There are many reasons that baseball has entered a golden age. More than ever, baseball — that is, its players and owners and executives — understand they have a responsibility beyond the numbers and the wins and losses.

The Dodgers already have a strong closer in Kenley Jansen, but that hasn’t stopped them from bolstering their bullpen during the Hot Stove season. Los Angeles’ relief corps could be a force to be reckoned with in 2014.

Carolina scored six runs late to defeat Caguas on Monday in a limited day of action across the Winter Leagues.

The Dodgers added Jamey Wright after reaching recent agreements with Chris Perez and J.P. Howell to round out one of their deepest bullpens ever.

The White Sox added greater depth at the back-end of their starting rotation by claiming left-handed pitcher Eric Surkamp off waivers from the San Francisco Giants as announced by the team Monday. Third baseman Brent Morel also was claimed by the Blue Jays on waivers Monday, which made room for Surkamp.

Anthony Castrovince takes a brief gander at each of MLB’s 30 clubs and offer up a holiday gift to assist their efforts in the coming New Year. The National League is first in line. We’ll address the AL on Thursday.

The Twins officially announced on Monday that they’ve signed catcher Kurt Suzuki and Mike Pelfrey to one- and two-year deals, respectively.

Look out for the Dodgers’ bullpen. Kenley Jansen is healthy and ready to evolve from a swing-and-miss freak show into one of baseball’s elite closers. The cast behind him, a work in progress for much of last season, could be as much of a monster as Jansen himself next season.

The Mets on Monday added another piece to their bullpen mix, claiming right-handed reliever Ryan Reid off waivers from the Pirates.

Tampa Bay has claimed outfielder-first baseman Jerry Sands off waivers from Pittsburgh.

The Cubs claimed right-handed pitcher Brett Marshall from the Yankees on Monday, while the Orioles claimed right-handed pitcher Liam Hendriks on waivers from the Cubs.

Voting for the National Baseball Hall of Fame used to be a rare privilege, a distinct honor and a real pleasure. Now voting for the National Baseball Hall of Fame is a rare privilege and a distinct honor. The so-called “steroid era” and the users of performance-enhancing drugs changed the nature of this vote and damaged the nature of this entire discussion.

The Rangers were awarded a wavier claim on outfielder Alex Castellanos from the Red Sox on Monday.

Mark Teixeira and his wife, Leigh, plan to spend the holidays with their three children at her parents’ home in Georgia. Christmas morning as a child for Teixeira always meant a lesson in restraint. There may have been gifts wrapped under the tree, but the house rules demanded that those treasures were off-limits until everyone in the house was stirring.

It’s been a busy month for the Marlins, who signed four free agents in hopes of bringing some life to a stagnant offense. The new additions certainly are a start, but for Miami to make a dramatic turnaround in 2014, the club also will be banking on seeing the Giancarlo Stanton of old.

Though the industry spends more than $200 million annually on unproven amateurs in the Draft, it’s still far and away the most cost-effective way to build a club. That’s why, if I could alter one thing about the Draft, I would abolish any limits and let teams invest as much money as they wanted.

MLB.com recently caught up with Braves pitcher Kris Medlen to see what he’s doing for the holidays. Medlen and his wife are excited to spend their first Christmas with their 10-month-old son.