ST. PETERSBURG -- Anybody who has followed the Rays for the past decade understands how they conduct business at the Winter Meetings.
Normally, baseball's annual gathering brings a lot of "what ifs" and rumors about potential trades involving Tampa Bay players. Meanwhile, in the background, Rays executives explore their options, listening to agents about their free-agent players and other teams about possible deals.
"I think generally speaking, our past behavior is a pretty good indicator of our behavior as we move forward here," said Erik Neander, Rays general manager and senior vice president. "There are situations, like Wilson Ramos, which came together around last year's Winter Meetings.