, as well as an overall assessment of their performance.

Re-signed Koji Uehara for Two Years, $18 Million

At first glance, two more seasons at $9 million each seems like an awful lot to pay for a reliever who will turn 40 years old next April.  But the qualifying offer it likely would’ve taken to keep Koji Uehara for one season was set at $15.3 million.  By comparison, the two-year contract is fairly cheap.

However, after giving Boston multiple seasons of outstanding bullpen work, Uehara struggled mightily down the stretch last year.  Over his final nine appearances, he gave up 15 hits and 10 earned runs in just 7.2 innings.  There’s a reasonable chance Uehara‘s days as an effective closer may be over.

Grade: B

Signed Pablo Sandoval for Five Years, $95 Million

Heading into the offseason, third base was a major area of concern for the Red Sox.  In 2014, Boston’s players at the position batted a combined .211 with a .271 on-base percentage and .308 slugging percentage.

Pablo Sandoval was the cream of the crop for free-agent third basemen.  In six full years in the big leagues, he’s averaged 17 home runs and 73 RBI per season while batting .292.  But his OBP has fallen in each of the last four years, from .357 to .342 to .341 to .324.  His slugging percentage is also in decline, dropping from .552 in 2011 to just .415 last season.

If these trends continue, the Red Sox may regret Sandoval’s $19 million average salary in the latter years of his contract.

Grade: B+

Signed Hanley Ramirez for Four Years, $88 Million

The Boston Red Sox spent $22 million per season on a shortstop when they already have Xander Bogaerts in line to play the position for years to come.  The plan looks to be to move Hanley Ramirez to left field, but Boston’s roster is already overflowing with outfielders as it is.

Even though the Ramirez signing fills a hole that doesn’t exist, adding a big bat to the lineup is always a plus.  Ramirez is a career .300 hitter with a .373 OBP and a .500 slugging percentage.  He is on the wrong side of 30, though, and is no longer the player who averaged nearly 25 home runs and 40 stolen bases from 2006 to 2010.

Grade: B-

Traded Rubby De La Rosa, Allen Webster and a Minor Leaguer to the Arizona Diamondbacks for Wade Miley

In 174.1 innings spanning four seasons, Rubby De La Rosa has an 8-15 career record with a 4.34 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP.  Allen Webster has pitched 89.1 innings in the big leagues with a 6.25 ERA and a 1.58 WHIP.

Wade Miley owns three full seasons of experience as a major league starter, posting a 38-35 record with a 3.79 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP.

In this deal, the Red Sox likely gave up two players with middle-of-the-rotation potential for a guy who is already there.  Considering Boston only had one pitcher on its roster with more than 50 starts in the majors (Clay Buchholz), adding some experience was a necessary move.

Grade: B+

Traded Yoenis Cespedes, Alex Wilson and Gabe Speier to the Detroit Tigers for Rick Porcello

The Red Sox had Yoenis Cespedes, Hanley Ramirez, Rusney Castillo, Mookie Betts, Shane Victorino, Jackie Bradley Jr. and Daniel Nava all lined up to play in the outfield in 2015.  Trading away Cespedes begins to bring some clarity to that dilemma.

Despite being a fixture in the Detroit Tigers’ rotation since 2009, Rick Porcello is still just 25 years old.  Via Tim Britton of the Providence Journal, Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington said of Porcello:

We’ve had a pretty strong combination of scouting and analytics work on him. We feel he’s been one of the better starting pitchers in baseball. He sort of got buried in the names in Detroit. He’s been really good in his own right. Given his age, we feel there may be more upside. Even what he is right now we think is really going to help us. … 

If we had known in July that we weren’t going to sign Jon Lester, I think we would’ve been happy to trade him for Rick Porcello. I guess this is sort of the net-net. We’re excited to have Rick on board.

A free agent after 2015, Boston got Cespedes for Lester last summer.  More on Lester shortly.

Grade: A-

Signed Justin Masterson for One Year, $9.5 Million

In Justin Masterson, the Red Sox reacquired a pitcher who began his career with Boston back in 2008.  The right-hander struggled this past season, putting up a 5.88 ERA and 1.63 WHIP with the Cleveland Indians and St. Louis Cardinals.  

Grantland‘s Jonah Keri called the signing “a classic buy-low move,” writing: “At his best, Masterson has one-strikeout-per-inning stuff, with enough command to make him an effective innings eater (he hurled 206.1 frames in 2012 and 193 in 2013 before his injury-plagued debacle season in 2014). At his worst, he’s an injury risk and potential arsonist at Fenway.”

Due to his sidearm delivery, Masterson is extremely effective against right-handed batters:

He’s also held righties to a .220 average over the course of his career.  On the other hand, lefties have hit .287 against Masterson, including a ridiculous .320 in 2014.  Masterson is a $9.5 million arm who may be best suited for a situational role out of the bullpen.

Grade: B

Overall

The Red Sox added a top-of-the-line third baseman in Sandoval.  They replaced one big bat (Cespedes) in the outfield with another (Ramirez).  Boston also brought in three potential starting pitchers without dealing away any of their top prospects.

But after the trade of Lester in July, far and away the biggest need the Red Sox had was to get their hands on a new ace to lead the rotation.  None of the pitchers they’ve added (Miley, Porcello and Masterson) are anything resembling a bona fide No. 1 starter.

Boston was reportedly close to wooing Lester back, but he chose the Chicago Cubs instead:

You’d be hard-pressed to find a Red Sox fan who wouldn’t have preferred to see Boston pay Lester $25-26 million for each of the next six years rather than Ramirez $22 million annually for the next four.

It’s very difficult to consider the Red Sox’s offseason a success so far when they have yet to address their most glaring weakness.

Grade: C

Statistics courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com, with contract information via Spotrac.com.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The MLB free-agent market is getting light, really light. 

Max Scherzer and James Shields still headline the class of arms, but as far as position players go, there’s Melky Cabrera and not a whole lot else. What follows is a post-winter meetings re-ranking of the top 25 MLB free agents. 

The most important factor taken into consideration during the ranking process was how much a given player produced in 2014 and how likely he is to match that level of production next season. A player’s broader track record was part of the equation as well. 

The top 25 also includes predictions for how much money each free agent will earn this winter. For Scherzer, who claims the No. 1 spot in the rankings, there’s even room for an unusual but highly complimentary comparison. 

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After starting out slow on Monday and then building to a magnificent crescendo by mid-day Thursday, Major League Baseball’s winter meetings are over.

Now that the flurry—nay, absolute avalanche—of signings and trades in San Diego are complete, here’s the question: Are you all caught up on the transaction action?

If not, don’t worry: We’re here to run through a bunch of the winners and losers from one of the most hectic, chaotic and, most of all, exciting stretches of moves the sport has seen since the July 31 trade deadline.

Phew!

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