UPDATE, 6:46: Maddon said dinner with Sheffield was just to get to know him, and there was no expression of interest. "Very informative, but that's it," Maddon said. "I wanted to get to know him better. Down the road it could help us."

DEVELOPING: At last week's winter meetings, free-agent OF/DH Gary Sheffield said he wanted to play for the Rays and hoped for the chance to talk to them about. Friday, he had dinner in Tampa with manager Joe Maddon, and said on Monday night on Sirius XM Radio that he expects to hear something back:

"I had a meeting with the Rays, and they’re going to get back to me, and it’s out there now that they’re talking to me and hopefully something comes about.  I wanted to play last year, and the Nationals made a pitch all off-season.  The Giants, the Rangers, all these teams was coming after me, but then all of a sudden, oh and the Diamondbacks, and so when it all came down to it, it was about situations came up where they’d sign another player and then all of a sudden when I was getting ready to sign somewhere else, the player turned down a deal somewhere else and he became an Arizona Diamondback and at the last minute, you know, obviously he’s younger, so they went that route.  I got a call on the 18th of April and asked me to come play every day right field without no Spring Training and I was like, ‘No, I’m not going to do that.’  I have to have time to have Spring Training just like everybody else.”