Magnificent 7: These clubs will dictate the Winter Meetings

These Winter Meetings just might make a larger statement about baseball if they deliver a rush of free-agent signings and trades. Or, they may simply lay the groundwork for later action.

Sure, we hope for this kind of thing every year. Baseball people of a certain age will forever cherish the moment years ago when a prominent general manager was working on so many trades that he stepped to the podium and announced one he hadn’t made. You were a piece of work, Al Campanis.

• Hot Stove Tracker

MLB.com and MLB Network will have wall-to-wall coverage of the 2016 Winter Meetings from the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center outside Washington, D.C. Fans can watch live streaming of all news conferences and manager availability on MLB.com, including the Rule 5 Draft on Thursday at 9 a.m. ET.

And here’s why this year’s Winter Meetings could deliver excitement for every franchise: Competitive balance has changed the game.

It’s not just that every team now has a chance to compete. It’s also that every team feels the pressure to compete.

In the last five seasons, 22 of baseball’s 30 teams have played at least one playoff series. The American League has had five different champions in six seasons, the National League four. Furthermore, 13 different franchises have been to the World Series at least once the last 10 seasons.

This is the competitive balance baseball dreamed of having for so long. Remember when the Cubs, Pirates, Royals and Indians were also-rans? No more.

This is baseball’s new normal. If you’re one of the people charged with putting a team together, that ratchets up the expectation of a job that already has plenty.

Labor negotiations may have delayed the start of some of the offseason action, but once the dominos begin to fall, they can fall quickly. Last offseason’s three largest contracts — Zack Greinke, David Price and Jason Heyward — happened in a seven-day stretch in early December.

In a span of 17 days, free agents signed contracts totaling close to $1 billion. So these Winter Meetings that begin on Sunday night at National Harbor could be intense.

Here are the seven teams to keep an eye on:

WHITE SOX

General manager Rick Hahn has a chance to dramatically reshape his franchise if he decides to trade Chris Sale …

continue reading in source mlb.mlb.com