Jim Bowden

The brought back on . The Cardinals signed Sonny Gray to with a club option, after landing Kyle Gibson (as well as Lance Lynn) on . The Tigers inked Kenta Maeda for . And that’s it, so far, in terms of signings involving players ranked on my list of . (It was published on Oct. 31, before teams and players made option decisions.) Advertisement Only four players from that initial ranking have come off the board. Sure, there has been some other free-agent news — the and reliever Emilio Pagán ag…

The are always one of my favorite times of the year because of all the action and drama, as players land on new teams through signings, trades, waiver claims and the Rule 5 draft. However, for me, nothing moves the needle more than blockbuster trades and everything that comes with them as stars, prospects and money change hands in franchise-altering deals. During this year’s edition of the which get underway Sunday, we could see several star- and even superstar-level players moved, including o…

The Winter Meetings were quiet this year, mainly because the industry was waiting for to sign. That wait ended dramatically on Saturday, when Ohtani agreed to a 10-year, $700 million deal with the Dodgers that includes . Now, who’s next? There should be a lot of free-agent activity over the next couple of weeks, so I decided to take stock of the markets for some notable names. I looked at 17 of the and made new predictions — based on my conversations with decision-makers across the game — for…

It’s been a slow offseason overall and the is — from pitchers such as Jordan Montgomery, Blake Snell and Josh Hader to position players like Cody Bellinger, Matt Chapman and Teoscar Hernández — so we could be in for an exciting month of January. Let’s take stock of how much each team has improved its roster through signings and trades and what teams could still do between now and spring training, which starts in about six weeks. The big-spending Los Angeles Dodgers are the obvious standouts th…

With the moves coming here and there but many still available and several significant trade targets still on teams’ radars, I opened up the mailbag and answered more than 20 questions from subscribers. As we head toward the midpoint of January, here’s some of what I’m hearing in conversations with decision-makers across the game. Pitchers and catchers report in a little more than a month! Note: Questions have been edited for clarity and length. If and when management wakes up, what moves are y…

Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise: This free-agent market has been exciting. Yes, especially if you’re a fan of the , who pulled off the trifecta of landing the best overall free agent (), the best starting pitcher on the open market () and a 25-home run bat (outfielder ) for the hefty price of more than a billion dollars combined. But there also have been other interesting deals, as the solved the center field position by inking and landed power righty , whom they plan to , while the made…

With spring training about four weeks away, let’s look at the “winners” and “losers” of this offseason to date, with the caveat that teams have plenty of time to significantly improve their rosters. are still unsigned, and top starting pitchers and position players are still available on the trade market. So consider this an early list, subject to change. Over the next month, players, managers, team executives, agents and others could be added to this list, or removed from it, but here are my…

Spring training camps are opening in Arizona and Florida and the remaining free agents should be making their decisions soon. On Tuesday, became the latest name to come off the board, as he agreed to with the , according to a major-league source. All-Star caliber players such as Blake Snell, Jordan Montgomery, Cody Bellinger and Matt Chapman are still available, along with other quality major leaguers. Let’s look at the top 10 remaining free agents and where they could land. Here are my though…

Pitchers and catchers are officially getting going, full-squad workouts are almost here and the first spring training game is only a week away. Although , most of the offseason moves have been made, so it’s a good time for power rankings. Let’s take stock of the league with an eye toward Opening Day. Here’s how I view the 30 teams, from the top dogs to the bottom dwellers, after assessing their trades, signings, incoming prospects, developing major-league players, and overall rosters. 1. The Br…

Betting on baseball has changed so much since my 16 years as a major-league general manager. Placing bets on is now legal in many states and the league has evolved to embrace gambling, which is generating additional revenue and interest in the sport. I get asked all the time by readers, listeners and viewers for my opinions on bets, and as someone with four decades of experience in the game — from working in front offices to covering it as a member of the media — I think I can offer . So this s…