Storylines from baseball's Winter Meetings

SAN DIEGO - As he settles in and fires up his computer on the flight to San Diego for the Winter Meetings, Cincinnati Reds general manager Walt Jocketty was asked by a reporter if he'd ever traded a player from 30,000 feet up. The reporter was asking in jest, but Jocketty said yes. "Actually, when I was with St. Louis, that's when I got Mark Mulder from Oakland." That would have been December 2004, when Jocketty traded three players - Daric Barton, Kiko Calero and Dan Haren - to Oakland for Mulder. Jocketty was on his way to Hawaii when he worked out the trade with A's GM Billy Beane. It was in the days before email and texting, so the two talked on the air phone. You know the air phone, those phones that used to be recessed into the seat in front of you. "It was a huge air phone bill," Jocketty says. Baseball's Winter Meetings convene this week at the Manchester Grand Hyatt in San Diego, and Jocketty's story is typical of conversation when the topics aren't about which team needs what player. Here's the scene as people start arriving: Former manager Charlie Manuel is signing autographs and answering questions about wanting to manage again. "I've had job offers as a hitting coach, but I want to manage," Manuel says. For now, he's an advisor for the Phillies. Another manager, Colorado's Walt Weiss, greets Manuel, who asks Weiss if he likes managing. "It has its ups and downs," Weiss says. "It can be tough, but it can be fun, too." Kansas City manager Ned Yost checks in, but his room isn't ready. He says his offseason has been a whirlwind since the World Series, but he's hoping to unwind after the meetings. "I hope to get a couple of days off after I leave here," Yost says. A rookie manager, Chip Hale of Arizona, gets questions about what it is like to be interviewed for a job by a Hall of Fame manager, Tony La Russa, now the Diamondbacks team president, and a World Series champion pitcher, Dave Stewart, the Diamondbacks GM. "You can't let it intimidate you," Hale says. Detroit GM Dave Dombrowski and former Orioles GM Roland Hemond walk through the lobby having a conversation. John Hart, the new boss of the Atlanta Braves, walks quickly, not wanting to answer questions about signing former Oriole Nick Markakis. Safe to say, there's a lot going on. There will be all kinds of meetings. There's the Rule 5 draft. The Veterans Committee could elect a new Hall of Famer. There's a trade show and young professionals applying for hard-to-get internships with minor league teams. And, of course, there's trade talk. How believable are the reports? "Reporters take a small kernel and turn it into a large bag of popcorn," Atlanta Braves executive John Schuerholz likes to say. The Nationals will be looking for a second baseman, but there'll be speculation about whether they are listening to offers for Jordan Zimmermann or Doug Fister. The Orioles will be watched to see how they will replace Markakis and Nelson Cruz. And, of course, Dan Duquette's unique situation: He's working for the Orioles, but the Blue Jays want him as their president. The three big-name free agent pitchers - Max Scherzer, James Shields and Jon Lester - will be connected to any team with at least $100 million to spare. In addition, there are plenty of other stories to watch: * The San Francisco Giants lost their postseason hitting machine, Pablo Sandoval, to the Boston Red Sox, who gave him a $98 million contract. The Giants have no backup in their system, and it could be that Chase Headley, who has played for the Padres and Yankees, could be Kung Fu Panda's replacement in San Francisco. * Headley could also end up with the Marlins, who are looking for a run-producing bat to add to a core of young players, a strong rotation and a bullpen filled with power arms. Headley could play third base, meaning Casey McGehee would go to first. With the Braves retooling, the Marlins might be the biggest competition for the Nationals in the National League East. Is that possible? * The other World Series team, Kansas City, lost designated hitter Billy Butler to Oakland. Their best starter, Shields, is expected to be gone, and it doesn't look like right-fielder Nori Aoki is going to be back. So given the tight money supply, Royals GM Dayton Moore has a big task ahead. The Royals might have to trade from their bullpen strength to fill their other holes. * The NL's version of K.C., the Pittsburgh Pirates, will be looking to fix their rotation on the cheap with Francisco Liriano and Edinson Volquez gone. The Pirates gave a minor league deal to Clayton Richard, who is coming back from injury, and signed A.J. Burnett, a dependable ace for the Pirates in 2013 who slumped with Philadelphia last season. * Boston finished last in the American League East last season, so apparently, with the signings of Sandoval and Hanley Ramirez, the Red Sox are thinking of contending next season. But do they have enough pitching behind Clay Buchholz and Joe Kelly? Certainly not. The Red Sox have spent a ton of money, so it makes sense that they would boost their rotation by trading for Philadelphia lefty Cole Hamels. * The Toronto Blue Jays have been making headlines with the signing of catcher Russell Martin and the acquisition of third baseman Josh Donaldson, who replaces Brett Lawrie. Good moves, certainly, but the Blue Jays need another starter as well as a closer. Last year's closer, Casey Janssen, is a free agent. Good news for the Blue Jays is there are plenty of relievers on the market, including Sergio Romo, Luke Gregerson, former National Rafael Soriano, Jason Motte and Alexi Ogando. * Under new leader Hart, a former GM in Cleveland and Texas, the Atlanta Braves are retooling and could trade either Justin Upton or Evan Gattis. The Braves met with free agent pitcher Jon Lester, but Hart has said Lester is "the right person at the wrong time." The Braves need pitching. Ervin Santana and Aaron Harang are free agents. Kris Medlen and Brandon Beachy are gone and the rotation is left with Julio Teheran, Mike Minor, Alex Wood and David Hale. * The Los Angeles Dodgers will be trying to peddle an outfielder - anyone interested in Matt Kemp, Carl Crawford or Andre Ethier? - and find a shortstop to replace Ramirez. And the Dodgers might have a chance at Lester to pitch in a rotation that has Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke. * The St. Louis Cardinals might be the most relaxed team at the meetings. They picked up the right fielder they needed, Jason Heyward, in a trade, and so they are just going to see what's out there. If a deal comes up, they'll take it. If not, they feel like they don't need to do anything.