"Baseball's winter meetings begin Monday in Dallas, and Terry Ryan isn't going down there to kick tires.

"We're going down there with things we'd like to accomplish," the Twins general manager said.

Items on the agenda include finding a closer, signing an outfielder and adding depth to the pitching staff, whether it's the rotation or bullpen. Already the Twins have filled holes at shortstop (Jamey Carroll) and backup catcher (Ryan Doumit), but there clearly is still much to do for a team that lost 99 games last season.

There is no better place for Ryan to multitask than the winter meetings, the epicenter of Hot Stove baseball, a four-day happening full of agents, scouts, coaches, trainers and executives from the major and minor leagues.

Even players looking for work have been known to show up and pitch their wares.

"You go in with objectives, there's no doubt," Ryan said. "You can meet anybody and everybody, you know who's there, and you know who's a good fit. You know absolutely who you have to have a session with."

Ryan acknowledged active interest in retaining free agents Michael Cuddyer and/or Jason Kubel, either of whom probably would start in right next season, filling an outfield that would start Denard Span in center and Ben Revere in left.

The Twins don't have a majors-ready outfield prospect, so if it's neither Cuddyer nor Kubel, the answer will come via free agency or trade. Trevor Plouffe will be moved from infield to outfield in spring training, but he doesn't appear to be a full-time option.

The Twins have roughly $12 million to $14 million to spend if they stick to the $100 million budget Ryan cited when he took the job Nov. 7, so their options are limited. Cuddyer, in fact, might be out of the team's reach. He made $10.5 million last season and is ready to cash in on an all-star season, and at 32 is likely approaching his last and best shot at a lucrative long-term contract.

Ryan and the Twins hope the opportunity to remain in the community, and with the team that made him a No. 1 draft pick in 1997, will be more important to him than money, but it won't all be about money. All players want to win, but especially veterans who haven't played in a World Series. "