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With free agency underway, the offseason is about to pick up steam. What are the big questions facing all 30 teams? Were moving on to the National League East.What to do with Trea Turner?2016 record: 95-67After he set the league on fire following his July call-up, theres no doubt that Trea Turner can play. The question is where exactly will the Nationals play him? If manager Dusty Baker chooses to keep Turner in center field, where he never played professionally until June, that leaves the Nats with question marks at shortstop (Danny Espinosa hit .209 with 174 Ks) and first base (Ryan Zimmerman posted a .642 OPS).If Baker pencils Turner in at his natural position (shortstop), then there are unknowns at center and first. Alternatively, Turner could slot in at second base (he played 28 games there last season), with Daniel Murphy sliding over to first, which leaves uncertainty at short and center.The truth is that whatever decision Baker and GM Mike Rizzo make regarding Turner, itll probably be dictated by what theyre able to accomplish in the free-agent and/or trade markets. If they can snag an outfielder such as?Dexter Fowler or Yoenis Cespedes?-- whom they flirted heavily with last winter -- then Turner will likely find himself in the infield. If they can nab an infielder, be it corner or middle, theres a good chance Turner reprises his rookie role as the teams everyday center fielder.Regardless of where Turner plays, his presence at the top of the lineup will be key in helping the Nats -- who still have plenty of pieces in place -- get back to the postseason. -- Eddie MatzCan the Mets contend without Yoenis Cespedes?2016 record: 87-75The Mets went 72-54 with Yoenis Cespedes in the starting lineup the past season. They were 15-21 otherwise. Now that Cespedes has opted out, vacating the remaining $47.5 million that had been owed to him through 2018, will the Mets lose him in free agency? If so, how do they offset his loss?The Mets are averse to giving Cespedes a longer-term deal -- say, four or five years -- and expect him to sign elsewhere for a contract that might exceed $100 million. That said, they were pessimistic a year ago as well, and Cespedes ended up re-signing. The Mets acquired Jay Bruce from the Reds on Aug. 1 and have picked up his $13 million option. Minus Cespedes, that would give the Mets three lefty-hitting primary outfielders: Curtis Granderson, Bruce and Michael Conforto (who had a rough sophomore year). The Mets also have righty-hitting center fielder Juan Lagares.If Cespedes lands elsewhere, team officials will be searching for a righty hitter to complement first baseman Lucas Duda. That addition also could get starts in the outfield against southpaws. Good luck, though, duplicating Cespedes team-leading 31 homers and 86 RBIs in that scenario. -- Adam RubinHow do the Marlins replace Jose Fernandez?2106 record: 79-82The simple answer: They dont. Fernandez was too important to the franchise to replace and theres no way theyll be able to -- both on and off the field.The Marlins ranked sixth in the NL in rotation ERA in 2016, at 4.32 -- well behind the five playoff teams. Take Fernandezs numbers out, and that ERA rises to 4.70. The rotation right now consists of Tom Koehler, Adam Conley, Wei-Yin Chen and a host of question marks. To make matters worse, with one of the lowest-ranked farm systems, there doesnt appear to be any immediate help coming from the minors. The starting pitching market in free agency is especially weak, and the Marlins arent likely to outbid anyone for Rich Hill, the biggest prize. Maybe they would consider an innings-eater such as?R.A. Dickey or Jeremy Hellickson.We are already hearing rumors that the Marlins would consider breaking up their stellar young outfield and trading?Marcell Ozuna or Christian Yelich. Ozuna is the more likely option, as Yelich is signed through 2022 to a long-term deal that looks very team-friendly on the back end ($15 million salary in 2022). Plus, hes the better player, with 5.3 WAR in 2016 to Ozunas 2.5. Ozuna, coming off a .266/.321/.452 season, is a nice player but not a star. He wont bring back an ace, but he could yield a mid-rotation starter of similar experience.Of course, this is also robbing Peter to pay Paul: The Marlins were just 13th in the NL in runs, so trading Ozuna opens up another hole. Maybe Yelich slides over to center and?Derek Dietrich?gets a shot in left (Ichiro Suzuki remains best-suited to a backup role). Maybe Giancarlo Stanton bounces back with monster numbers. Maybe the Marlins trade Ozuna and sign a free-agent outfielder. -- David SchoenfieldHow can the Phillies upgrade their offense?2016 record: 71-91The Phillies ranked last in the majors in runs (610), OPS (.685) and total bases (2,090) the past season, so their biggest offseason priority is upgrading the offense. Theyd like to add a veteran bat or two to take some heat off a young pitching staff and provide protection for Maikel Franco, Odubel Herrera and the other young hitters in the lineup.But dont expect general manager Matt Klentak and his group to go on a free-agent splurge this winter. The Phillies dont want to block J.P. Crawford, Nick Williams or their other top prospects in the system, and theyd rather save their money for the stronger free-agent classes in 2017 and 2018. As such, Klentak and his group will probably be swimming in the Mitch