Playing Fact or Fiction with All of MLB's Hottest Buzz

With each passing day, we get closer to the start of spring training, the winding down of the offseason and, ultimately, MLB's Opening Day.

But there are enough days left between then and now for plenty of player movement to occur. Just ask Evan Gattis, who woke up Wednesday as an Atlanta Brave but went to bed as a Houston Astro, per Mark Bowman of MLB.com. Or Yunel Escobar, who has been traded twice since Saturday.

While their completed deals have removed some of the buzz we were going to delve into, there's still plenty left for us to chew on. From current All-Stars to former Cy Young Award winners to a bit of Cuban flare, there's something for everyone in this week's edition of Fact or Fiction.

Rumor: Dayan Viciedo's New Deal Means He's Staying in Chicago

Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

After avoiding arbitration with Dayan Viciedo, signing the slugger to a one-year, $4.4 million deal, it would appear as if the 25-year-old will spend the 2015 season in a reserve role on the rapidly improving Chicago White Sox.

That's a distinct possibility—but it's not the only one.

Just over a month ago, Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times wrote that the White Sox, who had been trying to trade Dayan Viciedo to the Seattle Mariners, would probably designate him for assignment. While that scenario seems highly unlikely at this point, we can't discount the possibility of a trade.

If there's one thing Viciedo has proved he can do well, it's go deep, hitting 60 home runs since 2012.

That power is a valuable commodity, as general manager Rick Hahn told the Chicago Tribune's Colleen Kane: “He still has a world of talent. He still has power that is tough to find in this game, and it’s just a matter of finding the right fit for him on this club or assessing the value that’s out there for him.”

At this point, Hahn obviously hasn't found another team whose assessment of Viciedo's value falls in line with his. But all it takes is an injury, a team falling short in its pursuit of another player or a player that Hahn covets suddenly becoming available for things to change.

Nobody expects the White Sox to give away a young player with power who is just entering the prime of his career. But to believe that a relatively inexpensive one-year deal solidifies his future in Chicago is foolish.

Verdict: Fiction

Rumor: A Team Will Take a Chance on Johan Santana

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Johan Santana made his first start since June this past Tuesday, retiring all six batters that he faced over two innings for the Magallanes Navigators in the Venezuelan Winter League. While his 17-pitch outing was barely a blip on the radar for most baseball fans, more than a few teams were paying attention.

The two-time American League Cy Young Award winner is determined to get back on a major league mound for the first time since 2012, his agent, Peter Greenberg, recently told ESPN's Jerry Crasnick.

"It's not about the money or anything like that," Greenberg explained. "He's said he wants to draw his own ending. He wants to go out on his own terms. He's told me, 'I want to add to my legacy.' I think anybody who knows him is going to bet on him."

Betting on a soon-to-be 36-year-old starter who hasn't pitched in the majors in nearly three years and whose recent medical history would raise red flags for even The Simpsons' famed Dr. Nick Riviera is a risk that most clubs wouldn't take.

But both the Minnesota Twins, per ESPN 1500's Darren Wolfson, and the New York Yankees, according to Dan Martin of the New York Post, are keeping tabs on Santana's progress this winter. Their interest is no coincidence, as both clubs are in need of reinforcements for their respective rotations and have history with the southpaw.

Santana enjoyed his greatest success as the Twins' ace from 2004-2007, while the Yankees have long coveted the southpaw and, as Martin notes, considered signing him last year as he was recovering from 2012 shoulder surgery.

While nobody should expect Santana to regain his once-dominant form, the injury that cut his 2014 season short—a torn Achilles tendon during an extended spring training start for Baltimore—wasn't arm-related.

So long as his arm is healthy enough to pass a team's physical, a team will take a chance on him, whether it be the Twins, the Yankees or a club that has yet to be identified as a potential suitor.

Verdict: Fact

Rumor: Washington Is Going to Trade Ian Desmond

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We looked at this rumor just over a month ago and came to the conclusion that Washington would trade All-Star shortstop Ian Desmond this winter.

It was a logical conclusion given what we knew at the time.

The Nationals had just pulled off a three-team deal that, eventually, would bring them shortstop prospect Trea Turner from San Diego (once he's eligible to be traded in June) and were still talking to Seattle about a Desmond swap, according to ESPN's Jim Bowden.

According to Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal, the Nationals talked about trading Desmond to the New York Mets as part of another three-team deal that would have landed the club not only Yunel Escobar (whom they've since acquired from the Oakland Athletics), but Ben Zobrist from the Tampa Bay Rays as well.

Combine all of that with news from MLB.com's Bill Ladson that the team has not discussed an extension with Desmond's representatives, and it becomes clear that Desmond's time in Washington is coming to an end.

But it's not necessarily going to be because he gets traded this winter.

Washington has a glaring hole at second base, where neither Danny Espinosa nor Dan Uggla is a legitimate starting option, especially on a contender. While Escobar has limited experience at the keystone, he very well could be the team's second baseman on Opening Day.

Lest we forget, the Nationals aren't averse to playing career shortstops at second base, having done so with Asdrubal Cabrera down the stretch in 2014.

Signed through the 2016 season, Escobar can play second this year, slide over to shortstop once Desmond departs as a free agent after the season and be off Washington's payroll by the time Turner is ready for prime time in 2017.

That scenario, one in which the Nationals simply land a compensatory draft pick when Desmond signs a lucrative multiyear deal elsewhere, seems the most likely.

Verdict: Fiction

Rumor: Yoan Moncada Will Land a Record-Setting Deal

While he's not yet eligible to sign with a club as he awaits clearance from the U.S. government, the overwhelming belief in baseball circles this winter, one that FanGraphs' Kiley McDaniel recently reaffirmed, has been that Cuban phenom Yoan Moncada's future would ultimately come down to a battle of the checkbooks between longtime sparring partners Boston and New York.

But after Los Angeles Dodgers general manager Farhan Zaidi took to the MLB Network Radio airwaves and talked about Moncada with Jim Bowden, via MLB.com's Ken Gurnick, it looks as if it'll be a three-way battle.

"Moncada, we've scouted extensively," Zaidi said. "We have the checkbook. Young elite talent in baseball is the most valuable asset to have. To the extent that our evaluation of him matches or exceeds where the market goes, we'll definitely be players for him."

With Moncada being a player under the age of 23 (he's 19) and with less than five years of professional experience, he's not classified as an international free agent by MLB, but rather as an international amateur.

The difference is that in order to sign him, teams will have to go over their allotted international signing pools—something that comes with a 100 percent penalty for every dollar spent above that pool limit. For example, were he to agree to a $20 million deal, it would be a $40 million investment by the team that signed him.

But Moncada is going to command far more than a $20 million deal—especially with those three teams involved—and he's going to blow the record-setting $8.27 million deal (which is really closer to $16.5 million after penalties) that Yoan Lopez recently signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

When it's all said and done, it wouldn't be surprising at all to see the total cost for a team surpass the $72.5 million that Boston spent to sign free-agent outfielder Rusney Castillo last year, a record sum for a Cuban-born player.

Verdict: Fact