Back to business ....

Now that the five days of hype and extra attention are over, Rays officials are back home working to make deals as they normally do - in private, by phone and e-mail, without the scrutiny of daily media briefings and speculation based on who they were seen talking to in a hotel hallway.

The Rays came home from Nashville with one less headache - having made Elijah Dukes' the Nationals' problem - and the same needs they had going in: a lefthanded hitting outfielder, a lefty reliever, a super utilityman, and a potential upgrade at catcher.

And they are not in any hurry to fill those needs, willing to be ambitious and willing to explore all avenues in shooting high before settling for Plan B or C.

For example, though there has been considerable chatter about acquiring C Michael Barrett, nothing is imminent. And probably won't be until they fill their top priority and get that extra outfielder.

The scenario going around the Internet Friday made sense, that Barrett's decision to accept arbitration from the Padres - even though they only project platoon duty for him - was made so he could instead be traded to the Rays (or elsewhere) and get the playing time he craved. That's because as a free agent (had he refused arbitration) a signing team would have had to give up a draft pick, whereas this way they can give the Padres a spare part.

Eventually, that could happen with the Rays. (Or the Padres could make it more interesting by acquiring Houston OF Luke Scott, whom the Rays also have interest in.) But the Rays have other needs beyond catcher to fill first, and that's what they're likely to focus on for now. And with the approaching Dec. 12 deadline for contracts to be tendered, they may wait even longer to see who else becomes available.

Live from Nashville, day four ...

AFTERNOON UPDATE: With no deals in sight, Rays executive VP Andrew Friedman was headed home on a mid-afternoon flight with plans to continue discussions in their search for a left-handed hitting OF.
The Rays took RHP Tim Lahey with the first pick of the Rule 5 draft and traded him in a pre-arranged deal to the Cubs for about $150,000 - which is a nice $100,000 profit given the $50,000 drafting fee.
They lost one player, RHP Evan Meek, who was taken with the second pick by Pittsburgh. Meek had some good stuff, but the Rays obviously didn't think enough of his potential to include him on the 40-man roster.
In the Triple-A portion of the draft, they made three picks: OF Rashad Eldridge (from Minnesota), RHP Julio Puentes (from Houston) and RHP Jose Mejias (from the Mets).
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Suitcases are piling up in the vast lobbies of the Opryland village as the meetings are headed toward conclusion following this morning's Rule 5 draft.

Though Miguel Cabrera, Dontrelle Willis, Andruw Jones (agreed to terms with Dodgers late Wednesday) and, don't forget, Elijah Dukes changed teams this week, there is a sense of disappointment over the lack of deals.

There has been plenty of talk, though, and among the more interesting chatter was the Mets emerging as strong candidates to acquire Johan Santana and the Orioles making serious efforts to blow up their unsuccessful team and start a much needed rebuilding.

From the Rays standpoint, there's been continued chatter over their efforts to land a left-handed hitting outfielder. At one point, there was buzz they were close to a trade (Houston's Luke Scott?), then that they could make a play for a younger, better player (Los Angeles' Andre Ethier?) and then that they were close to something with a free agent (Cliff Floyd?).

Agent Scott Boras made it sound like there hadn't been much in the way of talks with the Rays about a long-term contract for Carlos Pena, who is eligible for arbitration and has interest in a long-term deal, making it much more likely they'll work out a one-year deal.
The Rays have Pena for next season (and the year after) so the question is whether he goes through arbitration, signs a one-year contract to avoid the process or does a long-term deal. Boras' hunch? "He'll be with them next season.''

Live from Nashville, day three ...

EARLY EVENING UPDATE: Whatever the Rays were working on during the day - and executive VP Andrew Friedman acknowledged they may have been close to a deal - isn't likely going to happen tonight, and may not happen at all.
Friedman said they talked to a number of teams and agents about a bunch of different things, but nothing was imminent. Interesting, the talks did expand beyond the search for a lefthanded hitting outfielder, but he wouldn't get specific.
And there's yet another name to consider, as the agents for Tampa native Luis Gonzalez told espn.com that the Rays are one of several teams they've been in contact with.

Otherwise, it's very quiet tonight on the overall trade front, with many team officials headed to an awards banquet.

LATE AFTERNOON UPDATE: Here's another interesting possibility as a lefthanded hitter to be acquired in trade - Laynce Nix.
He was designated for assignment on Wednesday by the Brewers, which means he is very available. He spent most of last season at Triple-A Nashville, hitting .268 with 24 homers and 74 RBIs, and got only 12 big-league at-bats, and didn't get a hit.
Nix, 27, was acquired from Texas in July 2006, having played parts of four seasons with the Rangers, playing a career-high 115 games in 2004. Overall, he has a .238 career average in the big leagues with 29 homers and 118 RBIs.

Andrew Friedman will have his daily media briefing at around 6 Tampa Bay time, details as they happen.

AFTERNOON UPDATE:
The Rays sure appear to be  working on something, based on the frequency in which manager Joe Maddon was checking his text messages during the annual manager's lunch. The chance of news today might be 50-50, but there's nothing set at this point.

In checking through the list of lefthanded-hitting outfield-playing trade possibilities, one name that could make sense is Andre Ethier, the Dodgers'  25-year-old who hit .284 with 13 homers and 64 RBIs.