Moreland-Brandon Moss-Adam Lind-Jon Jay-Colby Rasmus end of the pool.The Phillies are looking for veterans willing to sign one- or two-year deals and stick with their methodical, long-range plan. They have yet to put a specific target on when they hope the organizational rebuild will produce a team capable of contending in the National League East. -- Jerry CrasnickWere the final two months the real deal?2016 record: 68-93Through the first four months, the Braves went 37-68 and averaged 3.43 runs per game. Over the final two months, they went 31-25 and averaged 5.16 runs per game. Only the Rockies scored more runs per game in the majors those final two months. Freddie Freeman led the way, with a monster .340/.461/.680 line, while?Matt Kemp slugged .519 and drove in 39 runs, Ender Inciarte hit .342, Dansby Swanson came up and hit .302 with a .361 OBP, and Nick Markakis even hit eight home runs -- matching his total from all of 2015 through July 2016.I would say its reason for cautious optimism. In 2015, the Mets were the third-highest-scoring team over the final two months; they finished 26th in runs in 2016. The Blue Jays led the majors with 5.88 runs per game the final two months of 2015; they averaged 4.69 in 2016 (even as offense across the league went up). One thing to keep in mind: The Braves werent a young team in the field in 2016. They ranked 24th in average position player age (based on weighted playing time from Baseball-Reference.com). Although Swanson added youth, the Braves were otherwise relying on veteran guys such as Kemp and Markakis, and Freeman probably had the two best months of his career.You can probably expect the offense to be better than it was overall, as the Braves ranked just 29th in runs, even with the hot final two months. However, the key to getting the Braves back to .500 will be a vast improvement in the rotation. -- David Schoenfield Portland Trail Blazers Shirts . 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The Scottish Rugby Union has accused Englands top-flight body of acting inappropriately by threatening to withhold players from international duty in a row over a disputed medical bill.The five Scotland players, including captain Greig Laidlaw, have met up with their team-mates for a three-day training camp ahead of the autumn Test programme after World Rugby stepped in at the weekend.The case will be heard by the global governing body next month but the SRU has expressed disappointment over Premiership Rugby Limiteds actions and claims it has done everything possible to settle the dispute, which involves a former international, including twice offering to go through an independent medical arbitration process.A statement read: The outstanding medical case cited by PRL -- relating to one player dating from 2013 -- has no connection to any Scottish International currently playing in the Aviva Premiership so the decision by PRL to threaten the release of current England-based players in this context was both unhelpful and inappropriate.An SRU spokesman added: We usually have a good working relationship with PRL and so this tactic by them was both surprising and unnecessary.The case in dispute is historical. We have repeatedly offered to have an independent medical panel review the specifics of this case, but this has not been followed up by PRL and its club.As a union we take our responsibilities for player welfare seriously and have respected the necessary processes throughout.The statement added: Scottish Rugby has not withheld fees or insurance payments and the costs under dispute are in the tens of thousands, not the six figures quoted by PRL. If an independent arbitration rules that a payment is due, then Scottish Rugby will honour that ruling.English clubs also threatened to bar players representing Italy, Samoa and Tonga in similar disputes with the total medical and injury compensation bills in all cases said to reach ￡400,000.ddddddddddddPremiership Rugby declined to respond to the SRU statement until after World Rugby rules in November.But, speaking on Saturday night, a spokesman said: The dispute with the SRU over unpaid medical and salary bills caused when a Premiership Rugby player was injured on Test duty has not been settled.However, Premiership Rugby has been informed that World Rugby will convene a regulations committee panel in November to settle the case and, on that basis, we are prepared to show flexibility and allow for our players to join the Scotland squad.A similar dispute with the Italian, Samoan and Tongan unions was settled earlier in the week.Despite the late decision, Laidlaw had been relaxed about the dispute.The Gloucester captain, who is joined in the squad by Exeter prop Moray Low, Harlequins wing Tim Visser and Saracens pair Duncan Taylor and Sean Maitland, said: I was always confident that it was going to be sorted.Gav Scott, the team manager up here, was in constant contact with me and to be fair to Gloucester and (director of rugby) David Humphreys, they were very open and talked to me pretty much every day on what was happening.It was a pretty easy one for me, there was no stress around about it. Its good to be here, international rugby is such a crucial part of the game throughout the world, so its important for players to be here.I dont think anyone really wanted to be holding players back. We are just glad everyone has been released and we can just get on with playing rugby now. ' ' '