Mariners pursuing Zito  —  LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — While the Seattle spotlight on free agent pitching has been almost exclusively on Jason Schmidt, it turns out the Mariners are in the mix for free agent left-handed starter Barry Zito.  —  Only Zito, who is 28, has a higher profile …

Speculation heating up at the winter meetings  —  Quick hits from the winter meetings:  — As of late Monday night, the Orioles had made the best offer to Luis Gonzalez, but the Dodgers remained a possibility for the free-agent outfielder, a major-league source told FOXSports.com.

Rangers close to keeping Padilla  —  LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - The first piece of the Rangers' starting pitching puzzle could fall into place as early as today.  —  According to a source with knowledge of the negotiations, the Rangers were inching close to completing a three-year deal to retain right-hander Vicente Padilla.

Dodgers' deal for Manny unlikely  —  Red Sox price tag for slugger appears too steep  —  LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — The Dodgers seem more likely to acquire Andruw Jones, Vernon Wells or no power hitter at all than they do Manny Ramirez, judging from early Winter Meetings returns.

Byrnes has productive first day  —  D-backs seek pitching help at Winter Meetings  —  LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Disney World may be the happiest place on earth, but it certainly wasn't the busiest on Monday as baseball's Winter Meetings kicked off at the Swan and Dolphin Hotel.

Pettitte's status impacts Astros' moves  —  GM Purpura also exploring trade market for frontline starter  —  LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — The Astros are mildly interested in free-agent pitcher Jason Schmidt, but general manager Tim Purpura hasn't been aggressively pursuing the right-hander mainly because of the Andy Pettitte factor.

Trade talk surrounds pitching wealth  —  McCarthy's options for '07 hang in balance of rumored deals  —  LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — One of the newest rumors making its way around the Swan and Dolphin Resort on Monday involved the movement of White Sox southpaw Mark Buehrle via trade to the Mets …

Padres nearing agreement with Maddux  —  The Padres are closing in on a major off-season coup, nearing an agreement with free-agent right-hander Greg Maddux, FOXSports.com has learned.  —  The deal, which would be a significant blow to the Dodgers, the Padres' NL West rival …

Blue Jays want to keep Lilly, make late-night offer  —  ORLANDO, Fla. — The market for free-agent pitcher Ted Lilly officially increased late Monday night when the Toronto Blue Jays presented him with a formal offer.  —  The offer, terms of which weren't divulged, was something the Blue Jays intended to do with the left-hander.

Winter meetings heat up off-season  —  Baseball's annual winter meetings are about to kick off in Orlando, and that means lethal doses of free-agent signings, trades, rumors, scuttle and intrigue.  —  So what are these winter meetings, and why should we care?

Moreno isn't ready to duck his responsibility  —  The baseball meetings are going on in Florida right now, which I figured was probably news to the Angels, so I put a call in to team owner Arte Moreno.  —  As you recall, the Angels were a huge disappointment last season and the last we heard …

Marlins zero in on Kolb  —  LAKE BUENA VISTA — The Marlins may be closing in on their next bullpen reclamation project, but they'll have to open their wallet to get him.  —  Former All-Star closer Dan Kolb is intrigued with the idea of trying to revive his career with the Marlins …

Fish refuse to bite on Dontrelle trade  —  LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - Typically quiet first day at baseball's winter meetings, other than another idiotic signing by the Texas Rangers - three years, $34 million for Vicente Padilla.  Manny Ramirez still is an apparently reluctant Red Sox …

Winter meetings: Pirates trot after outfielder Nixon  —  Atlanta's hot-hitting LaRoche a possibility, too  —  By Dejan Kovacevic, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette  —  LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — The Pirates, it appears, are hot for Trot.  —  On the first day of Major League Baseball's winter meetings …

Carpenter and Cardinals agree to new five-year contract  —  LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — St. Louis Cardinals general manager Walt Jocketty looked at the price of pitching on the free-agent market and decided to throw his money at a guy he already had.  —  The Cardinals announced a five …

Winter meetings whispers  —  ORLANDO — Those Manny Ramirez-to-the-Dodgers rumors persist, with San Francisco seen as another slight possibility.  Not only is manager Grady Little encouraging general manager Ned Colletti to bring Ramirez to Los Angeles, bench coach Dave Jauss and hitting coach Eddie Murray are also in Ramirez's corner.