Oven every minute: 10 teams keep Stove hot

January is not the demonstrably dull month of Minor League invites it once was. It’s time we mentally adjust to the reality that the offseason is itself a full season, one in which market logjams and especially scrupulous executives spread the activity out over several months.

Last year, six contracts worth $70 million or more (Chris Davis, Justin Upton, Wei-Yin Chen, Yoenis Cespedes, Alex Gordon and Ian Kennedy) were handed out in the month of January. This year, the free-agent class, on the whole, was considerably weaker, but the open market still includes Mark Trumbo, Jose Bautista, Matt Wieters, Jason Hammel and many others, and there is still a compelling crop of trade candidates, fronted by White Sox lefty Jose Quintana.

• Hot Stove Tracker

So there’s still a lot on tap in these waning weeks before camps open in Florida and Arizona. Here are 10 clubs that could be particularly big noisemakers and newsmakers this month.

White Sox: This list will otherwise revolve around clubs adding to, not subtracting from, their 2017 competitive hopes. But after years of ho-hum outcomes for the South Siders, their fan base was oddly yet understandably invigorated by the hauls in the trades of Chris Sale and Adam Eaton, and there is a chance of another big one for Quintana. The White Sox hold all the leverage in the Quintana talks, and they are holding firm in valuing him similarly to Sale, who netted two of Boston’s top five prospects, per MLBPipeline.com’s rankings (Yoan Moncada and Michael Kopech).

There is a possibility they keep Quintana, but the feeble free-agent market for starting arms keeps this conversation humming in the New Year.

Rangers: After the free-agent departures of Ian Desmond, Carlos Beltran and Mitch Moreland, the Rangers are probably going to sign another bat. Odds are, it’ll be a reunion with Mike Napoli.

If not, the slugger market is crowded with Trumbo, Brandon Moss, Pedro Alvarez, Mark Reynolds and others. There is some incentive for Texas to ease the pressure on Joey Gallo and to ensure Jurickson Profar can remain in a super utility role. Texas is also making a push to sign pitcher Tyson Ross.

Dodgers: The current No. 1 on the second base depth chart is Kiké Hernandez, who hit .190 with a .607 …

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