Some good news: The Indians aren’t likely to finish in fourth place once again. The bad news: This team appears headed for last place in the AL Central — one spot below the seemingly always-rebuilding Royals.

The Red Sox offseason registered on the Richter Scale, and the team hopes the aftershocks reverberate through October.

The Orioles never got out of the gate last season, starting out 2–16 and going through three managers. They’ve suffered 13 straight losing seasons, and attendance continues to fall at Camden Yards. However, optimism arrived along with Buck Showalter, who led the team to a 34–23 finish. He brought instant credibility and an injection of energy.

If the goal of the offseason is to make bold moves that attract attention, the Nationals certainly succeeded. They grabbed headlines around the baseball world by signing former Phillies outfielder Jayson Werth to a seven-year, $126 million contract.

As much as the club and Albert Pujols assert that the impasse in contract negotiations will not be a distraction, rest assured it will be. Fans and the media will keep the subject of Pujols’ future on the front burner all season. Just how deeply that permeates the clubhouse is in question, but the front office, manager and players cannot escape the subject.

It still hasn’t quite sunk in: The Giants are World Series champions for the first time in their 53-year history in San Francisco. And the way they did it made it even more unbelievable.

San Diego will try to rebound from a disappointing collapse without three-time All-Star first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, who was traded to the Boston Red Sox for four player