Holiday wish list for all 30 MLB teams M

Christmas has arrived and this baseball holiday season has been unlike any other in recent memory. The signings have been scant -- -- and trades even more limited. Heck, even hot stove rumors are hard to come by these days. My kingdom for a juicy trade rumor.I suppose the good news is the lack of activity means there are still a lot of moves to come between now and Opening Day. Lots of big name free agents have to sign and trades are inevitable. The COVID-19 pandemic has pushed teams into a holding pattern. At some point they'll get on with improving their rosters and igniting the hot stove. Until then, here is a holiday wish list for the 30 . Three items per team heading into the 2021 season. Let's get to it, baseball enthusiasts. The return of velocity.More home runs.An improved bullpen.For the , the item atop the wish list is clear. Year 1 of Bumgarner's five Dakoda Shepley Jersey -year contract was a disaster (31 runs in 41 2/3 innings) and that was the cheap year on his deal ($6 million salary before proration). His velocity was a good 3 mph south of where it normally sits. Bumgarner may never be a slam-dunk ace again, but the D-Backs need him to be something better than awful to contend during the life of his deal. More power -- Arizona hit only 58 homers in 2020, second fewest in baseball -- and a better bullpen are the secondary asks from Santa. A extension.The rotation living up to the hype.A better bench.Freeman, the reigning NL MVP, is entering the final season of the eight-year, Jim Zorn Jersey $135 million extension he signed in 2014. He turned only 31 in September and I imagine five-year, $130 million deal will be the starting point for extension talks. Freeman is one of those players who should spend his entire career with one team and getting that extension squared away now rather than having his free agency hang over the 2021 season would be swell. Beyond Freeman, the team's high-upside starters ( , , , etc.) staying healthy and producing next year is an obvious wish list item, ditto improving a bench that currently includes, uh, and ? It's a good sign when the bench makes the wish list. It means there aren't many obvious needs. A healthy and productive .Steps forward for the young arms.A dead cat bounce.There is nothing in this post I wish for more than Mancini coming back strong in 2021. He mi sed the entire 2020 season following surgery and subsequent treatment for Stage 3 colon cancer, . That's awesome. I hope he has a monster season. He deserves it. Beyond Mancini, the O's are surely wishing some of their young arms ( , , , etc.) take steps forward in 2021 and emerge as pieces of the next contending team. Some of their pitching staffs the last few years have been downright embarra sing. And finally, why not use the final wish list spot on Davis? He's a genuinely good dude and it's been no fun watching him struggle as much as he has the last few years. Davis turning back the Nigel Warrior Jersey clock and hitting 40 homers in 2021 would be fun. The O's are going to be bad again. Might as well at least be fun. Healthy returns for and .A J.D. Martinez bounceback season.More pitching.Rodriguez and Sale both mi sed 2020 with health problems, though the circumstances were very different. Sale had Tommy John surgery, which sometimes comes with the territory in this sport, while Rodriguez had a heart i sued related to COVID-19. . Both lefties getting healthy and having strong 2021 seasons would be a welcome development (Sale is not expected back until midseason). Martinez just had his worst season since his 2014 breakout, and getting him on track is imperative to contend. So too is acquiring more pitching because my goodne s, Boston's staff was abysmal this past season. Top to bottom, it was terrible. Rodriguez and Sale returning will help but they alone won't be enough. A extension.A great trade return for .A bounceback season.I know the are in the proce s of breaking up their core but Baez is incredibly fun and beloved in Chicago, and signing him long-term would be a smart move. When he hits, he's a superstar given his defense and baserunning. If you can't build a winning team around a player like Baez, the problem is you, not him. Bryant is firmly on the trade block and I'm not 100 percent certain the Cubs will trade him this winter, but, if they do, the wish is they get a great return and not some underwhelming salary dump package. Get two or three good young players who can be part of the next contending Cubs team. Kimbrel's two seasons in Chicago have been shaky and the return of the lockdown Kimbrel, the guy who appeared to be heading to the Hall Austin Blythe Jersey of Fame, would solve a lot of bullpen problems next year. .A full season of . . It seems unlikely the will splurge to sign Springer at this point, but that doesn't mean we can't include him on our wish list, right? Right. I have a PlayStation 5 on my holiday wish list even though I know I'm not getting one anytime soon. Chicago could use another outfielder and Springer would look splendid in the outfield and in the lineup. If not Springer, then what about ? The White Sox could also use a lockdown closer and Hendriks is the best available. Bump back into the eighth inning and into the seventh. Perfect. I think a full season of Kopech, who mi sed 2019 with Tommy John surgery and opted out of 2020, trumps a closer though, so he gets the No. 2 spot on the wish list. He's still among the top pitching prospects in the sport and having him emerge an impact starter in 2021 would be a game-changer. A bounceback season for the offense.Continued NL Central mediocrity.A major league caliber shortstop.Aside from , just about everyone in the lineup underperformed in 2020. , , , , etc. All fell short of expectations and the result was, well, zero runs in 24 Wild Card Series innings. The Reds have talent on offense. Now they just need it to live up to the hype. The NL Central is the weakest division in the sport, so a resurgent offense and continued good pitching (even with the expected lo s of ) would give the Reds a chance to win the division in 2021. It's there for the taking. Getting a legitimate major league shortstop would go a long way. Francisco Lindor would be ideal, but even someone like or would represent a significant upgrade. A great trade return for Francisco Lindor.A major league caliber outfield.More pitching development succe s.I wish it weren't true, Cleveland fans, but a Lindor trade is coming, so it only makes sense to use the top wish on a knockout return. Something along the lines of the Russell Wilson T Shirts trade or the Mark Teixeira trade, where a team moves a big-name player for a haul that sets the franchise up for years. Also, Cleveland badly needs a new outfield. Their outfielders have collectively hit .239/.306/.389 in over 2,600 plate appearances the last two years and that is straight up unacceptable. Do better, Cleveland. O