What to expect at the Winter Meetings in Milwaukee

The annual General Managers meetings are set to take place in Milwaukee starting tomorrow, Tuesday, November 15th and continue till Wednesday, November 16th. Not a lot of moves are generally made at the GM meetings, but the groundwork for future trades and moves are often laid out.

Last season, the Marlins struck quickly at the GM meetings. The Marlins agreed to send Dan Uggla to the Atlanta Braves for Omar Infante and Mike Dunn. The Marlins then used some of the money that had recently been tied down to Uggla to go out and sign catcher John Buck.

The Marlins in the past have also been busy at the winter meetings. In 2007, they made a blockbuster trade with the Detroit Tigers. The Tigers received Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis for Andrew Miller, Cameron Maybin, and four other prospects. Trust me, Marlins fans are not soon forgetting this trade. The winter meetings is also where the Marlins acquired now superstar and face of their franchise, Hanley Ramirez. Ramirez was acquired along with Anibal Sanchez for Mike Lowell and Josh Beckett from the Boston Red Sox. This is a trade where both teams benefited quite well, except when Beckett was drinking beer in the locker-room, of course.

So with the Marlins having a busy past at the winter meetings, what can we expect this time around?

If the Marlins make any moves, I would expect it to be the signing of Jose Reyes. However, that is unlikely with the new CBA likely not expected to be agreed upon this week.

Expect the Marlins to lay some groundwork on potential market for first basemen Gaby Sanchez. The team has been interested in Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder, and has even expressed some interest in moving Logan Morrison to first. Gaby looks like a long shot to return to the Marlins in my view.

Also, I would expect the Marlins to call the Chicago Cubs about Carlos Marmol as a potential closer option. The Marlins are also expected to gauge the starting pitching trade market. Keep an eye on the Oakland Athletics Gio Gonzalez. Overall, expect a busy few days for the Marlins brass. At the end of the meetings though, do not expect any new players to be donning the new Marlins uniforms. I doubt players start signing until after Thanksgiving.