Winter Meetings could be busy for Rays, Silverman

SAN DIEGO -- With plenty of business taken care of in the rear-view mirror, the Rays will continue to move forward when the annual Winter Meetings officially begin on the San Diego bayfront.

Matt Silverman will be knee-deep in the action. The Winter Meetings are nothing new for the Rays president of baseball operations, but this will be his first in his new role as the successor to Andrew Friedman.

Friedman went to the Dodgers after the season, prompting Silverman to move from his role as team president. Having Silverman at the helm won't be the only change in the Rays' lineup at these meetings. Joe Maddon will not be a part of the Rays' contingent. The popular manager ended his nine-year tenure with the Rays by exercising an opt-out clause in his contract before agreeing to a five-year, $25 million deal to manage the Cubs.

Succeeding Maddon will be Kevin Cash, who was named the fifth manager in team history on Friday.

Silverman, Cash and Co. will continue to try and assemble a 2015 club that can improve upon the '14 club's disappointing season. Already they've traded Joel Peralta, Jeremy Hellickson, Cesar Ramos and Sean Rodriguez and designated Jose Molina.

Primarily the Rays will be looking for offense, although most teams in the Majors are doing the same thing. If anything does come to fruition, that offense would probably come through a trade rather than a top-dollar free-agent.

In addition to Silverman being made available to the media every day this week, Cash also will hold court with reporters Monday at 8 p.m. ET.

Fans are encouraged to take part by filling the comments section at raysbaseball.com this week with their own suggestions for getting the club back to the postseason.

The offseason Hot Stove is about to kick into full swing, and we'll have all of the news covered with daily reports. Check for fresh content on a regular basis and take part in the comments section to have your voice heard.