Closing the book on an eventful Winter Meetings in San Diego

SAN DIEGO - As the Winter Meetings end, here's what we've learned about the baseball landscape after spending four days in San Diego's unbelievable weather: * The 94-win Dodgers have money to spend, but this week, they showed they could combine an aggressive imagination with their huge wallet. The Dodgers traded second baseman Dee Gordon and pitcher Dan Haren to Miami in a deal that brought lefty prospect Andrew Heaney, who was then flipped to the Angels for second baseman Howie Kendrick. The Dodgers agreed to acquire shortstop Jimmy Rollins, and his $11 million contract, to hold the position until prospect Corey Seager is ready. They sent Matt Kemp and his $107 million salary to San Diego and signed starter Brandon McCarthy. Now they will offer a package of prospects and try to land Philadelphia's Cole Hamels, Detroit's David Price or the Nationals' Jordan Zimmermann in a trade. * The Marlins - and not Atlanta - are going to be the Nationals' biggest thorn when they defend their National League East title next season. In addition to Gordon, the 77-win Marlins have added pitcher Mat Latos in a deal with the Reds. Latos, 27, gives their rotation depth and leadership. Haren also came over from the Dodgers, but he might retire instead of moving across the country. The rotation is already solid with young arms that will continue to get better, including Nathan Eovaldi, Jarred Cosart and Henderson Alvarez. Jose Fernandez, the 2013 NL Rookie of the Year who had Cy Young-type statistics before going out with Tommy John surgery, should be back in late June, Marlins manager Mike Redmond says. And while Gordon had a breakout season for the Dodgers in 2014, they were concerned about his second-half performance when his on-base percentage slipped to .300 after the All-Star break. Still, it's easy to see the Marlins winning at least in the mid-80s next season. * The Red Sox, who finished last in the American League East in 2014, were one of two finalists for pitcher Jon Lester, and now they're happy that he choose to pitch in Chicago. They saved a ton of money and fixed their rotation with a couple of other trades. The Red Sox traded from their outfield depth and sent Yoenis Cespedes to the Tigers for pitcher Rick Porcello, a groundball pitcher who made the big leagues for the Tigers at age 20. Porcello is a consistent pitcher who could give the Red Sox 15 wins and 200 innings. With Hanley Ramirez playing left field, there was no room for Cespedes. The Red Sox are also close to acquiring lefty Wade Miley from Arizona. Clay Buchholz and Joe Kelly are the top two in Boston's rotation. The Red Sox have also signed Justin Masterson, who was a reliever-starter for the Red Sox a while back. * For the second year in a row, the Tigers traded a frontline pitcher in Porcello, but this time, they got a proven big league player. A year ago, the Tigers traded Doug Fister to the Nationals, but it was the steal of the offseason: None of the players the Nationals gave up stuck with the Tigers and Fister was brilliant in Washington. Cespedes is a .280 hitter who is coming off his first 100-RBI season. And his strong arm is becoming legendary. He'll play left while J.D. Martinez moves to right, taking over for Torii Hunter. The Tigers lineup will be dangerous with Cespedes, J.D. Martinez, Victor Martinez and Miguel Cabrera. * The small-market San Diego Padres picked up Matt Kemp from the Dodgers. Kemp, 31, will hit in the middle of the Padres' order, which ranked last in virtually every significant offensive category last season. Kemp is owed $107 million and the Dodgers will pay the Padres $31 million to help them foot the bill. * Disaster is the best way to describe the Philadelphia Phillies' predicament. After being a powerhouse and making the postseason five consecutive years from 2008-11, including a World Series title in 2008, the Phillies are trying to shed contracts and start over. Rollins was traded to the Dodgers, but Hamels ($96 million) and first baseman Ryan Howard ($60 million) are going to be difficult to trade. At least there's a market for Hamels, but the Phillies are going to have to pay a chunk of Howard's salary for him to go, which would be a good deal for small-market Tampa Bay. If Howard, 35, stays in Philly, there's talk he could be a platoon player. Wow. * Oakland has done major reshuffling. The A's will have two new corner infielders in Ike Davis and Brett Lawrie replacing Josh Donaldson and Brandon Moss. Their new designated hitter is Billy Butler. Their new shortstop is Marcus Semien, a prospect that arrived in the Jeff Samardzija trade from the White Sox. And, their rotation, led by Scott Kazmir and Sonny Gray, will be helped by the return of Jarrod Parker and A.J. Griffin around the All-Star break. * The Chicago Cubs spent $155 million to get Jon Lester into their rotation and while there is new life on the Windy City's North Side, the Cubs might not be the favorite to win the NL Central. With Jason Hammel, Travis Wood, Kyle Hendrick, Edwin Jackson, Tsuyoshi Wada and Jake Arrieta, the Cubs have pitching depth, but the key to their season will be how well the nucleus of young players, such as Javier Baez, Kris Bryant, Jorge Soler and Arismendy Alcantara, develops. * On the South Side of Chicago, the White Sox have similar questions. Adding Samardzija, closer David Robertson and first baseman Adam LaRoche makes them a better team, but is there depth in the rotation beyond Samardzija and Chris Sale? And how will LaRoche adjust to a new league and possibly the role of part-time DH?