Twins not planning to trade stars like Byron Buxton, Joe Ryan this winter: Sources  —  All those fans waiting for their teams to acquire one of the Minnesota Twins' stars probably can forget it.  —  The Twins do not anticipate moving center fielder Byron Buxton or right-handers Joe Ryan …

MLB winter meetings: Free agency intel from Olney and Passan  —  MLB's winter meetings begin Monday in Orlando, Florida, signaling the time when baseball's offseason activity is likely to take off.  —  What's the latest on free agent hitters, including coveted sluggers Kyle Schwarber and Kyle Tucker?

Top 5 starting pitchers available on free-agent market  —  This winter's starting-pitching market got off to a strong start when Dylan Cease agreed to a seven-year, $210 million contract with the Blue Jays.  —  That deal took a notable name off the board, but there are still some big …

Pirates send Johan Oviedo to Red Sox in five-player trade  —  The Boston Red Sox, seeking to fortify their starting rotation, acquired right-hander Johan Oviedo from the Pittsburgh Pirates in a five-player trade that sent heralded outfield prospect Jhostynxon Garcia to Pittsburgh, the teams announced Thursday.

What we're hearing: Marlins have pitching to deal; Bichette to Boston?  —  Twice already before this upcoming week's Winter Meetings, the Boston Red Sox evaded free agency and instead used prospects in trades for starting pitchers.  Could other similarly positioned clubs do the same?

What we're hearing about the Cubs: Renewed interest in Alex Bregman  —  The Chicago Cubs are preparing for Kyle Tucker's exit as a free agent, ready to give rookie hitters Owen Caissie and Moisés Ballesteros the runway to develop at Wrigley Field.  Pitching remains the club's primary focus …

What we're hearing about Tatsuya Imai.  Plus, could Dodgers trade Teoscar Hernández?  —  Tatsuya Imai, the right-handed Japanese pitcher who is headlining the international free-agent class, is keeping an open mind about his future, according to a league source briefed on his posting process.

Cardinals continue collecting pitching depth, pluck Zak Kent off waivers from Guardians  —  St. Louis Post-Dispatch writer Daniel Guerrero joined Lynn Worthy to catch up on the Cardinals' offseason additions and subtractions ahead of Major League Baseball's Winter Meetings.  —  kAm%96 r2C5:?2=DV 244F>F=2E:@?

Tigers interested in reliever Brad Keller as starter in free agency  —  Remember when the Detroit Tigers tried to convert right-hander Ryan Helsley from reliever to starter, only for him to stay in the bullpen by signing a two-year, $28 million contract with the Baltimore Orioles?  —  Here we go again.

Closer Emilio Pagán ‘super excited’ to re-sign with Cincinnati Reds … Emilio Pagán and his family never wanted to leave Cincinnati.  —  “But it obviously takes both parties to want to get something done,” he said.  —  After a monthlong process that accelerated in the past few days …

What we're hearing about the Dodgers before next week's Winter Meetings  —  The Los Angeles Dodgers inked their first free-agent signing of the winter Wednesday, bringing back clubhouse favorite Miguel Rojas on a one-year, $5.5 million deal.  The move didn't come as a surprise.