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.

Yanks Waiting for Pettitte and Trying to Be Prudent  —  In another era, before Brian Cashman gained more authority as a general manager, the Yankees might have led the industry's spending spree on free agents.  —  "You live and learn," Cashman said.  "Every year you try to be better at what you do.

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.

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 …

Braves pursue Roberts … LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLA. // From The Cover  —  The Orioles have vowed to explore every avenue to acquire a middle-of-the-lineup bat and apparently that includes entertaining a trade offer for one of their most popular players.  —  According to several industry sources …

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.

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 …

Green challenges Burrell  —  LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - Dallas Green is out of the penalty box and mixing it up in the corners again.  —  His target this time isn't Charlie Manuel.  It's Pat Burrell.  —  On Day 1 of the winter meetings, Big D, still a prominent voice in the Phillies' organization 26 years …

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 …

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 …

Posada's priority is plating another championship  —  He is 35 years old and has started more games behind the plate than any American League catcher in the last seven years.  Jorge Posada says he doesn't mind assuming a heavy workload again in 2007, as long as he can add some hardware to his collection.

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?

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 …