The start of the Winter Meetings is just days away and Shohei Ohtani figures to be the main story in Nashville.

Jon Heyman reports that the "prevailing opinion" is that Ohtani will sign with a team before the meetings end Dec. 6.

The Los Angeles Dodgers and Giants, Chicago Cubs, Toronto Blue Jays and Boston Red Sox have all been linked to Ohtani in free agency.

The New York Yankees want to bolster their offense this offseason and have been mentioned as one of the many clubs interested in a trade for Juan Soto.

According to a report, discussions between the Yankees and San Diego Padres have progressed to the point of exchanging names of players that could be involved in a potential deal.

Despite the development, a trade is not imminent.

Trade talks involving Chicago White Sox right-hander Dylan Cease have intensified to the point that a deal could come before the Winter Meetings, according to a report.

The Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Dodgers have been linked to Cease in rumors.

Cease, 28, still carries two seasons of club control and is just one year removed from finishing second in American League Cy Young voting.

The New York Mets aren't done adding to their starting rotation after signing Luis Severino to a one-year deal on Wednesday.

The club still plans to add multiple starters, according to a report.

New York remains in the hunt for Japanese star Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

Reigning National League Cy Young winner Blake Snell wants to pitch for the Seattle Mariners, according to reports.

On NBC's Thanksgiving telecast of the Seahawks-49ers game in Seattle, Mike Tirico suggested that Snell, a native of the city, wants to play for the Mariners.

Reports followed that Snell "badly" wants to pitch for the Mariners and that he's a likely target for the club.

The Cincinnati Reds have agreed to a two-year, $26 million deal with right-hander Nick Martinez, according to sources.

The pact includes an opt-out after the first season.

Martinez, 33, opted out of the final two years of his contract with the San Diego Padres. He pitched 54 games out of the bullpen but thrived over nine starts, posting a 2.32 ERA in 42 2/3 innings.

The contract will pay Martinez $14 million next season and $12 million in 2025 if he opts into the second year.

Longtime major league outfielder Nelson Cruz has joined the Los Angeles Dodgers as an adviser who is expected to work mostly out of the team's academy in his native Dominican Republic, sources told ESPN on Wednesday.

Cruz, 43, announced his retirement from the majors in early November, then played five games with the Gigantes del Cibao of the Dominican Winter League as something of a farewell tour.

Speedy utilityman Garrett Hampson and the Kansas City Royals agreed Wednesday to a one-year contract, the team announced.

The deal is for $2 million, sources told ESPN's Jeff Passan.

Hampson started at six positions last season for Miami and batted a career-best .276 with three homers, 23 RBIs and a .729 OPS in 98 games.

Right-hander Luis Severino and the New York Mets on Wednesday agreed to a one-year, $13 million contract, sources told ESPN, sending the longtime Yankee to a Mets team that plans to spend its winter upgrading a depleted rotation.

Severino, 29, had spent all of his eight-year career with the Yankees, including a rough 2023 in which he posted a 6.65 ERA over 89⅓ innings. Still, the free agent market has set the price of veteran starting pitchers at $10 million-plus a year -- and Severino's past success bought him slightly more.

The San Francisco Giants are looking to make a big splash this offseason.

The Giants are "prioritizing Shohei Ohtani or Yoshinobu Yamamoto, above all other options this offseason," according to a report.

San Francisco is expected to be the most aggressive club at the Winter Meetings, which begin in Nashville on Sunday.