The Hot Stove is piping hot! Have you caught the fever?

With names like Logan Ondrusek, John Axford, Dustin McGowan and Alexi Ogando floating around as early targets, it's pretty hard to avoid getting swept up in the excitement.

OK. Pardon the sarcasm. But indeed, the Winter Meetings haven't yielded many Twins-related rumors worth buzzing about.

Francisco Liriano, who had oddly been painted as a player of interest to Minnesota in recent days, came off the market Tuesday when he signed a three-year, $39 million deal to stay in Pittsburgh.

Regardless of how much weight those faint rumors held, Liriano was the most high-profile pitcher that has been meaningfully linked to the Twins.

Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press has been trying to play up the Ervin Santana angle, noting Terry Ryan's willingness to forfeit a draft pick and quoting a source that said Santana "loves pitching in the cold." La Velle confirmed that the Twins are "in on Santana," adding that they've been in contact with his agent. But I can't see the Twins making a serious play there, largely for the same reasons I didn't buy the Liriano steam.

As it stands, the confirmed connections we're getting are to names like Ondrusek, Axford, McGowan and Ogando. All players that will likely end up with minor-league deals. Yeesh. I had a feeling this would be a fairly quiet offseason for the Twins, but it's still a little tough to see them being so passive while the White Sox -- who finished alongside them at the bottom of the AL Central this year -- have been so incredibly aggressive.

It sounds like Ryan is at least kicking the tires on some trade options, as Jon Morosi mentioned that they have spoken with the Mets about Dillon Gee. Ultimately, if a big move takes place this week involving the Twins it will probably be a trade; I suspect they've already made their biggest free agent splash of the offseason.

And if Ryan is looking to make a trade, I'd have to imagine Josmil Pinto's name is being dangled heavily. He's big-league ready, but there's just no path to regular playing time for him here.

What do you think? Will the Twins make a trade this week? Will they surprise us and snag a major free agent? Share your thoughts on Day 3 of the Winter Meetings here.