The 2014 Major League Baseball season has officially ended.

The San Francisco Giants and Kansas City Royals gave fans a terrific seven game World Series that went down to the wire, with the Giants ending it as world champions.

Now that the season is over, it's time to go shopping. Teams like the New York Yankees, New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers and Boston Red Sox still have a lot of work to do with a big payroll. To become a champion, a team must be solid at every phase of the game, so the offseason is very important.

Here are five notable players who will be free agents this winter:

1. Ichiro Suzuki

Ichiro Suzuki is one of the best hitters of the 21st century.

The "Japanese Wizard" has accumulated 2,844 career hits in his 14 seasons with the Seattle Mariners and New York Yankees. Suzuki and Pete Rose are the only two players in baseball history to have 10 seasons of 200 hits. Even last season at the age of 40, Suzuki had 102 hits for the Bronx Bombers. If you're looking for home runs, you should look elsewhere, but if you want a veteran team leader who can get on base, Suzuki could be your guy.

2. Pablo Sandoval

The San Francisco Giants have some questions to answer this offseason. World Series MVP Madison Bumgarner may have been their best defensive player, but Sandoval has been terrific for them since 2007. Sandoval has guided the Giants to three World Series titles and his postseason batting average was an incredible .344. This previous postseason, Sandoval had an MLB-record 26 hits, including 12 in the World Series alone. A lot of teams will offer Sandoval a huge contract, but what will the Giants offer?

3. Melky Cabrera

For the eighth time in his career, Cabrera eclipsed the 100-hit mark in a season. Cabrera had 171 hits an impressive .301 batting average this season for the Toronto Blue Jays. The Blue Jays know they have to re-sign Cabrera or their lineup will take a big hit. Cabrera also led the Blue Jays with 35 doubles last season. Cabrera is an All-Star caliber player and a World Series champion, so he will have high bidders. Could we see Cabrera return to the Yankees, where he won a World Series title in 2009? We'll have to wait and see.

4. Max Scherzer

The Detroit Tigers have a lot of good pitchers, but they may just lose their best one. Max Scherzer posted an 18-5 record this season with a 3.15 earned runs against average. Over the last two seasons, Scherzer has a 39-8 record and a Cy Young Award to show for it. Scherzer will demand huge dollars on the open market, and a lot of teams will show interest in signing the 30-year-old righthander. Teams such as the Colorado Rockies and Minnesota Twins could use him the most, as they were the worst pitching teams last season.

5. James Shields

James Shields isn't an elite ace, but he is a really good pitcher. With Scherzer a free agent this Winter, Shields could be a steal for a team that needs an upgrade in their rotation. Shields has had a winning record the last four seasons, including a 14-win season last year. He is also fully capable of giving a team a good outing without allowing a lot of runs. Shields doesn't have the greatest postseason numbers, but he could be a great addition for a team that needs help pitching wise. The Kansas City Royals have a good bullpen, but losing Shields would be very detrimental.

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