Major League Baseball’s winter GM Meetings are wrapping up, leaving 30 general managers set to start their off-season renovations. TSN.ca looks at the day’s hottest rumours as free agent season gets off the ground.

We Need to Talk about Devon

The Toronto Blue Jays made an intriguing trade late Wednesday night, shipping young centrefielder Anthony Gose to the Detroit Tigers for second base prospect Devon Travis.

The National Post writes that Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos has high hopes for Travis, recently named the Tigers’ top prospect by Baseball America.

“We think he can come quick,” Anthopoulos said in a conference call. “We expect him to start in Triple-A next year but we wouldn’t rule out, barring adding some other guys to the 25-man [roster], him competing for a job at second base.”

The deal saw both teams dealing from a position of strength, Gose facing competition from prized prospect Dalton Pompey in centre while Travis languishing in the shadow of Ian Kinsler at second in the Tigers organization.

Friends or Foes?

One of the most interesting facets of the deal between the Jays and Tigers is that just hours prior they were both vying for the same prize.

Hours before the Gose-Travis deal was completed, the Jays were reportedly hot on the trail of Tigers first baseman/designated hitter Victor Martinez. FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal reports that the Jays were “the team [the Tigers] feared most in bidding for Martinez.”

Rosenthal adds that Martinez wanted to stay in Detroit. The fear of the Tigers, however, suggests that the Jays may be more serious contenders for top free agents than some expect.

Battery Boost

The San Diego Padres appear to be ready to deal, dangling a trio of pitchers and a pair of catchers as bait.

Jon Heyman of CBS reported Thursday afternoon that the club was taking offers on pitchers Ian Kennedy, Andrew Cashner and Tyson Ross and catchers Yasmani Grandal and Rene Rivera.

The Padres are believed to be looking for an offensive upgrade after scoring an MLB-worst 535 runs in 2014.

One and Done?

The Kansas City Royals are fresh off being one of 2014’s feel-good stories.

Not only did they end a 29-year playoff drought with a strong finish to the campaign, but they came just one win away from winning the World Series, despite having started the playoffs just two outs from a Wild Card loss to Oakland.

But will KC be able to keep its core together?

The Royals have free agents to worry about already with ace James Shields, DH Billy Butler and outfielder Nori Aoki already available on the free agent market.

Complicating the matter for the Royals, according to FOX Sports’ Jon Morosi, is the cost of keeping  its deadly bullpen tandem of Kelvin Herrera, Wade Davis and Greg Holland locked in. The trio could earn as much as $17.8M in 2015, which may force the Royals’ hand in terms of where it invests its already-small-market payroll.

Braves' New World

Rosenthal also chimed in on the bidding for free agent lefty Jon Lester Thursday, wondering if anyone can outbid the two perceived favourites for his services.

In a post on Fox’ Just a bit Outside, Rosenthal states that the bidding for Lester is believed to be a head to head match-up between the lefty’s former team, the Boston Red Sox, and his former general manager: ex-Sox wunderkind and current Chicago Cubs decision-maker Theo Epstein.

But Rosenthal warns that pundits shouldn’t rule out the Atlanta Braves, by virtue of Lester being a Georgia boy and the Braves’ need for rotation help. He notes that the team is in the process of clearing payroll and should the bidding drag on, the Braves could be a surprise contender.