"Never mind what that groundhog in Pennsylvania had to say -- for baseball fans, spring has sprung early. With the World Baseball Classic fast approaching, teams bumped up their initial report dates this season, and so the fields in Florida and Arizona have already come alive. Perhaps in part due to the urgency the sped-up calendar required, along with the lingering status of a number of key free agents, there has been a good amount of movement during the month since our last Stock Watch."
"Although the polar ends of the Watch remain seemingly fixed -- Dodgers on one end, Rockies at the other -- there has been more than a little jostling in the space between. As we check in on where each team stands entering spring training, we'll try to channel the anxieties of the discerning fan by looking at one outstanding offseason question each franchise seemingly left unanswered. Why did this need go unaddressed? How big of a deal will it prove to be?"
"Win average: 102.4 (Last Stock Watch: 99.0, 1st) In the playoffs: 97.8% (Last: 95.3%) Champions: 29.0% (Last: 22.2%) Why the heck didn't the Dodgers get the Holy Grail? No, I'm not talking about some kind of baseball holy grail. I'm talking about the actual Holy Grail. It's about the only thing the Dodgers have yet to acquire. Surely they can do it."
Spring training started early because the World Baseball Classic prompted earlier report dates, activating fields in Florida and Arizona. The condensed calendar and the unresolved status of several key free agents produced notable roster movement in the month since the previous Stock Watch. Standings projections remain polarized, with the Dodgers leading and the Rockies trailing, though many teams shuffled positions. Each franchise carries at least one prominent offseason question awaiting spring answers, often tied to lineup holes or late transactions. Teams will use spring training to evaluate options and finalize rosters before the regular season.
Read at ESPN.com
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