The general managers' meetings primer

Q. When and where are the general managers' meetings?

A. They run Tuesday and Wednesday in Orlando, with most GMs arriving in town tomorrow night for a dinner. Most GMs will stay Thursday for the subsequent owners' meetings, held in the same swanky Orlando hotel, which will feature a session with commissioner Bud Selig.

Q. What actually happens at these meetings?

A. Well, they've changed it up a little this year. Usually, the crux of the discussion is about 1) Major League Baseball's recommended salaries for arbitration-eligible players and 2) suggested rules changes. But now, with baseball's collective- bargaining agreement up after the 2011 season, baseball will use this get-together primarily to discuss strategizing for the upcoming negotiations with the Players Association. The central baseball office will present its ideas and will seek feedback from the GMs only; in another twist, assistant GMs are not invited this year. Arbitration will be discussed, but the rules changes will be pushed back to the winter meetings Dec. 6-9.

Q. That's all that happens at these meetings?! Then why is Newsday sending you there? To do an expose on Sea World?

A. Hold your seahorses. When the GMs complete their formal business, they get to the sort of activities that interest us more: They meet with one another to explore trade possibilities, and they convene with agents to talk about free agents.

For instance, the Yankees and Tigers met at the 2009 GM meetings. Those talks formed the basis for the three-way deal with Arizona that made Curtis Granderson a Yankee.

Q. All of the teams will be represented. Will all of the big-time free agents be there?

A. Pretty much. Darek Braunecker, Cliff Lee's representative, said he likely will attend. Scott Boras never misses a GM meeting; this year, his biggest clients are Jayson Werth, Rafael Soriano and Johnny Damon. Carl Crawford's rep, Greg Genske, will be on hand. Victor Martinez, repped by Octagon, will have an advocate there, and Long Island native Tom O'Connell will attend on behalf of the one and only Carl Pavano.

Q. What can we expect the Yankees to do there this week?

A Probably due diligence on some potential Plan Bs. If, say, Lee re-signs with Texas, the Yankees have to figure out what they would do to improve their starting rotation. They can poke around for trade possibilities. If Braunecker attends, they can sit down with him again, and Brian Cashman surely will be in touch with the agents for Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera to try to advance those inevitable re-signings.

Q. What can we expect the Mets to do there this week?

A. Move further along toward hiring a manager; as Newsday was first to report, the list of second-round interviewees likely will include Terry Collins, Clint Hurdle, Bob Melvin and possibly Chip Hale.

Furthermore, while the Yankees will be looking to add, the Mets will be looking to subtract. Finding takers for Oliver Perez and Luis Castillo doesn't appear to be a realistic task, but there's no harm in running the idea up the flagpole. Carlos Beltran could be a more feasible trade chip as long as the Mets throw in some money.

Q. Besides the Mets guys, who else could be available in trade?

A. Tampa Bay's B.J. Upton. Florida's Dan Uggla. Kansas City's Zack Greinke. San Diego's Heath Bell and Adrian Gonzalez. The White Sox's Bobby Jenks, who could end up getting non-tendered, as could the Dodgers' Russell Martin.

Q. Ultimately, will this coming week feature all talk and no action, or will we see some moves?

It'll be mostly talk. In the best-case scenario, we'll see a trade or two along the lines of Oakland's acquisition of David DeJesus from Kansas City. On the free-agency front, if anyone signs, it'll probably be guys returning to their current clubs. We're unlikely to see big-time free agents switch teams until Nov. 23, when teams must decide whether to offer arbitration to Type A or Type B free agents.

But talk, of course, is not inconsequential. It leads to action down the road.