The Winter Meetings officially kick off tomorrow, but talks among the GMs should start to percolate this evening. What’s in store for the Mariners?

• As reported by Geoff Baker, the Mariners tendered contracts to John Jaso, Brendan Ryan, Jason Vargas, and Shawn Kelley last night. They signed Josh Kinney to a one-year deal, and non-tendered newly-acquired Robert Andino, releasing him at 9pm and signing him to a one-year contract fifteen minutes later.
• Catcher Jesus Sucre and RHP Jonathan Arias have signed minor league contracts with spring training invites, according to Greg Johns.
• Jack Zduriencik has a concrete game plan heading into the Winter Meetings today, and it’s one that involves taking more risks and, as he put it, “not going to be gun shy because of what happened with Chone Figgins.” I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or not, but it’ll depend on whether the Mariners decide to ink Josh Hamilton for 5/$100 or Mike Napoli for 3/$80.
• Kidding, of course. Johns has a comprehensive list of the Mariners’ needs here, which includes a catcher, first baseman, starting pitcher, corner infielder, and right-handed bat. In return, the team can offer a plethora of prospects, including the Big Four, Nick Franklin, and Mike Zunino.