"Thank goodness we can talk about baseball now. Wilson Ramos is safe, the offseason churns forward and Mike Rizzo will not be going Venezuela, but to Milwaukee for the annual General Manager meetings.

We'll be touching down in Milwaukee today and will have updates over the next three days from the event. We'll delve more into the below topics this week, but as this offseason mile-marker gets going, here's a quick primer:

What will happen: The GM meetings typically bring far less action than the annual winter meetings, which will come in early December in Dallas. Owners will also convene in Milwaukee, and the discussions will range from competition issues to finalizing the final remaining hurdles to completing a new collective bargaining agreement.

What won't happen: The bigger stars available as free agents will likely wait until the market develops. Teams may also want to wait to sign big-ticket free agents until the issue of draft pick compensation for losing/signing Type A free agents — said to be one of the final wrinkles to iron out in the new CBA — is decided.

What could happen: With all 30 general managers in one place, though, trade talks are bound to bubble up. Last year, the Braves and Marlins agreed on their Dan Uggla-Omar Infante trade at the GM meetings. The GMs also lay groundwork for future moves by talking trades and meeting with agents. Also, with Jonathan Papelbon having agreed to a four-year, $50 million contract and establised a market for, closers could come off the market sooner than other top-tier free agents. "