ST. PETERSBURG -- "Blockbuster" and "Rays" usually mix like oil and water at Major League Baseball's Winter Meetings.
Tampa Bay has always maintained that it feels no pressure to get something done during the annual gathering because it is working to better the team throughout the entire calendar year. So normally, the Rays use their time at the Winter Meetings as an exploratory mission to uncover potential interest in players and free agents, and to make queries of teams and the agents of free agents about players they are interested in.
Given that history, 2012 became one of the Rays' most active Winter Meetings.