Kuzul

The annual winter meetings are always an exciting time around Major League Baseball, as an offseason full of swirling rumors finally kicks into gear and we see a number of significant free-agent signings and blockbuster deals pulled off during the four-day event.

This year’s meetings will start this Monday in Nashville, Tennessee, and it’s time for one last round of predictions before they get underway.

Ahead is a look at all 30 MLB teams’ most likely splash during this year’s winter meetings.

Some of these will be repeat predictions from the win-win trade ideas and seven most likely winter meetings moves articles that have been published in recent days, but much of this is fresh prognostication for teams that have not received a ton of attention so far.

If there’s one thing we can safely predict about the winter meetings, it’s that it will once again be an unpredictable week of action, but here’s our best guess at what all 30 teams will be looking to do.

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With David Price off the board, Zack Greinke can officially claim his place at the center of the baseball universe as Week 4 of the 2015-16 MLB offseason draws to a close.

While everyone patiently awaits Greinke‘s decision on where he’ll be pitching in 2016, Aroldis Chapman is patiently waiting to find out just where he’ll be traded.

There’s no question about it—buzz surrounding prominent pitchers like Greinke and Chapman dominated the baseball week that was. And as if the market for arms wasn’t loaded enough already, another high-upside starter has been added to the free-agent front following the non-tender deadline.

Hurlers headline the list that follows, but there’s still room for talk about one position player who’s proving to be the most popular free agent of all this winter.

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The MLB offseason has already seen some lucrative deals made to free agents, and clubs are continuing to dig deep into their pockets to grab the top players available.

The Boston Red Sox, after finishing in last place in the American League East in each of the last two seasons, found their ace in David Price, signing him to a seven-year, $217 million contract on December 1.

Price was the prize free agent in this year’s class, apart from Zack Greinke, and was awarded with the biggest contract for a pitcher in MLB history. Price, 30, will be 37 in the final year of his new contract but does have an option to opt out in 2018.

Greinke was a target for the Red Sox, although it has been reported that Red Sox owner John Henry only met with one free agent: Price. Not being signed before Price gives Greinke the upper hand in negotiations, however, as Price’s deal now serves as a benchmark for Greinke as he negotiates back and forth with the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants. 

The 2015 National League Cy Young runner-up, who posted a 1.66 ERA for the Dodgers last season, is 32 years old and likely won’t be getting a deal in the seven-year range. As a result, he will probably receive more on the front end of his contract than Price.

While Greinke weighs his options, another pitcher found his home.

Jordan Zimmermann signed a five-year, $110 million deal with the Detroit Tigers after posting a career-worst 3.66 ERA with the Washington Nationals last season. The deal was announced on November 30, and to most Tigers fans, it was a bargain for a top-end pitcher.

The Nationals may have lost out on Zimmermann, but they seem to be in the conversation for other free agents around the league.

Ben Zobrist, 34, has been garnering a lot of attention this offseason after hitting 13 home runs last season for the Oakland Athletics and Kansas City Royals. It’s not surprising that Zobrist is getting so much attention, even at such a seasoned age. ESPN’s Buster Olney is reporting that the New York Mets have expressed interest, as well. 

His production at the plate and at second base would do wonders for a team looking to put themselves in title contention, and his experience in the World Series is priceless.

Chase Utley is another player to watch this offseason, as ESPN’s Jayson Stark reports that both the Dodgers and the Los Angeles Angels are expressing interest.

After playing his entire career with the Philadelphia Phillies before being traded in August to the Dodgers, it appears that Utley has his heart set on playing baseball in California for the foreseeable future.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Like chocolate and peanut butter, baseball and music have always fit together well. Whether the inspiration for songwriters or the fuel that fires up a player as he steps into the box, the mutually beneficial relationship they share is timeless.

So it’s only fitting that the baseball universe will be descending on Music City—Nashville, Tennessee—for its annual winter meetings, which officially begin Monday, Dec. 7. Owners, general managers, agents, scouts, pundits and players will gather to conduct business, some more urgent than others.

Is it really a two-team race for one of baseball’s elite starters? Will a team in need of a rebuild finally take the first step down that road? Could a position player that’s closer to his 35th birthday than his 30th command nearly $20 million a season in his new deal?

We’ll tackle all of that and more in this week’s edition of “Fact or Fiction.”

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The winter meetings are set to kick off on Monday in Nashville, Tennessee, and with the market set for pitching and no shortage of trade rumors swirling around, the MLB world could be in four a busy four days.

Heck, it’s already been a busy offseason, and the calendar just turned over to December.

