I'm back. Took a pretty brutal red-eye flight from Las Vegas after playing poker at the Bellagio all night and then fell asleep for eight solid hours about 30 seconds after getting in the door. Suffice it to say that there won't be a blog entry today (aside from this one), but you can listen to me talk about the winter meetings experience Saturday afternoon on KFAN with Doogie Wolfson and Phil Mackey. They'll be on from 12-2, and I'm scheduled to join them for the second hour. You can listen online by clicking here.

Also, thanks to everyone who visited AG.com, Rotoworld, and NBCSports.com this week to check out my winter meetings coverage. AG.com had record traffic numbers all week and a ton of you clicked the link to go from here to my Rotoworld winter meetings blog, so everyone was happy. I'll be back Monday with a proper recap of my week in Las Vegas, but for now just know that the $2-$5 no-limit game at the Bellagio was extremely juicy and located right next to the star-studded Bobby's Room. Good times.

UPDATE #1: Just got back from the Rule 5 draft, where the Twins had a chance to take Eduardo Morlan back from the Rays ... and passed. Instead, they took Jason Jones, a 25-year-old right-hander from the Yankees who went 13-8 with a 3.26 ERA and 102-to-50 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 160 innings between Double-A and Triple-A. Jones has solid ERAs, but doesn't miss bats, induce tons of ground balls, or have pinpoint control. He may stick as a long reliever if Philip Humber or Boof Bonser get dealt.

UPDATE #2: While passing on Morlan to take Jones strikes me as a mistake, the good news is that the Twins avoided losing anyone of significance in the Rule 5 draft. Jose Lugo was taken from them by the Royals, but he's a 24-year-old reliever who's yet to advance past high Single-A and wouldn't have come close to cracking my upcoming Top 40 Twins Prospects list.

UPDATE #3: According to the press release in front of me, the Twins have re-signed Nick Punto for $8 million over two years, with a $5 million option or $500,000 buyout for 2011. Ron Gardenhire made it very clear during his press conference Tuesday that Punto would be the starting shortstop if he returns, so the Twins will presumably now turn their attention (and remaining payroll space) to third base and the bullpen. Punto from 2006 or 2008 is worth $4 million, but the 2005 and 2007 versions were awful.

UPDATE #4: Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times passes along that Adrian Beltre has recently added the Twins to his no-trade clause. However, that may not mean Beltre is against coming to Minnesota, but rather realizes that the Twins are interested in him and knows that he may be compensated for waiving the veto rights. Baker also speculated about a deal built around Beltre for Delmon Young.

More later, but in the meantime please check out my winter meetings blogging over at Rotoworld:

Rotoworld Hot Stove Blog - Live From the Winter Meetings

Updating AG.com with various Twins-related notes throughout the day has worked well so far, so let's stick to that for Day 3 here in Las Vegas ...

UPDATE #1: Joining the local beat writers in the Twins' hotel suite yesterday afternoon showed me how tough their jobs can be at times. LaVelle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Phil Miller of the St. Paul Pioneer Press, and Kelly Thesier of MLB.com did their best to pepper general manager Bill Smith with questions throughout their scheduled sit-down with him, but essentially got zero answers back other than cliches and generalities. It was very awkward.

Smith danced around even the most straightforward, non-prying questions and I'm told that's nothing new, which makes it tough for reporters to simply get usable quotes, let alone interesting information or a scoop. During his press conference Ron Gardenhire was much better about at least providing a little information and quotable material while giving non-answers, and occasionally said enough that someone willing to read between the lines (like me) can draw conclusions.

After spending a half-hour with Gardenhire and a half-hour with Smith, it's clear that the Twins want to re-sign Nick Punto to start at shortstop. Less clear but still seemingly apparent is that Delmon Young is being shopped. In fact, at this point it would actually surprise me if he's in the Opening Day lineup. Gardenhire and Smith both talked about the outfield depth and admitted that he had a disappointing season, and there were hints that at the very least they were less than thrilled with Young off the field.

UPDATE #2: LEN3 reports that the Twins could be in the mix for Mark DeRosa via getting involved in the multi-team Jake Peavy blockbuster. Meanwhile, Miller notes that Joaquin Benoit is on the Twins' radar as they search for bullpen help. It all depends on the cost to acquire them, of course, but on the surface both players strike me as worthwhile targets if the price is right.

