Red Sox raising ante for Santana  —  BOSTON — On the eve of the start of the winter meetings, the intrigue surrounding Minnesota Twins left-hander Johan Santana took one more unexpected turn.  —  The Red Sox yesterday did an about-face and decided to include outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury in a package for the premier pitcher.

Is it deal or no deal for the Angels?  —  With Garland, Hunter on board, Reagins can seek out bigger names at the winter meetings.  —  NASHVILLE — The winter meetings used to be such sleepy affairs for the Angels under General Manager Bill Stoneman, who either had too few Disney dollars …

Minaya under pressure in New York  —  FOXSports.com, Updated 2 minutes ago  —  LIKE THIS STORY?  —  Mets general manager Omar Minaya always takes a high-energy approach, but it would be understandable if he was even more motivated this off-season.  —  The pressure on him is growing.

Cubs, Sox target outfielders at winter meetings  —  NASHVILLE — A large Cubs front-office contingent set up shop Sunday in the Opryland Hotel, a day ahead of the scheduled arrival of White Sox brass at the winter meetings.  —  Chicago's teams need outfielders, to the point that both might …

Pads near three-year extension with Peavy  —  FOXSports.com, Updated 9 minutes ago  —  LIKE THIS STORY?  —  The Padres, moving toward a watershed moment in franchise history, have made significant progress toward signing right-hander Jake Peavy to a three-year contract extension.

Astros, Giants interested in Tejada  —  The Astros and Giants are among the teams that have expressed interest in Orioles shortstop Miguel Tejada, sources have told SI.com.  —  The Astros, who signed free-agent second baseman Kaz Matsui to a three-year, $16.5 million contract on Sunday …

Dodgers step up interest in A. Jones  —  NASHVILLE — The Dodgers have stepped up talks with free-agent center fielder Andruw Jones, a club official confirmed Sunday.  —  Jones is coming off the worst season of his career — .222 average, 26 homers, 96 RBIs.

Moore's approach puts Royals on track for jump in payroll  —  The primary challenge this week for Royals general manager Dayton Moore isn't finding sufficient payroll in his 2008 budget to pursue the club's two principal free-agent targets — outfielder Jose Guillen and right-hander Hiroki Kuroda.

Prospectus Q and A: Neal Huntington by David Laurila  —  Neal Huntington … David Laurila: Since you came on board, there has been a lot of talk of your bringing "the Indians model" with you to Pittsburgh.  How do you view it?  —  Neal Huntington: I don't think that we're trying to recreate the Indians model, per se.

Nats in the market for catcher  —  Despite Schneider trade, Flores not anointed as starter  —  NASHVILLE — Now that Brian Schneider is a member of the Mets, the Nationals are looking for a catcher.  —  It's not certain if they are looking for a starter or backup.

Lesser Lights Get Chance to Shine for Boras  —  It is a winter meetings tradition, like the eager job-seekers, the Christmas tree in the lobby or Tommy Lasorda backslapping old pals.  At some point each day, the agent Scott Boras will march from one elevator to another …