Greetings from Day 3 of the winter meetings here in Indianapolis, where I can tell you the Mariners did indeed meet last night with Scott Boras, agent for Adrian Beltre (and Hank Blalock and Jarrod Washburn -- start your rumor engines). The Mariners are hoping to start clarifying the picture somewhat as to who is going to drive in runs for them next season now that the top of the order is solidified.

I'll be going on KJR AM 950 at 8:30 a.m. for a special Talkin' Baseball segment on the Mitch in the Morning show and I'm sure we'll get into that discussion.

One thing I've been hearing since the Mariners lost out on their chance to land outfielder Curtis Granderson, who was dealt (tentatively, anyway) yesterday as part of that Tigers-Yankees-Diamondbnacks swap: the Tigers' signing of shortstop Adam Everett on Monday was likely the sign that any hope Seattle had of securing Granderson was done.

Detroit had been looking to land a young shortstop or third baseman, along with relief pitching, in a Granderson deal and Seattle was one of the best matches.

Remember, the M's have Matt Tuiasosopo and Carlos Triunfel (whose stock, I keep hearing in corridors here, is starting to tumble. All those reports about his weight aren't doing much for his rep.). They also have a ton of bullpen arms in the majors and minors and the Tigers were looking to land most of them.

The plan was to secure the shortstop help if possible and then focus on landing a center fielder later on. But then the Tigers shifted gears when they saw they could land young Austin Jackson from the Yankees in the three-way deal. Detroit then went out and signed Everett on Monday as a stop-gap at that position and will focus on a long-term solution later on.

But once Everett was signed, it became clear Seattle was fading from the picture. Detroit could have waited until after the meetings to sign Everett, and doing so now smells of a team making one move in anticipation of a bigger one, which, in this case, did follow soon after.

As for Triunfel, he's still a year away from the big leagues at best. Had he not broken his leg early this past season, the M's might have had the trade juice to get a Granderson deal done.

Now, it's on to Plan B.