Rays ready to collect info, interest at Meetings

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- The Rays' front office has arrived Lake Buena Vista in the midst of assembling a competitive squad for the 2018 season.
They'll continue working the process during Major League Baseball's Winter Meetings.
The Meetings officially began Sunday evening and run through Thursday's Rule 5 Draft. Gathering all 30 general managers and scores of agents together in a single locale, the week is traditionally a cauldron of action for teams looking to make moves.
"The GM Meetings, that was a time for us to collect information and get a better sense for where teams are, and I think leading up to the Winter Meetings, and the Winter Meetings will probably be a continuation of that process," said Erik Neander, Rays general manager and senior vice president. "Not sure it will be the catalyst for action, but it's continuing to collect information, collect interest in other teams, goals, etc., and see if there's any chance for teams we're talking to that have things that match our needs, and kind of fit together in a way that can help both teams out. That's a big part of it."
Plenty of teams will be calling the Rays in the hopes they might be able to lure away through trades the likes of Evan Longoria, Chris Archer, Jake Odorizzi, and Alex Colome. But as Rays management has proven in the past, they know how to drive a hard bargain and come away with the players they want, too.

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Rays manager Kevin Cash will address the media at 9 a.m. ET on Monday, and will no doubt discuss plans for how the infield will look and who will comprise this season's bullpen.
The coverage of that, along with Neander's daily thoughts, will appear on Raysbaseball.com throughout the week. Be sure to use the comment section at the end of each story to sound off with your own opinions about what transpires.
Stay tuned. At the Winter Meetings, unexpected things can, do and almost certainly will happen.