Kansas City Royals will need to make tough choices — and tough trades — to stay on top; Could Alex Gordon ever be a Met?  —  People of Kansas City and America: Did you enjoy that Royals run?  Did you feel galvanized by the team's first march through October since 1985?

GM Daniels emphasizes club will keep ‘resources free’ for starting pitching  —  9/25/14: Colby Lewis pitches seven innings of one-run ball, allowing six hits and striking out seven in a tough no-decision  —  ARLINGTON — The Rangers, having set starting pitching as their top priority for the offseason …

2015 New York Yankees Top 10 Prospects With Scouting Reports [VIDEO]  —  Want More?:  Complete 2015 Top 10 Prospects Rankings  —  Get it all: Subscribe to Baseball America  —  Go 30 deep: Order the 2015 Prospect Handbook!  —  The 2014 season represented the closing of two eras in Yankees history …

GM Amaro unveils ‘Phillies Way’ handbook  —  While two teams that did not win 90 regular-season games in 2014 played to the conclusion of the World Series, the Phillies huddled at their facility in Clearwater, Fla. General manager Ruben Amaro Jr. unveiled The Phillies Way …

Mets' d'Arnaud, Padres' Hedges ranked best two up-and-coming young backstops  —  Jonathan Mayo and Jim Callis of MLBPipeline.com discuss Travis d'Arnaud and Austin Hedges, two of the top catching prospects in the Minors … Only one catcher from the 2013 Top 10 catchers list …

COLORADO ROCKIES / MLB  —  ROCKIES GM JEFF BRIDICH: CHANGES TO COACHING STAFF DONE  —  The Denver Post  —  The Colorado Rockies introduce Jeff Bridich as the team's new general manager on Oct. 8, 2014 at Coors Field.  (John Leyba, The Denver Post)  —  Change is on hold for the Rockies.

Red Sox Sign Koji Uehara To Two-Year Extension  —  The Red Sox announced that they have signed right-hander Koji Uehara to a two-year extension that runs through the 2016 season.  Alex Speier of WEEI.com reports that it is a two-year, $18MM contract (Twitter link).  Uehara is represented by Mark Pieper of Relativity Sports.

Emerson new bullpen coach; Jensen to assist Bush, teach catchers  —  Darren Bush has spent 10 seasons in the A's organization, including two as a Class A hitting coach.  (AP)  —  OAKLAND — The A's have promoted from within to fill out their 2015 coaching staff.

MLB hot stove: Do Mets have interest in Alex Rios?  —  The Mets have long been assumed to be looking to upgrade a corner outfield position this offseason and have been reportedly linked with several free agent outfielders, including Michael Cuddyer among others.

Hot stove begins to warm as 121 players become free agents under Article XX B  —  Free agency and the Major League Baseball offseason represent a time of optimism and hope for baseball teams and their fans.  By the time the last pitch in the World Series is thrown, all 30 teams are already hard …

Five Lessons We Learned From the 2014 MLB Season  —  Last night, Madison Bumgarner led the Giants to their third World Series title in five years, capping a topsy-turvy baseball season in which a legend said good-bye, injuries ripped through pitching staffs, and the last two teams standing were wild cards.

Orioles Exercise Options On Chen, O'Day; Decline Options On Markakis, Hundley  —  The Orioles announced that they have exercised their club options on left-hander Wei-Yin Chen ($4.75MM) and right-hander Darren O'Day ($4.25MM).  Additionally, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com tweets that the team …