Winter meetings update: All still quiet on the Twins front

I'm sitting in the media room where there's a stage and podium set up for teams to announce trades and free agent signings. Do you know that, in 18 years of covering this team, the Twins have never taken the stage to announce a deal? They agreed to terms with Ervin Santana last year, but it came toward the end of the winter meetings when things were shutting down. They traded Ben Revere during the 2012 winter meetings but, somehow, didn't use the stage. I think Terry Ryan walked into the media room one year - just to see what it looked like.

As things wind down here this year, it doesn't look like the Twins are going to announce any moves. Excuse me, they did today when they signed infielder Buck Britton to a minor league deal to play at Class AAA Rochester. A major league deal appears unlikely.

They aren't even going to be active in the Rule 5 draft on Friday - and they have selected a player in seven of the last 10 years. Their 40-man roster is full, they pick 17th and they aren't impressed enough with the talent available to clear space on the 40-man then trade up to grab a player.

So they might leave for the Twin Cities on Thursday night with no new players this week.

Ryan continues to talk to teams and agents and sounds upbeat when we ask him how his days have been. He believes he's headed in the right direction.

``We're not just chasing trades, we're chasing free agents," Ryan said.

Here are some updates:

Was told that there's not a consensus that Tony Sipp or Antonio Bastardo are the right fits for them, and that they might have to trade for a lefty. With the prices for good relievers rising, the Twins will have to be comfortable handing out $5-6 million a year for three years for the right setup man.

Righthander Shawn Kelley looks like a good fit for the Twins bullpen. But there has been no contact between the sides for a couple of weeks.

Perkins, by the way, will open the season as the closer. Manager Paul Molitor has spoken to both Perkins and Jepsen about it.

MLB announced new regulations for the length of netting behind home plate in order to ensure as much fan safety as possible. Target Field in Minneapolis and Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers, Fla. already are compliant with the new regulations, which now require netting in front of any field-level seats within 70 feet of home plate. The Twins, however, will change the netting at Target Field to something that is easier to see through.