New England has won another Super Bowl. The calendar says February and pitchers and catchers report to spring training camps mid-February. So where does pitcher James Shields, 33, the ace of the American League champion Kansas City Royals, wind up? It's a head-scratcher. No one knows. Did he turn down a $100 million contract? Now, can he be had for $70 million? Or will Shields sign a one-year deal, a la Ervin Santana a year ago, and try the free agent market next time? Who wouldn't want a...

Ernie Banks, the Hall of Fame shortstop who played his entire 19-year career with the Chicago Cubs, was known for his 512 home runs, two National League MVPs and a never-ending sunny disposition on life, even though he never came close to playing in a World Series. Banks, 83, who died Friday night, also had a curiosity that was as legendary as Wrigley Field. He loved asking people questions because he said he enjoyed learning. And he understood that the magic of baseball was in the thrill of...

There are 162 games in a baseball season, so determining a team's opening day starter seems to be a low-level story. But it is never that way. Opening day starters are a topic of conversation the minute teams arrive in spring training. Given so much is set with the Nationals going into the spring, the opening day starter is virtually the only question to be answered. Some managers announce their opening day starter at the beginning of spring training. Others hold back, even though reporters...

Now that the Nationals have constructed the best rotation in baseball by adding Max Scherzer, the next set of questions surround Jordan Zimmermann. Zimmermann, 28, is eligible for free agency after the season. He and the Nationals have been negotiating, but there's no deal. Zimmermann is willing to stay in D.C., but wants fair market value. So, what is fair? Jon Lester signed for six years and $155 million with the Chicago Cubs. Zimmermann, who has won 57 games with a 3.24 ERA and a...

Five years ago, pitcher Max Scherzer was a blue-chip prospect with an unpredictable delivery and even more unpredictable results. He's on his way to Washington after agreeing to a seven-year contract reportedly worth in excess of $180 million, giving the Nationals an unbelievable rotation that includes Stephen Strasburg, Gio Gonzalez, Doug Fister, Tanner Roark and Jordan Zimmermann. Media reports speculate that Zimmermann or Fister could be traded for prospects as general manager Mike Rizzo...

Last year, the baseball season was defined by a record number of pitchers sidelined with Tommy John surgery, a procedure that requires ligament replacement in the elbow. This season, star pitchers who missed 2014 will be returning, and the National League East could be in for a big change as far as the teams that will challenge the Nationals. The Nationals won the division by 17 games last season, but the Atlanta Braves - usually their biggest challenger - are short on pitching thanks in part...

For the first time since 1955, the Baseball Writers' Association of America has elected four players to the Hall of Fame. Pitchers Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez and John Smoltz, as well as Craig Biggio, will be inducted into the Hall of Fame on July 26 in Cooperstown, N.Y. The BBWAA has not voted in four players in one vote since electing Joe DiMaggio, Gabby Hartnett, Ted Lyons and Dazzy Vance six decades ago. The three pitchers were elected on their first try, Biggio on his third. The...

The new class of Hall of Famers will be announced Tuesday, and this time, the 500-plus voters from the Baseball Writers' Association of America had a new wrinkle to debate. There are three dozen names or so on the ballot, but the voting rules from the Hall of Fame say that a voter can select no more than 10. The problem is that many voters think there are more than 10 qualified players. So, that means voters will come up with a unique strategy. Mike Berardino, who covers the Minnesota Twins...

As the holiday season arrives, baseball transactions usually slow down. We know you are busy with preparations, so here's the one word that comes to mind when talking about National League teams: * Arizona: Revival. There's an Oakland connection that brings back memories of the A's World Series teams from 1988-90. The team president is former A's manager Tony La Russa. The general manager is former A's pitcher Dave Stewart and pitching consultant Dave Duncan was La Russa's pitching coach...

As the holidays approach, here's the one word that defines each American League team: * Baltimore: Favorite. If the season started today, the Orioles would be the pick to win the AL East, even without lefty Andrew Miller, designated hitter Nelson Cruz and outfielder Nick Markakis. At this point, Steve Pearce would play right field and Alejandro De Aza would be in left. How are the Orioles going to find anything better? Chances are they won't, but they will look, just in case. If Chris Davis,...

