O's hoping to make a splash at Winter Meetings

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- The Winter Meetings are back at Disney World, but whether the Orioles will have a magical week remains to be seen.

Baltimore's only big move in an otherwise busy offseason around baseball has been trading closer Jim Johnson to Oakland. This puts some pressure on executive vice president of baseball operations Dan Duquette & Co. to try to make some major upgrades to keep pace in the American League East.

There will be lots of rumors flying around the Walt Disney World Swan & Dolphin Resort, and the O's have a lengthy to-do list -- including upgrading the rotation and finding solutions at closer, left field, designated hitter and second base.

MLB.com will have it all covered, with all 30 beat reporters working the lobbies from the moment the hotel begins filling up on Sunday night through the Rule 5 Draft on Thursday.

In addition to the news and rumors, MLB.com will hand out its Greatness in Baseball Yearly (GIBBY) Awards and Orioles manager Buck Showalter will meet with the media to discuss the team's offseason needs and other moves. Stay tuned for a daily recap of all things O's on orioles.com. I'll also be using my blog and Twitter to supplement coverage and help provide insightful news, thoughts and analysis in the most timely and accurate manner possible.

I'd also like to hear from you about what moves the Orioles are/aren't making these next few days. Which players should they aggressively pursue? Who is an expendable trade chip? Fans are encouraged to enter their thoughts in the comments section this week and join the discussion on Twitter with their suggestions for getting the club back to the postseason.

By the end of the week, we should know a lot more about what direction the Orioles are headed in.