The Braves traded right-handed reliever David Carpenter and left-handed reliever Chasen Shreve to the Yankees in exchange for lefty Manny Banuelos on Thursday.

It wasn’t until his ninth year of eligibility that Goose Gossage received that phone call from Cooperstown. “The longer you wait, the sweeter the moment,” he’d say, but the longtime relief ace would have liked the opportunity to have shared the moment with his “biggest fan.”

On this New Year’s Day, let’s consider eight clubs who appear to have improved themselves the most. Some teams were already close and others took huge steps forward, writes columnist Richard Justice.

Alan Trammell isn’t even a close call when it comes to Hall of Fame voting. At least he shouldn’t be. He helped define the position of shortstop during his 20 seasons. He did that both offensively and defensively. That’s the thing voters apparently have overlooked.

When Spring Training opens in 2015, the D-backs will have a new general manager in Dave Stewart and a new manager in Chip Hale. There are promising young pitchers as well as Cuban free-agent slugger Yasmany Tomas. But can the D-backs compete in 2015?

Can Kansas City take the next step? Will D-backs outfielder Yasmany Tomas be the next Cuban native to become a star in the Majors? Where will Max Scherzer and James Shields wind up? Let’s ring in the new year with 15 burning questions for 2015.

Get ready, because years ending in a 5 have been especially significant in baseball. The last three have brought long-awaited breakthroughs to Chicago, Atlanta and Kansas City. With 2015 upon us, let’s take a decade-by-decade look back.

The incredible year of 2014 exited with an appropriate holiday explosion when the transaction wires went haywire one last time at the Winter Meetings in San Diego in early December.

Plenty of players have worn No. 15 throughout the long history of baseball, and with 2015 upon us, MLB.com takes a look at 20 Major Leaguers who have excelled while wearing the number.

You are reading the first of hundreds of thousands of content pieces fans will see, hear, share, like, retweet and consume in 2015 from Major League Baseball Advanced Media across various media platforms, so let’s begin the year with three simple words.

The Reds have spent the bulk of their offseason pursuing a left fielder and trying to upgrade their offense. Their efforts culminated in a trade on Wednesday.

The Dodgers finally announced the signing of free-agent left-hander Brett Anderson on Wednesday, coupled with the surprising news that Cuban shortstop Erisbel Arruebarrena was designated for assignment.

New GM A.J. Preller has taken a win-now approach and these are certainly different times for the Padres, who have not been to the postseason since 2006.

The Cubs have reportedly acquired versatile free-agent outfielder Chris Denorfia to one-year deal, according to FoxSports.com and one of his former teammates, John Baker.

Seth Smith is pleased to talk about joining the Mariners, where he’ll likely fit into a platoon situation in right field with fellow newcomer Justin Ruggiano on a club looking to make a serious push in the American League West.

There’s a buzz around the 2015 White Sox. All of that goodwill comes from a strong young base of talent put together by general manager Rick Hahn from the start of this reshaping process two years ago, supplemented by six major moves to fill glaring needs this offseason.

The Royals were 90 feet away from tying Game 7 of the World Series, so there’s a lot going on with the Kansas City ballclub that’s in pretty good shape entering 2015.