It seems less likely that the Rays are interested in bringing back Josh Hamilton, who is being made available by the Reds. In other ex-Ray news, Jorge Cantu was released today by Cincinnati.

The Rays and Twins shared a table at lunch, but Maddon and Ron Gardenhire did a good job of not talking shop, with no chatter about Delmon Young, Matt Garza or Jason Bartlett. Gardenhire did talk about how much he loves St. Pete - having trained there when he played for the Mets - and has thought of someday retiring to Treasure Island.

Also ran into Ben Zobrist - who lives in the Nashville area and came by the hotel to see his agent and manager Joe Maddon - and he said he is feeling good and ready for spring training.

The Rays got some good news at mid-day, being named Organization of the Year by the Topps Co. The award is based on the number of players in an organization that wins Topps awards during the season, such as players of the month and minor-league all-star teams.

The Tigers-Marlins trade has gone through, with the official announcement at 4 p.m. eastern.

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There's some major questions lingering as the winter meetings have moved past the halfway point, such as:

whether the Twins are going to trade ace Johan Santana? (Maybe not this week, anyway, as Minnesota manager Ron Gardenhire  said this morning "nothing's happened and nothing's imminent.")

whether the Orioles are going to trade Erik Bedard or the A's are going to trade Dan Haren? (There's been lots and lots of talk, so maybe.)

whether the Marlins-Tigers blockbuster is going to become official? (It should be, perhaps later today, as all eight players have to get medical clearance.)

and whether there is any point in going outside the Opryland biosphere for what would be the first time since getting here on Sunday? (Don't bet on it - it's in the 50s now and headed to the 30s!)

So far it's been an uneventful morning, filled mainly be the managers' media sessions as each one - except Joe Torre, by tradition) - sits for a half four and takes questions.

The most Tampa Bay-relevant comments of the morning were by Twins manager Ron Gardenhire, who raved about the players sent to the Rays, RHP Matt Garza and SS Jason Bartlett, and also said he had no worries or concerns about Delmon Young and that he would start in Minnesota with "a clean slate."

From a Rays standpoint, they are expected to continue talks today with other teams and agents about filling their need for a lefthanded hitter who can play the outfield, but are not under any urgency to make a deal here.

The free agent market isn't very promising and the trade market doesn't appear particularly deep, but one interesting name being speculated upon in the media room is former Ray Josh Hamilton.

The Reds need starting pitching, which the Rays have in some excess, but the question would be whether the Rays want to revisit Hamilton's past, as the No. 1 draft pick whose career was nearly ruined by drugs, then resurrected after he was lost in last year's Rule 5 draft as he made an amazing comeback to play in the big leagues.

Otherwise, it's the same group of candidates that has been talked about.

More to come.

Live from Nashville ...

UPDATE:
Longtime manager Dick Williams, former commissioner Bowie Kuhn, former Dodgers owner Walter O'Malley, manager Billy Southworth and former Pirates owner and World Series founder Barney Dreyfuss were elected to the Hall of Fame today by two new veterans committees.

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The winter meetings are officially underway with team officials having arrived, traipsed through the vast lobbies of the Opryland hotel and settled into their suites.

Now they start talking ....

We'll provide updates throughout the day, and report promptly on any Rays news, but it's impossible to keep up with every rumor. That's because so many of them are made up. Unlike it seems to be portrayed, the lobby scene at the winter meetings is not necessarily filled with rumors and good information. Team officials don't stand under signs and give out tips.

Sometimes, the rumors you hear about of trades and signings are the product of good reporting, from sources (often not the GMs), willing to share info on what their team is doing. More often, it's personnel from one team - a scout, a mid-level exec, a manager - dishing dirt on what another team is offering, seeking, and/or planning to do. (Which means they might be talking for a purpose.) And sometimes it's just a matter of conjecture - of beat writers, of radio and TV folks, of posters to blogs and emailers - that is thrown out, reported as fact and sometimes suddenly considered gospel.

Enough about how it works ...

As for news - there will be an announcenent at 11 about possible new members to the Hall of Fame, as voted by two new veterans committees.

Yankees boss Hank Steinbrenner has told reporters the team wants an answer today on its offer to the Twins for Johan Santana.

And there has been one somewhat actual development - Andy Pettitte has decided he will pitch this season for the Yankees.

Winter wonders ...

Rays officials arrived mid-day Monday at the Disney Dolphin resort and immediately delved into meetings that lasted much of the day and night. First internally, then with representatives of other teams and agents representing free agents.

Their primary goal is to improve their bullpen, and Friedman said there are options via trades and with free agents. Possibilities include Russ Springer, David Riske and Octavio Dotel, though the Rays aren't going to commit a lot of money or sign a veteran for very long.

* Friedman said they are also discovering “a tremendous amount of interest” in their young players. Outfielders Rocco Baldelli and Carl Crawford - whose modest long-term contracts make them even more attractive - are primary topics of conversation, but trade talks may also include B.J. Upton (whom the Marlins have asked about) and Jorge Cantu.

* Talks with Japanese infielder Akinori Iwamura are going to continue this week, but according to agent Alan Nero they are nowhere close to a deal, with significant gaps in both dollars and structure. Iwamura is scheduled to take a physical on Tuesday and return to Japan on Wednesday, most likely without being signed. The Rays have until Dec. 15 to sign him.

* The plan to shift the three-game May 15-17 series against Texas to the Disney complex is close to getting the necessary approvals but won't be made official this week.