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Live from Disney: Winter meetings update, day 4

Meetings wrap up today, Rays still have a lot to talk about
 
Published Dec. 14, 2017|Updated Dec. 14, 2017

UPDATE, 11:09: RHP Steve Cishek, who was a very effective addition to the Rays pen last season, has reunited with pitching coach Jim Hickey, agreeing to a deal with the Cubs.

UPDATE, 10:40: Like most teams, Rays officials are heading out of the meetings though with only a drive across I-4 – though not always short – will continue trade discussions.

As for the talks that had reached "advanced" stage last night, Rays senior VP Chaim Bloom said: "I think they're still in that same stage right now. We have had a lot of detailed conversations with a number of different clubs. … We're going to see in the near future if that leads to us consummating a deal."

Though most of the attention and discussion seemed to be on the Cardinals and a deal for Colome and others, Bloom suggested there was more in play.

"One of the things about this week, and I think it's always this way to some degree but this year more so, it's a fortunate position to be in – we have a number of players that teams like," Bloom said. "And that expands the amount of possibilities that pop  up. So there's not necessarily one specific thing that we're zeroed in on, there's a number of different possibilities that we're trying to weigh."

"There are different conversations that are kind of in different stages. With a lot of these I don't know, at some point, maybe a certain immediate moment in time it gets to the point where you need somebody to say yes. But in general I think a lot of these have evolved as just kind of a healthy back and forth, very active talking about different possibilities, just try to narrow it down through that conversation."

UPDATE, 10:24: The Rays lost Smith, who was taken sixth overall by the Mets and then traded to the Royals, but kept Ciuffo and Ott. In the minor-league portion, the Rays lost INF Riley Unroe, their 2013 second-round pick, plus OF Angel Moreno and C Rafelin Lorenzo. They passed in the big-league portion of the draft, keeping a roster spot open for a potential trade addition, but did select RHP Francisco German from the Tigers. German is at the low level of the minors, likely headed to a short-season team.

DEVELOPING: The Rays are still talking about a lot of things as the winter meetings wrap up today, most importantly the potential trade of closer Alex Colome – and perhaps others, including Evan Longoria – to the Cardinals.

First up is the Rule 5 draft of players not on 40-man rosters, and the Rays could lose several players, with RHP Burch Smith and C Nick Ciuffo most likely. They have the 16th pick but haven't decided if they will make a selection.