They call this the Hot Stove season, and I wouldn't be honoring that invitation to bad cooking metaphors if I didn't point out that this has been more of a long, steady simmer than a flash fry. It's actually been as interesting for the things that have yet to happen as it has for the stuff that has actually transpired, and that's a strange thing to say after the flip of the calendar.
Let's take stock of the Stove by looking at five compelling plot points we've seen develop so far.
January is the new December
Two years ago, six players signed contracts worth north of $70 million in January. Last year, the free-agent market wasn't as deep, but there were still some rather significant signings (Mark Trumbo, Matt Wieters, Jose Bautista and Greg Holland among them) that took place after the first of the year. But this year, there is so much unfinished business that a jumping January feels inevitable.
While there's no doubt that the methodical Scott Boras' representation of Eric Hosmer, J.D. Martinez, Holland, Jacob Arrieta and Mike Moustakas has gummed up the works, there's also the increasingly prevalent reality that analytics remove emotion from the equation for so many front offices. They're pretty methodical, too.

Free agents want to know where they'll be spending their springs, to say nothing of their seasons. So it's antsy out there. The above-mentioned Boras clients all need homes, as do Yu Darvish, Alex Cobb, Lance Lynn, Jay Bruce, Lorenzo Cain and Jonathan Lucroy, to name but a few. And there's still the possibility that big names like Gerrit Cole, Chris Archer or Manny Machado get traded.
Save for the Hall of Fame announcement, January used to be a pretty dead time in baseball. Not anymore.
Building backward is all the rage ... especially in Colorado
The relief market is the only part of free agency running along something resembling regular schedule. Bullpen arms were flying off the shelves during the Winter Meetings, and the slow market didn't prevent Wade Davis from getting the largest average annual value for a reliever in history.
In 2015, starting pitchers were unable to make it through six full innings 2,003 times. That was an all-time high until 2016, when it was 2,219 times. And that was an all-time high until this past season, when it was 2,419 times.
You can see where this is going. You don't just need a closer in today's game. You need multiple high-leverage relievers capable of shortening games. It worked for the Royals in their consecutive World Series appearances in 2014-15, and it's a formula the Rockies, in particular, hope to follow in 2018. A franchise that has had trouble luring free-agent starting pitchers in the past has built a starting group from within and focused its financial resources on 'pen help. The Rox have invested a combined $106 million on Davis, Bryan Shaw and Jake McGee this winter. With the entrenched salaries of Adam Ottavino and Mike Dunn, Colorado has allocated more than a third of its current projected 2018 payroll to just five relievers.

The Angels have had a big -- yet relatively frugal -- winter
Among the non-postseason teams from 2017, the Cardinals, Phillies and Angels probably rank as the most aggressive (so far) in the bid to get better this winter. But the Angels, in particular, have done it without sacrificing any major prospects (truth be told, their system wasn't replete with major prospects anyway) or significant spending. In fact, their projected payroll right now is right in line with that of the last two seasons (roughly $166 million).
How'd they do it? Well, it started with talking Justin Upton out of his opt-out by tacking on a fifth year and another $16 million to the four years and $88 million remaining on his deal. The contract was significantly backloaded to "only" pay Upton $16 million in 2018. Then the Halos successfully made their pitch to Shohei Ohtani, who cost them a $20 million posting fee and a $2.3 million signing bonus but is on a Minor League contract and will cost just the minimum in '18. Ian Kinsler arrived in a trade that cost the Angels their Nos. 20 and 24 prospects, per MLB Pipeline, and the $11 million remaining on his deal. And Zack Cozart was a relative bargain buy at three years and $38 million after a season in which he had a 141 OPS+.
None of this guarantees the Halos anything. But if they suddenly win big in '18, it won't be because they suddenly spent big.

The Yankees got an MVP, tax-free
Finally out from under the gigantic Alex Rodriguez and Carsten Sabathia contracts, the Yankees weren't a motivated buyer in the early portion of the Giancarlo Stanton trade market. Their real motivation was to get under the $197 million luxury-tax threshold. The Yankees have been tax offenders every year since the current program was initiated in 2002, so they want to "reset." Stanton's remaining $295 million guarantee didn't seem to jibe with this financial plan.
But it's funny what happens when a reigning MVP and the game's biggest trade chip (with trade veto power) makes it clear your club is one of the very few places he's willing to go: Plans evolve.
By including Starlin Castro's $8.6 million salary in the deal, getting the Fish to take on $30 million of Stanton's remaining contract (driving down the average annual value of the Yankees' end of the Stanton contract, which is what's used for luxury tax calculating purposes) and then trading away Chase Headley and his $13 million salary for '18, the Yanks were able to pair Stanton with Aaron Judge without ruining the reset. They still have holes to fill, but they barely scraped the surface of their prospect stash in the Stanton deal and are currently looking at a 2018 payroll just shy of $170 million -- leaving plenty of room to improve further while still avoiding the penalty.

Teams are definitely looking ahead to 2018-19
Bryce Harper, Machado, Josh Donaldson, Charlie Blackmon, Andrew Miller, Craig Kimbrel, Zach Britton, Cody Allen, Daniel Murphy and Andrew McCutchen are just some of the names expected to be available at the end of 2018. Oh, and Clayton Kershaw and David Price have opt-outs in their contracts. So it makes sense to allocate resources accordingly.

The Yankees, for instance, might have already yanked themselves out of the Harper market with the Stanton addition, but it's doubtful they'll tie up third base beyond 2018 with Machado coming available. The Dodgers made that unusual mega-deal with the Braves for Matt Kemp not because they wanted Kemp but because it freed up big space on their 2019 books should they pursue Harper or others. The Phillies' beefing up of their bullpen and $60 million signing of Carlos Santana (the largest position-player contract of the winter to date) was a head-scratcher, but, remember: They've got to show improvement at the big league level in 2018 as part of the pitch to Harper and/or Machado after 2018.