With the Winter Meetings officially beginning in San Diego, there are a few items of note from Monday's manager sessions with the media.

From the Brewers and manager Ron Roenicke...

Regarding platoon options for first base with Adam Lind, Roenicke pointed out that general manager Doug Melvin is always looking. Internally, Jonathan Lucroy is an option to move over and cover first base, opening up more regular at-bats behind the plate for Martin Maldonado if Lucroy becomes that default starter at first against lefties. In terms of bench options, Luis Jimenez was the name that came up Monday. Roenicke praised Jimenez's defense at third base, but mentioned that he's an option at first base, as well as second.

Last season Scooter Gennett platooned at the keystone with Rickie Weeks. With Weeks currently a free agent, the Brewers will be looking elsewhere for options to handle that role. However, Gennett will be given an opportunity to see more playing time against lefties. If he shows signs of growth, it's possible that he will simply absorb the extra at-bats and be an everyday option in the lineup. If he doesn't (or if Melvin finds an option that fits the small side of the platoon perfectly), Gennett will remain on the larger side of the split after hitting .323/.355/.490 against righties through 575 at-bats in the big leagues against them. While it's unfair to judge Gennett's limited opportunities against lefties (78 career at-bats), he's posted a .128/.150/.141 line with a 1:24 BB:K thus far. From 2011-2013 as a minor leaguer, Gennett hit .259/.294/.349 against lefties (17.0% K%).

Jimenez will turn 27 in spring training, and he's never been able to carve out a steady role with the Angels despite intriguing numbers at Triple-A Salt Lake. His minor league numbers have been similar at most of his stops, culminating in a .299/.335/.509 mark over eight seasons following a 2014 campaign that included 21 home runs and a 12-for-16 mark as a basestealer.

In terms of competition for a roster spot, Jimenez will likely have to outperform at least one of Elian Herrera and Hector Gomez.

As currently constructed, Broxton is the Brewers' closer. Roenicke suggested that Will Smith or Jeremy Jeffress could be used to pick up the occasional save (presumably on days where Broxton is unavailable due to recent workload). Upgrading the team's bullpen depth is a priority, but it's likely that a replacement for Zach Duke (who signed a three-year, $15 million deal with the White Sox) will be obtained rather than a proven commodity.

Roenicke said he doesn't know if Tyler Thornburg and Jim Henderson will be ready to begin the season, but even if they are, it's hard to count on both being back at the level they were at before getting hurt.

Even after the trade of Marco Estrada, the Brewers have six healthy starters just over two months away from the start of spring training. If that holds up, Jimmy Nelson could head to the bullpen to begin the season. Roenicke emphasized that Nelson is someone that the organization views as a starter long term, but cited the value of big league experience – even in a relief role – as a reason for keeping him as a reliever. The Brewers may also be reluctant to send Nelson to their new Triple-A affiliate at Colorado Springs, although Roenicke did not suggest anything to that end.

The Brewers are rumored to be shopping Gerardo Parra, as he's entering his final season of arbitration. Roenicke said that getting Parra 300 at-bats isn't the problem, but getting him into the 450-500 range is a challenge if the rest of the team's outfielders are healthy. He also made a point to say that left fielder Khris Davis is not a platoon player, but that he might consider giving Davis more time off throughout the season in order to prevent him from wearing down.

It's easy to wonder if the health of Ryan Braun will ultimately determine whether the Brewers are willing to part with Parra, as moving Parra would pave the way for Logan Schafer to become the team's fourth outfielder.

When asked about internal young talent that may be on the verge of contributing, Taylor Jungmann and David Goforth came up, although Roenicke pointed out that Jungmann, who remains in the plans as a starter, may be at least a half-season away from getting the call. There was less certainty about the role for Jed Bradley, who showed signs of growth in his third turn as a starter at High-A Brevard County before struggling in his first exposure to Double-A. To date, all 63 of Bradley's appearances in the minor leagues have been starts.

The Brewers are also willing to let Jean Segura play winter ball this offseason – that wasn't the case a year ago – but it's completely up to Segura as far as whether he wants to get the extra at-bats.