Two of the marquee free agents on the pitching side of things have already signed, as Jordan Zimmermann agreed to a five-year, $110 million deal with the Detroit Tigers and David Price inked a record seven-year, $217 million deal with the Boston Red Sox.

The Zimmermann signing will likely set the market for secondary starters, while the Price signing means the division rival Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants could find themselves in a bidding war for Zack Greinke.

Greinke is expected to make a decision by the end of the week, and once he does that could trigger a domino effect on the rest of the pitching market that begins just as the meetings kick off.

Meanwhile, the position player market has been slower to develop.

The biggest names to sign so far have been lower-level players like Franklin Gutierrez, Chris Young, Alex Avila, Chris Iannetta and Nori Aoki, and as a result there’s not shortage of impact talent still looking for a new home.

So what might go down during this year’s annual meetings?

What follows are seven impact deals that could be pulled off during the 2015 winter meetings, with the likelihood of those deals getting done next week based on a combination of rumors and speculation.

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Next Monday, the best and brightest minds of Major League Baseball will be yukking it up in Nashville, Tennessee, causing both the rumor mill and the transaction wire to go haywire.

Yes, the winter meetings are nearly upon us. You had best prepare yourself for the madness.

Clearly, the way to do that is to listen to warnings about what’s coming. That’s what we’re going to get into by using this final week before the winter meetings to make some predictions.

We’re not going to go in any kind of order, but I can offer this teaser without getting too spoiler-y: The first four predictions are educated guesses, whereas the last four are more of the BOLD PREDICTION variety.

Step into the box whenever you’re ready.

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We’ve already seen a handful of significant MLB trades this offseason, and there’s plenty more action on tap with the winter meetings right around the corner.

Fewer teams are willing to fully commit to the idea of rebuilding or selling off key pieces these days because the presence of the second wild card has opened the door for more contenders.

It’s still likely, however, that a number of blockbuster deals will get made between now and Opening Day.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at three potential buyer-and-seller partners that appear to be perfect matches.

Of course, there are plenty of teams with the right assets to be factors in the trade market. But for the purposes of this article, we were looking for three pairs of teams that complement each other’s needs and should be interested in making deals.

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Even though Thanksgiving dominated Week 3 of the 2015-2016 MLB offseason, there was still plenty of buzz surrounding stars like David Price and Jose Fernandez.

When it comes to the chase for Price, a heavyweight has emerged from the American League East. Meanwhile, some clarity has been provided on the future of Fernandez in South Beach.

As you enjoy your Thanksgiving leftovers, here’s a look at all the biggest questions and answers from the week that was.

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Fact: Everyone reading this will still be trying to comprehend Friday morning exactly how they fit that much food into their stomachs on Thanksgiving Day. Fiction: Everyone reading this will regret eating that much.

Thanksgiving is a time for family, friends and, of course, food. Thankfully, our dear friend, baseball’s rumor mill, has given us plenty to feast on as the offseason’s third week comes to an early end.

Has one team’s regrettable decision forever changed the market? Is another youngster with upside about to hit the trade block? Does prodigious power still carry as much value in a trade as it used to?

We’ll tackle all of that and more in this week’s edition of Fact or Fiction.

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The MLB winter meetings are just two weeks away, and the competitive landscape of free agency will likely make its biggest plays this offseason.

Executives of all 30 teams will convene in Nashville, where the hot stove will reach its peak.

The offseason has already featured a bevy of trades and signings; however, many of the blue-chip free agents—notably the slew of starting pitchers—are still on the market.

Here is the latest buzz on a few key pitchers rumored to possibly suit up in a different uniform than the year prior.

Rival Giants Reported Favorites to Sign Zack Greinke

Since the Los Angeles Dodgers were eliminated from the playoffs, Zack Greinke has opted out of a $71 million guaranteed deal and finished runner-up for the National League Cy Young Award despite hurling the lowest ERA (1.66) in two decades.

But it appears Greinke’s fortunes may turn around soon. At 32, he’s expected to successfully command an even richer deal than the $23.6 million salary he was earning with the Dodgers—and perhaps with the biggest rivals to the boys in blue.

Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reports the San Francisco Giants may have stolen momentum from the incumbent Dodgers as favorites to land Greinke.

The Giants are in the market for a starting pitcher this offseason, perhaps two, and have the wallet to pursue an asset as expensive as Greinke. And falling short last winter in the Jon Lester sweepstakes showed, as their rotation didn’t have much to lean on past superstar Madison Bumgarner.

