Javelina Winter Meetings Preview

After a very disappointing season, the Julian Javelina are hard at work planning their offseason. With precious few players under contract for 2012 and beyond, GM Jamie Hoyle's primary focus will be adding as many quality players and contracts to his roster as he can. While the depth of the upcoming draft and their position in the draft order should allow for an influx of talent, sources within the organization suggest fans should expect Hoyle to add as many as two contracts during the Winter Meetings via trade.

"I have no doubt we're going to be very aggressive," said an unnamed source who spoke on the condition of anonymity. "The cupboard is pretty bare right now, and there is a definite sense of urgency [as far as adding contracts goes]."

While the source was not specific about which positions Hoyle might look to fill via trade, a quick look at his roster may well provide a shopping list of sorts. As things stand right now, the team has clear needs all over the field.

Here is a breakdown on the team's needs and players who may be pursued in order to fill them:

2B: A traditionally scarce position, it would appear the likes of Neil Walker, Howie Kendrick and Brandon Phillips may or may not be available via trade this off-season, while Rickie Weeks and Danny Espinosa are available in the draft. While Hoyle seems likely to make a run at one of the available second-sackers in the off-season, it remains to be seen if the price tags will prove prohibitive.

SS: There are an abundance of productive short stops to be had early in the draft this year, and one could see a situation in which Derek Jeter and Ian Desmond could be had in trade. That said, Hoyle has never been a Jeter fan and Ian Desmond is, well, Ian Desmond. It's unlikely Hoyle will use the #5 pick on a SS not named Tulowitzki, so it seems he will have to wait to find his eventual SS unless an unexpected trade opportunity arrises.

OF: This draft is particularly top-heavy in terms of out fielders, so it's not out of the question that Hoyle could use his first two picks on slugging outfielders. That said, there are also a number of guys currently under contract who could conceivably be available in trade. It seems likely guys like Nick Swisher, Jayson Werth, Carlos Lee, Brett Gardner and Jason Heyward could become available during the Meetings.

SP: Much like with the outfielders, this draft is jammed full of above average starting pitchers. That coupled with the fact that only one team has a real abundance of starting pitching from which to deal probably makes it unlikely that the team will trade for starting pitching during the Meetings. That said, the Surge are loaded in terms of pitching and it wouldn't be too surprising if they moved as many as two pitchers during the Meetings. They'll want to move Pelfrey (good luck), but will have more takers for Kennedy and Hellickson.

In summary, it would seem mostly likely that Hoyle will do his best to add two contracts this off-season. The guess here is that his preference is to add two bats, most probably either two outfielders or a middle infielder and an outfielder. Should he not find deals to his liking there, he may have to settle for adding one bat and one arm. Either way, we can rest assured he will be active and aggressive and do everything in his power to improve his team.