Bowden's Bullets: Want Andrew Bailey? 
At the winter meetings, things can spin on dime. That’s what makes it fun, as well as frustrating at times.
One minute a general manager or team owner will boast -- off the record -- how “on” a particular player his team is, then one bad negotiating session later the agent and player are gone just like that team’s chances of signing him. Or, sometimes it’s the other way around -- an agent tells you a deal is done, but the GM says it’s not so you wait … and wait.
• The Oakland A's are talking to everyone regarding their starting rotation and closer Andrew Bailey trying to get young outfielders in trade. The Kansas City Royals might have a prospect package that could land left-hander Gio Gonzalez, which would be a coup by Royals GM Dayton Moore, if he can pull it off. The A’s might ask for a package that starts with top prospect Wil Myers.
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Jim Bowden
Bowden, who served as the senior vice president and GM for the Cincinnati Reds and the Washington Nationals, is an analyst for ESPN.com. In 1992, Bowden became the youngest GM in MLB history when the Reds hired him at age 31. The Reds finished in first place twice during his 10 years as GM, and he was named MLB Executive of the Year by Baseball America in 1999. After working for ESPN in 2004, Bowden became the first GM of the Washington Nationals when the franchise relocated from Montreal to Washington, D.C., in 2005, working in that role until the 2009 season. Bowden co-hosts the "Inside Pitch" radio show on Sirius XM satellite radio. Follow on Twitter: @JimBowdenESPNxm.
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