ESPN MLB

NEW ORLEANS -- Toronto general manager J.P. Ricciardi copes with severe financial limitations in his quest to compete with the Yankees and Red Sox. Rumor has it that he's begun shoveling snow off neighborhood driveways at $20 a pop to earn some spare free-agent spending money.

But Ricciardi is never too busy conversing with agents or fellow executives to keep his constituents informed. He even set up a Hot Stove hotline in his office this winter. When Cy Young winner Roy Halladay and outfielder Vernon Wells wanted updates on the team's off-season agenda, Ricciardi gave them the blow-by-blow.

"Vernon Wells called me a month ago out of the blue," Ricciardi said Friday. "I said, 'What's going on, Vernon -- you need something? He said, 'No, I just wanted to call and see how it's going.' "

The answer, judging from winter meetings lobby banter at the New Orleans Marriott, is pretty well, thanks. While the Yankees and Red Sox continue to dominate the seam-head chat rooms, Ricciardi has made several stealth acquisitions to elevate an 86-win team from intriguing to borderline dangerous.

To continue reading this article you must be an Insider