UPDATE #3: While having lunch today I heard from a couple non-Minnesota reporters who think that the Twins have a legitimate shot at DeRosa, perhaps for a package involving Philip Humber. At this point Humber looks like a back-of-the-rotation starter or long reliever, so picking up DeRosa without giving up much else would be a very solid deal. Of course, the whole thing depends on the Cubs pulling off a trade for Peavy and an MLB.com report says the Cubs aren't even shopping DeRosa, so who knows.

More later, but in the meantime please check out my winter meetings blogging over at Rotoworld:

Rotoworld Hot Stove Blog - Live From the Winter Meetings

My plan for Day 2 here in Las Vegas is to use AG.com to post any interesting Twins-related information that pops up, so check back throughout the day for updates:

UPDATE #1: Absurd as it may sound, Jayson Stark of ESPN is reporting that the Rays are "still talking to the Twins about a deal that would bring outfielder Delmon Young back." That seems crazy to me and many people I've talked to agree, but Stark is connected enough and working the Bellagio lobby hard enough that it's tough to dismiss his reports. He notes that any Young-to-Tampa Bay deal would likely be a three-team trade, speculating that the Rockies (and Garrett Atkins) would be the other piece.

UPDATE #2: After speaking to "a Rays official," Marc Lancaster of the Tampa Tribune writes that they were "mystified about ESPN's report of a potential three-way deal among the Rays, Rockies and Twins that would bring Delmon Young back to Tampa Bay." Sadly, I'm finding out that such is life here at the winter meetings. Report, denial. Report, denial. Eat lunch. Repeat as necessary.

UPDATE #3: Torii Hunter can still get the media to swoon. Hunter and Andre Agassi held a joint press conference in the media room to announce a college scholarship program, and afterward there were no fewer than two dozen reporters lobbing questions his way. It sounds like a very worthy cause, so it's good to see it receive media attention, but it was interesting to see given the room's general disinterest in similar, non-news press conferences (like the MLB Network thing yesterday).

UPDATE #4: Mike Lamb re-signed with the Brewers and Livan Hernandez signed with the Reds.

UPDATE #5: Each manager has a scheduled time to meet with the media over the course of this week and Ron Gardenhire is slated to hold his mini-press conference today at six o'clock Minnesota time. I should have some interesting tidbits shortly after that.

UPDATE #6: I just had quite an experience. First I sat in on Gardenhire's press conference, along with LaVelle E. Neal III, Phil Miller, Kelly Thesier, and a handful of national writers. Then, thanks to Miller being kind enough to get in touch with the Twins' public relations department on my behalf, I was able to join them (and Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports) in the Twins' team suite for a chat with Bill Smith (plus Gardenhire, Terry Ryan, and Mike Radcliff, who were also there).

Ryan was leaving as we were coming in, and after introducing myself he said, "Nice to meet you. I know all about you." Naturally I replied, "Really?!" He then essentially went through my entire resume, from the blog to Rotoworld, and finished by saying that I did good work. Now, that's paraphrasing, but in an effort to make sure that I'm not insane witnesses have confirmed the basic events. Smith revealed nothing, side-stepping every question, but the trip up the suite was still a very memorable experience.

Lots more later, I'm sure, but for now I've got to work on Rotoworld/NBCSports.com stuff and then grab some dinner. In the meantime, please check out my winter meetings blogging over at Rotoworld:

Rotoworld Hot Stove Blog - Live From the Winter Meetings

A couple Twins-related notes from my first morning at the winter meetings ...

There are some rumors swirling that the Twins may be interested in Miguel Tejada, which seems somewhat far-fetched if not for the fact that they're definitely in the market for a shortstop.

Tony Oliva, Jim Kaat, and Luis Tiant were not inducted into the Hall of Fame by the veterans committee, who elected only Joe Gordon this year (after electing zero players last time).

UPDATE: Now there's some talk of interest in Delmon Young picking up, with the Phillies being linked to him. Philadelphia has a hole in the outfield with Pat Burrell not expected to re-sign and could offer up shortstop prospect Jason Donald, so the rumors could have some legs.

UPDATE #2: Casey Blake is reportedly close to signing with the Dodgers, who apparently have agreed to add a third guaranteed season to their offer. If paying Blake through his age-38 season is what it would have taken to land him, the Twins are smart to pass.

More later, but in the meantime please check out my winter meetings blogging over at Rotoworld:

Rotoworld Hot Stove Blog - Live From the Winter Meetings