At this year's winter meetings, we learned ... absolutely nothing

Here's what almost happened for the Texas Rangers at the week-long baseball winter meetings in Nashville, Tenn:

• They almost traded for Arizona's Justin Upton.
• They almost signed free-agent pitcher Zack Greinke.
• They almost traded Michael Young to the Phillies.
• They almost signed Josh Hamilton and almost watched Seattle pry him away (not sure how that works).

I suppose we've come to expect these kind of things in the age of instant Twitter speculation and mlbtraderumors.com, which I admittedly refreshed quite a bit each night this week. This stuff was so close to happening because writers wanted to be the first to say they had the story, even if it was just a rumor that mentioned a team and a free agent being "in talks." It's still out there for everyone to see (and to gossip over).

The way I see it, no one knows anything, and we may not learn any of the big-name news until one, two, three, four days from now. The winter meetings seemed to be a rumor fest filled with speculation, to be honest. That said, I would love to attend one of these things one year, just for the heck of it, and to say I did.

We did learn a few minor things at the winter meetings this week:

• Mike Napoli's time in Texas is over after the Red Sox plucked the catcher away from the Rangers for three years and $39 million. Apparently, general manager Jon Daniels was not comfortable pulling the trigger on that sort of deal with the 31-year old Napoli.
• The Rangers signed former Royals closer Joakim Soria, coming off his second Tommy John surgery. The TJ surgery is concerning, but he was one of the best closers in baseball from 2008-2010. He's still only 28 years old. And the deal was a two-year deal (team option for a third) worth a total of only $8 million. JD seems to have a strategy of filling the bullpen with older relievers, and Soria could be a steal at that price if he returns to some semblance of himself.
• Speaking of the bullpen, Koji Uehara joined Napoli in Boston on a one-year deal.
• Catcher Geovany Soto resigned with the Rangers for one year and $2.75 million.

My ideal situation: trading for Upton, signing Greinke and letting Hamilton walk.

It's up to JD as to what happens from here. Be back on the blog after the signings shake out for further reflection.