Ten names you'll hear a lot about at Winter Meetings

Kosuke Fukudome could be the next great Japanese player to make his way to the States. Koichi Kamoshida/Getty Images

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Don't let any of those blowhard national prognosticators try to fool you. Here's the unvarnished truth: You just can't tell about baseball's winter meetings. You think the BCS was hard to call? Try to figure out what's going to happen at baseball's annual pay and swap.

Sometimes these meetings are agonizingly slow, all talk and no action, a hotel lobby bar-hopping scene where just about everybody ends up drunk and home alone. Sometimes, the action at the meetings is head spinning, a flurry of player trades and free-agent signings that drops jaws around the industry and changes the sport for years to come.

No matter what deals are eventually reached this week in Nashville -- or not -- there's always something going on. Last year, for example, the great Barry Bonds blew through a fairly slow afternoon during the meetings in Orlando looking for, of all things, a job. And if he wasn't blatantly looking for a gig at the time -- his handlers objected to that particular portrayal -- he was, at the very least, making sure everyone knew that he didn't have one as of yet.

You want stranger? During those same meetings, Cubs general manager Jim Hendry came to an agreement to sign free-agent pitcher Ted Lilly -- while Hendry was flat on his back at an Orlando-area emergency clinic, hooked up to a heart monitor. Hours afterward, Hendry underwent an angioplasty.

The last time the meetings were held in Nashville, Omar Minaya, the general manager of the Montreal Expos, was listening to offers on just about his entire roster as the team cut payroll to ready itself for a sale. The big rumor was a possible trade between the Rangers and Red Sox, Alex Rodriguez for Manny Ramirez. That was December of 2002.

Minaya, now the GM of the Mets, ended up keeping the Expos together for the '03 season, for the most part. The Expos became the Nationals a couple of years after that. And A-Rod, you might have heard, never made it to the Red Sox.

Someone, always, is making news at the winter meetings: Here are 10 guys you're liable to hear from, or about, in the next few days. What you'll hear is hard to tell. But something's bound to happen:

Kosuke Fukudome

Remember the Daisuke Matsuzaka frenzy last winter? Fukudome won't equal that, but he's plenty popular. The Cubs, White Sox, Padres and Rangers, among others, are showing a lot of interest in the lefty-swinging outfielder, who can play center field but is probably destined for an outfield corner. He's a patient hitter with good on-base numbers who plays a solid outfield. Granted, there are a few of those guys on the free-agent market. But Fukudome reportedly wants only a three-year contract, something that makes him a lot more attractive to teams. And, without the need to pay a posting fee to his Japanese team, he'll come cheaper, too.

Scott Rolen

This silly soap opera in St. Louis seems to be coming to a head. We hope. Third baseman Rolen still hates manager Tony La Russa. And La Russa isn't going anywhere. That means that either Rolen goes or everybody's miserable at Busch Stadium next season. Though Rolen has had a lot of injury problems, there is some interest out there for the seven-time Gold Glover. The Brewers are tops on that list. The problem for new GM John Mozeliak is that Rolen still has three years and $36 million left on his contract, and the Cards don't want to pay any of that if they trade him. Takers? Anyone? Anyone?

Kyle Lohse

What's he doing on this list? Well, if you look who's available, the righty Lohse -- 63-74 in his career, with a 4.82 ERA -- may well be the best starting pitcher with big-league experience out there. He's almost certainly the best starter on the market younger than 30. And he's a free agent, so all it will take to sign him is a little money. OK, so it won't be a little money. But at least a team won't have to give up a bunch of prospects.

Hiroki Kuroda

The best Japanese free-agent starter available, Kuroda already has a four-year offer from the Mariners. But the Dodgers sent a trio of people to Japan to woo Kuroda last week, including closer Takashi Saito, and the Diamondbacks and Royals also are interested, according to the Los Angeles Times.

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