MLB Teams Most Desperately Needing a Big Splash Before It's Too Late

Let's be honest—for some MLB clubs the offseason has been puzzling at best and downright disastrous at worst. 

Take the Oakland Athletics, who have spent the winter selling off all of the team's most valuable assets. On the other end of the spectrum are teams like the Baltimore Orioles and San Francisco Giants, who haven't done much of anything at all. 

What follows is a look around the league at the teams that most desperately need to make a big splash before it's too late. There's room on the list for the one club that should be preparing a lucrative offer for Max Scherzer even though the team insists it has no interest in the right-hander. 

San Francisco Giants

The offseason hasn't exactly gone to plan for the San Francisco Giants. 

First, the club lost out on Pablo Sandoval, as the switch-hitter opted to sign with the Boston Red Sox on a five-year, $95 million deal. Then, the Giants missed out on lefty ace Jon Lester, who instead inked a six-year, $155 million contract with the Chicago Cubs. 

Adding another starter should definitely be on the team's to-do list, but figuring out just who will be playing third base and left field are the most pressing issues. 

Chris Haft of MLB.com points to a trade as the best option at third. Haft mentions Casey McGehee of the Miami Marlins, Lonnie Chisenhall of the Cleveland Indians and Will Middlebrooks of the Red Sox as three players that the team could check in on. 

As for left-field, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports that the Giants could look to make a deal for a player rebounding from a "down year." Schulman speculates that Allen Craig of the Red Sox would fall into that camp. 

Justin Upton could also be an option to play left field at AT&T Park. According to Mark Bowman of MLB.com, San Francisco is one of the teams that has "show[n] interest" in the powerful right-handed hitter. It's worth wondering if the Giants have the pieces to make such a deal happen. San Francisco's farm system checked in at the No. 27 spot in Bleacher Report's ranking of minor league systems. 

New York Yankees

Kathy Willens/Associated Press

It certainly doesn't sound like Max Scherzer will be pitching in the Bronx in 2015. 

"The chances of us bringing in a guy for six [years] and $25 million or over in my opinion is virtually none," said New York Yankees president Randy Levine, via Wallace Matthews of ESPN New York. "At the end of the day you have to be realistic in any organization.''

Even if a megadeal for Scherzer isn't in the Yankees' future, the team needs to do something big, and something big fast. Based on the way that New York's roster is currently constructed, the club is in very real danger of missing out on the postseason for the third year in a row. 

Oakland Athletics

Associated Press

Apparently general manager Billy Beane is getting rid of all of the Oakland Athletics who make more than the big league minimum.

Here's a look at the list of the most prominent players who have departed this offseason either in a trade or via free agency:

• Josh Donaldson
• Brandon Moss
• Jon Lester
• Jed Lowrie
• Jeff Samardzija 

With Sonny Gray headlining the staff, Oakland still has enough promising arms to put together a reliable rotation. The lineup is a different story. 

The Athletics brought in designated hitter/first baseman Billy Butler on a three-year, $30 million deal, but more bats need to be added.

Whether it's in free agency or in a trade, Beane will likely have to go shopping in the bargain bins. Fortunately for the club, there's no executive in all of baseball who is more adept at doing just that than Beane. 

Baltimore Orioles

Leon Halip/Getty Images

With both Nelson Cruz and Nick Markakis having departed via free agency, the Baltimore Orioles need to add at least one outfielder. 

According to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports, the O's have looked into signing an array of veterans including Ichiro Suzuki, Nori Aoki and Colby Rasmus. Heyman writes that the team could also opt to re-sign Delmon Young. 

Considering that Cruz cracked 40 home runs in 2014 and that Markakis won a Gold Glove, the Orioles are going to have to aim higher than that. 

One option for the club would be to deal away an arm. As Dan Connolly of The Baltimore Sun pointed out before the winter meetings, the team has six starters for five spots. They could trade one of them to get an outfielder in return.

Boston Red Sox

Denis Poroy/Getty Images

The Boston Red Sox have made some big-time moves this offseason. 

Some of the highlights include inking Hanley Ramirez and Pablo Sandoval to monster deals and landing Rick Porcello in a swap for Yoenis Cespedes. Even with all those additions, the American League East club could still use a No. 1 starter. 

According to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports, the Red Sox have talked to the Washington Nationals about the possibility of acquiring Jordan Zimmermann. Trying to figure out just what exactly Zimmermann is worth in a trade is no easy task, as the right-hander is only under team control for one more season. 

If you want to talk baseball, find me on Twitter @KarlBuscheck.