MLB winter meetings: Five free agents to watch

• Josh Hamilton and Zack Greinke are the marquee draws on the free-agent market

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - One veteran general manager strolled through the lobby Sunday at the Opryland Hotel, site of baseball's winter meetings, and the only thing more daunting than trying to find his room in the sprawling 2,881-room resort, was the free-agent market.

After listening to agents and studying the market for the last two months, he professes that he won't spend money on mediocrity.

Indeed, the way the free-agent market has slowly developed, spending, for now, is at a minimum, and nothing may happen until a bottleneck of mid-range players come off the board, giving clarity for the few blue-chip talents available.

"I think things take a little while to develop," Texas Rangers GM Jon Daniels said. "That's the nature of the business. I can't put my finger on why. My expectation is the next 10 days to two weeks we'll see considerably more business done."

Here's a look at the top five free agents on the board in Nashville, with no guarantee that any of them will be employed when the annual winter meetings break up on Thursday.

Josh Hamilton: The Texas Rangers say they won't give more than a three-year contract to keep the man, and so far, no one has shown any inclination they will do more, either. The way teams may figure it, no one knows Hamilton better than the Rangers, and if they don't gamble on more than three years at about $75 million, why should anyone else?

The Baltimore Orioles, Seattle Mariners and Milwaukee Brewers say they can't afford him, but then again, maybe his price will plummet into their budget. The Philadelphia Phillies would like to make a splash. So would the Boston Red Sox. The conventional thinking is that Hamilton winds back up with the Rangers - where they have averaged 5.74 runs in the games he has started, and 4.30 runs in all other games. Then again, surely someone will step up and make the Rangers sweat, and perhaps force them to make an uncomfortable decision.

Zack Greinke: The Los Angeles Angels are acting like they can't afford to keep him. Then again, it's a whole lot easier to send out that message rather than experience the public-relations nightmare of losing out to your cross-town rival. The Los Angeles Dodgers, with their open checkbook, are the heavy favorites to grab Greinke. The Texas Rangers are trying to be convincing. The Washington Nationals are hanging around, and have plenty of money, now that they traded for Denard Span and avoided the center-field free agent market.

Greinke has always been his own man, and wouldn't surprise anyone by doing the unexpected. Yet, if the Dodgers are going to make you the highest-paid right-handed starter in baseball history, why dare to be different?

Michael Bourn: The Washington Nationals were supposed to give Bourn in excess of $100 million, but those plans dramatically changed when they instead traded for Span. The Phillies say they are interested. So are the San Francisco Giants. And the Chicago Cubs are at least intrigued. And, surely there are some mystery teams.

Angel Pagan: A year ago, he was on the verge of being a non-tendered player with the New York Mets. Now, after scoring 95 runs, stealing 29 bases and producing 15 triples, he's commanding a four-year deal on the market. The Giants love how he played for them, but if they could grab Bourn instead at a price that's not too exorbitant, they'll let Pagan walk away. The Phillies, after delving into the Bourn sweepstakes, would like a cheaper alternative with Pagan. Pagan can only hope that the two teams get into a bidding war, and he accepts before Bourn jumps into the action.

"We'll have to react and see if we get Pagan,'' Giants GM Brian Sabean says. "We'll react to what we're up against. You have to play the game."

Anibal Sanchez: Ok, he's not Greinke. But he's the best-next thing on the market, showing off his skills down the stretch and in the postseason for the Tigers. He has six teams bidding for him, and whoever loses out in Greinke, will set their sights on him.

Then again, unless you're the Dodgers.

The Dodgers just may decide to corner the market and grab Sanchez too.

They've got that kind of money.

It's that kind of free-agent class, too.