It has been an interesting offseason replete with noisemakers and newsmakers, from clear contenders landing prized pieces (Yankees and Twins) to missed-it-by-that-much 2019 teams trying to get over the October hump (D-backs, Phillies and Mets) to absolute also-rans looking to make 2020 a Leap Year in the truest sense (White Sox, Blue Jays, Rangers, Angels and Reds).

The Rays, Indians, Braves, Nationals, Padres, Brewers and even the Marlins have also all made some significant noise this winter, either via free agency or trade.

Other clubs, either by design or out of circumstance, have rated more on the quiet side. And with much of the offseason’s heavy lifting complete, maybe it’ll remain that way.

But here are seven teams that could still conceivably make some sort of splash between now and Spring Training, either by addition or subtraction.

1. Chicago Cubs
Theo Epstein had a message for fans at the Cubs Convention last weekend.

“Bear with us,” Epstein said.

That unintentional pun from the Cubs' president of baseball operations could be construed as a promise that something of significance is coming between now and Opening Day. Or it could turn out to be a more typical suggestion that patience is a virtue in a sport with such a long and challenging season.

Whatever the case, the Cubs have seemingly not accomplished their stated goal of both improving for 2020 and shoring up the long-term fortunes of the franchise with young, cost-controlled talent. Their payroll relative to the luxury-tax threshold has compelled them to stay quiet in free agency. And the still unresolved Kris Bryant service-time grievance has been a complicating factor in the trade market, as has an environment in which dealing a star player is rife with challenges because of the high value placed on prospects.

History tells us a blockbuster trade at this stage is exceptionally rare, but the Cubs could still move Bryant, Willson Contreras or Kyle Schwarber -- or somebody else -- in the coming weeks, because, as Epstein himself has stated, the Cubs’ present roster and farm-system outlook has them in danger of “falling off a cliff after 2021.”

2. Los Angeles Dodgers
I’m with my colleague Mike Petriello on this one. The Dodgers have been good and will be good. On paper, there is no legitimate reason why they shouldn’t be in the pole position in the National League West at midseason, when they can put their trade and financial resources to more precise use in shoring up whatever weaknesses present themselves and/or going after whatever available finishing piece is asserting himself at that time.

As Petriello writes: “If the goal is to improve for October, and you’re pretty sure you’re getting to October no matter what you do, then it might not matter terribly much if you’ve made your improvements on Nov. 15 or Jan. 15 or July 15.”

So that’s why the Dodgers have been so quiet, even as the L.A. uproar about that quiet has been loud.

But until some sort of buzzer sounds to indicate that all trade talk is off the table and teams must go into Opening Day with what they’ve got, we’ll still continue to point to the Dodgers (whose relative inactivity on the transactions page hasn’t been for lack of effort on the phones) as a transformational trade (Mookie Betts, David Price, Kris Bryant, et al.) waiting to happen. If for no other reason than to keep the conversation going until pitchers and catchers show up.

3. Boston Red Sox
Well, now they need a manager. So if nothing else, that’s coming. But what about the player roster?

A report from ESPN’s Buster Olney that, in the Betts trade talks, the Red Sox have asked for an acquiring team to also take Price and at least most of the $96 million remaining on his deal and fork over two top prospects is a pretty good explanation as to why nothing has happened on that front. And team owner John Henry has walked back his previous public stance that the Red Sox plan to get under the $208 million Competitive Balance Tax threshold. So maybe we won’t see the big (Betts and/or Price) or medium-sized (Jackie Bradley Jr.) trade that felt like a foregone conclusion back in December.

Still, given all the trade conversation in the air -- and the reality that resetting the tax penalty in 2020 would aid any effort to extend Betts past this season and/or keep the younger core players together in the coming years without a huge tax hit -- we’ve got to include Boston on this list, just in case a deal goes down.

4. Pittsburgh Pirates
With Ben Cherington only recently stepping into the general manager role in Pittsburgh, and the outfield free-agent market slow to materialize this winter, you can understand why a Starling Marte trade hasn’t happened. But it could still happen, especially with the D-backs and Mets among the potential fits.

The Pirates have control over Marte for two years (for the reasonable total of $24 million), so there are several junctures to deal him. They don’t have to do it now. But taking him into 2020 would be a risky road for a team in this particular competitive state. Marte is a gifted player who posted a 120 OPS+ last season, but he’s also entering his age-31 season and saw a slip in his defensive value last year.

5. Seattle Mariners
Seattle has shifted to a full-on youth movement, and -- believe it or not -- general manager Jerry Dipoto has been quiet all winter. (OK, he did swing a swap for Nestor Cortes Jr. early in the offseason. But that was very un-Dipoto-like in that Cortes was the only player to change hands in the deal, as the Mariners sent some international bonus money to the Yankees.)

Note, though, that we said “almost.” Kyle Seager, Mitch Haniger and Dee Gordon are all still here. Seager has what has been dubbed a “poison pill” in his contract in which his 2022 club option (worth between $15 million and $20 million) becomes a player option if he’s dealt. So that limits his market even as the teams that missed out on Anthony Rendon and Josh Donaldson figure out what to do at the hot corner. But Haniger -- who is under team control through 2022 -- is still an intriguing name at a time when the outfield market is materializing. Maybe he doesn’t get dealt until the Trade Deadline. But Dipoto has orchestrated trades involving exactly 200 players since September 2015, so he’s “due.”

6. St. Louis Cardinals
The Cards need a bat. At least, that’s the external opinion (hand raised).

That said, when St. Louis president of baseball operations John Mozeliak recently spoke with reporters, he downplayed that need.

“I think the improvement has to be internal,” Mozeliak said. “How many players performed at their level of expectation [last year]? Two? So you can easily imagine that getting guys back to their norm is realistic.”

He’s not wrong there, and in Tommy Edman, Harrison Bader, Dexter Fowler, Lane Thomas and Dylan Carlson (their top prospect, per MLB Pipeline), they might have enough to absorb Marcell Ozuna’s departure to Atlanta and to not do anything of note between now and Opening Day. Furthermore, the payroll already projects to sit above last year’s level -- even without Ozuna -- and team chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. told reporters he does not envision the payroll going up substantially from where it’s at.

But this was not a power-packed lineup in 2020, which is why the Cards have been pegged to the Nicholas Castellanos market and the Joc Pederson trade market. The Cards have room to improve in what should again be a competitive NL Central race, so we’re going to stubbornly list them here, knowing that we’ve seen budgets bend before if the right circumstances present themselves.

7. Colorado Rockies
On Monday, GM Jeff Bridich told the Denver Post that Arenado won’t be traded. OK, so much for that.

But wait! Then Arenado -- basically minutes later -- told MLB.com's Thomas Harding that he feels “disrespected” by the club.

Could internal tension now actually lead to a trade? Probably not. Arenado followed up with a statement on Wednesday night, stating his earlier comments were "out of character."

But let’s put the Rox on the list just in case.