Lester said to be making progress  —  No confirmation from father, team  —  LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — A source with direct knowledge of Jon Lester's medical condition said yesterday that Lester's latest CT scan was clean and his cancer seems to be in remission, so the 22-year-old lefthander expects …

Put up or shut up time — Sox warn teams to give Ramirez offers quickly  —  LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - As good as the Red Sox are getting in their annual exercise in trading Manny Ramirez, this year's so far futile attempt will scale back dramatically after tomorrow.

Rangers come to terms with Padilla  —  Right-hander agrees to three-year contract, option for fourth  —  LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — The Rangers, on the first full day of the Winter Meetings, have reached an agreement with pitcher Vicente Padilla on a new contract.

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 …

BYE, BYE BARRY?  —  ZITO MAY RAISE HIMSELF OUT OF METS' PRICE RANGE  —  LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - The Mets took one step forward and one step back yesterday in their pursuit of Barry Zito.  —  Their top officials met last night at the Winter Meetings with the lefty's agent, Scott Boras …

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.

Will's Mill  —  More From Orlando  —  The Manny Ramirez sweepstakes are heating up, with the talk now shifting from the Dodgers (whose offer of LaRoche and Broxton fell short) to the Angels, who are reluctant to offer Scot Shields plus one of their top prospects.