From Diamondbacks manager Chip Hale:

Upon arrival in Phoenix, Yasmany Tomas will begin working with the coaching staff to get up to speed at third base. The position is one that Tomas wanted to play, and the D-backs are hoping to know by Opening Day if he can reliably stick there. Whether that plan works will steer a few other decisions.

First, the playing time for Jake Lamb. Lamb might be squeezed from the Opening Day roster if Tomas wins the starting job at third base.

Mark Trumbo is playing right field regardless of the position of Tomas, leaving A.J. Pollock in center and a battle for playing time between David Peralta and Ender Inciarte in left – both are left-handed hitters, and Cody Ross could be an option to spell them with playing time against righties.

If Tomas plays in the outfield, the playing time for Peralta and Inciarte dries up considerably. Assuming Ross is kept on the Opening Day roster, it would seemingly put one of Peralta or Inciarte at Triple-A Reno to begin the year. Of course, Ross' struggles to stay on the field, and disappointing 2014 performance could lead the front office to accept his contract as a sunk cost and part ways with him before the season begins.

Part of the trickle-down from the Tomas signing is that Aaron Hill is expected to get another chance to be the team's primary second baseman.

Hill's path to play at the beginning of the season might be clearer with Chris Owings coming back from left (non-throwing) shoulder surgery. Hale said Owings will be brought along carefully during spring training, with the plan of having him ready for Opening Day. In a different portion of his media session, Hale suggested that Owings is a candidate to fill the No. 2 spot in the batting order.

The Diamondbacks have been aggressive in making additions to the rotation this offseason – including Jeremy Hellickson and Robbie Ray via trade. Internally, the young starters – Archie Bradley, Braden Shipley, Aaron Blair – will have a chance to compete for a job during spring training, but further development time in the minors may be on tap for the entire trio.

"I'm looking for spring training to be a lot of competition among those guys. I think in a perfect world, you'd like to see Archie and Blair and Shipley getting an opportunity to pitch and get some more innings under their belt and refine their game."

When asked about the plans for some of the team's injured starting pitchers, Hale pointed out that the expected recovery from Tommy John surgery is closer to 15 months, rather than 12 months, and suggested the following timetables.

David Hernandez – sometime ahead of June.
Patrick Corbin – June.
Bronson Arroyo – Before the end of the 2015 season.

Josh Collmenter appears to be one of three starters positioned to begin the year in the rotation – along with Wade Miley and Jeremy Hellickson. Hale mentioned Chase Anderson as an impressive starter, but it sounds as though Anderson, Vidal Nuno, the aforementioned prospects and recent acquisition Robbie Ray are on the long list of candidates being considered for the final two spots to begin the year.

From Royals manager Ned Yost:

On the plans for Brandon Finnegan to begin 2015...

"We're going to stretch him out in spring training and see what we've got, go from there. It's easier to stretch a guy out to see what you've got, back him down if you want to put him in your pen, exactly where he's going to start, I don't know. We'll find out what we see. He's going to be a good one for a long time. He's got tremendous poise, tremendous stuff, and what an addition to our club in September when he came up."

Finnegan's role is very important both in the short term and long term for the Royals. If he spends significant time in 2015 as a reliever, it will take him longer to get stretched out in future seasons. With the uncertainty surrounding the health of Kyle Zimmer, paired with the expected loss of James Shields in free agency, the Royals are very thin in the starting rotation. Even if Finnegan were to start – and likely begin the season in the minors (perhaps, Double-A?) – the Royals could carefully monitor his innings much like they did with Danny Duffy last season. Their bullpen depth affords them flexibility with younger starters, as Finnegan could regularly turn games over to the relief corps after five innings.

With the loss of Billy Butler to the A's, the Royals will have the luxury of a floating DH. Overall, the plan may be the most beneficial for Salvador Perez, who caught 146 games during the regular season in 2014. Yost admitted that the heavy workload behind the plate likely caused Perez to struggle later in the year. Perez hit .283/.329/.437 in the first half before losing 170 points from his OPS and carrying a .229/.236/.360 line after the All-Star break.

As Day 2 approaches, the Jon Lester watch continues – he may sign as soon as Tuesday, with the Giants, Cubs, Dodgers, Red Sox and Yankees all believed to be in the mix. Once that happens, the rest of the free-agent pitching chips will begin to fall.

Follow me on Twitter @DerekVanRiper.