Signing Greinke—and perhaps another above-par starter—would not only give the Giants the best rotation in the NL West, but also steal that moniker away from the reigning three-time division champion Dodgers.

John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle discussed the immediate impact Greinke could make in shifting the competitive balance of the entire division:

One move. It’s all the Giants need to make. It virtually could assure a division title so long as other players have their normal years. It would solidify the roster. It would shift the balance of power in the National League West.

It would be signing Zack Greinke.

Giants manager Bruce Bochy named Greinke the NL starter at last year’s All-Star Game, and Andrew Baggarly of CSN Bay Area quipped the pair’s relationship should steer in San Francisco’s favor:

The Dodgers expected to be in this position, as the veteran righty had long been expected to opt out of his deal. Those speculations were all but guaranteed when Greinke was in the midst of a Cy Young-worthy campaign last summer.

The Dodgers will still make a hard run at Greinke, who said after the season he’d like to remain in L.A. But their rivals up the Pacific Coast Highway may soar the price tag.

Dodgers Making Jordan Zimmermann Top Priority

Bracing for Greinke’s possible departure, the Dodgers are also looking at another hard-hurling righty, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today:

If Greinke and David Price are the A-listers of this class, Jordan Zimmermann is a B to B-plus candidate.

He saw some falloff in 2015—his ERA, WHIP and FIP were all worse than the year prior—but he eclipsed 200 innings for the second time in three years (with a 199.2 inning year sandwiched in between), leaving his 2009 Tommy John surgery in the distant rearview.

Zimmermann turns 30 next season, so he’s a tad younger than the other high-profile pitchers on the market. But if the Dodgers sign him they’ll lose their highest draft pick because he turned down a qualifying offer from the Nationals.

The Dodgers may be willing to take that chance—particularly if Greinke jets—as they are very much in win-now mode, as World Series favorites at some point in each of the last three offseasons.

They’ll be making their 2016 run with Dave Roberts as the new manager, according to the Los Angeles Times’ Dylan Hernandez, Bill Plaschke and Bill Shaikin, so a clubhouse favorite such as Zimmermann certainly boosts their winning culture.

The Chicago Cubs, a fellow NL pennant-chaser, have also emerged in the Zimmermann sweepstakes, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal reported the Cubs are the believed favorites to land Price, who is expected $200 million or more, but are actively shopping elsewhere—reaching out to former Cub Jeff Samardzija, per Phil Rogers of MLB.com, among others—should their Price pursuit fall short.

As Jesse Rogers of ESPN Chicago noted, Zimmermann would cost about half of Price’s tag and leave the Cubs more financial stability to shop for other pieces.

Zimmermann might not have finished as a top-of-the-rotation fixture as he did a year ago, but his market appears far more fluid than that of a Johnny Cueto, who seems to be drawing crickets.

Zimmermann is probably also reassured that his suitors were playoff teams a year ago after being immersed in a Nationals collapse despite being unanimous preseason World Series favorites.

Will Mark Buehrle Retire or Return?

Much has been speculated that 16-year veteran Mark Buehrle will retire this winter. He’ll be 37 before Opening Day and his contract is up with the Toronto Blue Jays after a nice few runs that culminated with an AL East title last year.

A reunion with the Chicago White Sox, where Buehrle spent his first 12 seasons, seems highly unlikely.

As Scott Merkin of MLB.com wrote, the South Siders already have a slew of lefties in their current rotation: “A healthy Buehrle certainly would help any team in regard to the innings and consistent quality starts he’s been able to log for the past 15 seasons, but I don’t envision the White Sox going with five southpaws in their rotation.”

The Blue Jays, who re-signed Marco Estrada to a two-year, $26 million deal earlier this month, aren’t expected to bring back Buehrle, who was 1.1 frames shy of eclipsing the 200 innings mark for the 15th straight season.

He could help a contender on a one-year deal and make one final hoorah. According to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, 10 teams are interested in the seemingly ageless lefty, who is a five-time All-Star with a no-hitter and perfect game.

Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun reported, however, that only one team will pique Buehrle’s interest: his hometown St. Louis Cardinals.

The Cardinals are coming off a 100-win season and third straight NL Central title amid the year-round attrition dealt to their beleaguered rotation.

The Redbirds have reliable pieces in Michael Wacha, Lance Lynn and Jaime Garcia, but ace Adam Wainwright will be coming off an Achilles injury and John Lackey may sign elsewhere after denying a $15.8 million qualifying offer.

Buehrle’s upstanding presence would blend swimmingly in the Cardinals’ all-business clubhouse, and he could fill the veteran void should Lackey leave.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com