SAN DIEGO - As the Winter Meetings end, here's what we've learned about the baseball landscape after spending four days in San Diego's unbelievable weather: * The 94-win Dodgers have money to spend, but this week, they showed they could combine an aggressive imagination with their huge wallet. The Dodgers traded second baseman Dee Gordon and pitcher Dan Haren to Miami in a deal that brought lefty prospect Andrew Heaney, who was then flipped to the Angels for second baseman Howie Kendrick....

SAN DIEGO - Jon Lester is getting ready to earn $155 million for the Chicago Cubs. So that means teams that were trying to sign Lester are looking for other ways to fix their rotation. The Giants were in Lester and so were the Red Sox, Lester's former team. Lester could have gone to either of those teams that have a combined five World Series victories since 2004. Instead, he accepted the challenge of becoming the first player in history to win World Series with the Red Sox and Cubs, who...

SAN DIEGO - The headlines after the second day of baseball's Winter Meetings have been going through the Windy City. The Chicago White Sox and Cubs are making all the news. The fans in Chicago need some relief. Each team won 73 games last season and finished 17 games out. The White Sox were fourth in the American League Central, the Cubs last in the National League Central. The White Sox acquired Jeff Samardzija in a trade from Oakland and signed closer David Robertson to a four-year, $40...

SAN DIEGO - The Orioles are looking for outfielders via trade and the free agent market. The Nationals are mum about their plans for finding a second baseman. And, generally across both leagues, the action is slow. Big-name players going in the trade could define these Winter Meetings, and the dealings will start after lefty Jon Lester decides where he's going to play. He could return to Boston or sign with the Cubs and renew his relationship with former Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein,...

SAN DIEGO - As he settles in and fires up his computer on the flight to San Diego for the Winter Meetings, Cincinnati Reds general manager Walt Jocketty was asked by a reporter if he'd ever traded a player from 30,000 feet up. The reporter was asking in jest, but Jocketty said yes. "Actually, when I was with St. Louis, that's when I got Mark Mulder from Oakland." That would have been December 2004, when Jocketty traded three players - Daric Barton, Kiko Calero and Dan Haren - to Oakland...

Outfielder Nick Markakis was a fan favorite in Baltimore, but the Orioles did the right thing by not trying to outbid the Atlanta Braves' $44 million contract. It's better to have payroll flexibility than an $11 million outfielder hitting .280 with 12 home runs. The Orioles are going to benefit in the long run from not having Markakis. So what do to next? Prospect Dariel Alvarez needs more time in the minors. A trade for the Braves' Justin Upton or Evan Gattis is possible. Upton is...

Outside of the money and four-year contract, Nelson Cruz's signing with the Seattle Mariners is puzzling from a baseball standpoint. As an Oriole, he would have been hitting in more a power-friendly ballpark in Camden Yards. And for a 35-year-old player, that's important. With guys like Adam Jones, J.J. Hardy, Chris Davis and possibly Nick Markakis, Cruz would have had a better chance to lead the American League in home runs for a second consecutive season. And the Orioles have a better...

The Orioles are checking the trade market to see if there are teams that want to acquire pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez, who didn't live up to expectations in 2014, the first season of a four-year, $50 million contract. Chances are the Orioles aren't going to be trading Jimenez for blue-chip prospects. So what to do? The Orioles need to find another team with a big-money contract that's not working, make a trade and hope that the classic "change of scenery" works for them. There are plenty of...

This is the most jaw-dropping story of the offseason: After months of speculation that the Miami Marlins would trade Giancarlo Stanton, the team wound up signing him to the richest contract in sports history, $325 million for 13 years. They will announce the deal Wednesday. The Marlins are playing in a new ballpark and need a signing like this to prove their relevance. They know more about splitting up a team than holding it together. At least, that's the Marlins' reputation. But is that a...

The night before the final day of the regular season, I went to bed with Dodgers lefty Clayton Kershaw on top of my National League Most Valuable Player ballot. My feeling was that he had historic dominance and the Dodgers would not have won the National League West without him. That's true. Then, the next morning, I thought the same could be said for Pittsburgh's Andrew McCutchen, given he was an everyday player as opposed to a pitcher who made 27 starts and missed the first month of the...