Adam Dunn. Paul Konerko. Mark Buehrle.

Barring a major payroll increase, the Chicago White Sox can probably afford only two of the three in 2011.

Of the group, Buehrle is the only one currently under the team’s control. He is scheduled to earn $14 million next year, in the final season of his current contract.

Buehrle, 31, is one of the most popular figures in recent White Sox history, and he has a full no-trade clause. If traded, he is guaranteed a $15 million salary for 2012. Each of those factors would make it difficult for general manager Kenny Williams to move the ace left-hander.

And to be clear, there are no indications the White Sox are shopping Buehrle.

But Williams wants desperately to upgrade his lineup with a powerful left-handed bat. He is known to have interest in Dunn. And if Williams signs him to fill that role, then the GM may need to choose between two uncomfortable options – trading Buehrle or letting Konerko sign elsewhere as a free agent.

According to salary data at Cot’s Baseball Contracts, the White Sox have already committed $82.575 million to 13 players for next year. Last year, their payroll was a little north of $100 million.

Add John Danks and Carlos Quentin, both eligible for salary arbitration, and the number jumps to more than $93 million with 10 roster spots to fill.

And it’s likely that both Dunn and Konerko will earn at least $10 million in 2011.

Therefore, it’s virtually impossible for the White Sox to sign both players and maintain their current payroll without dealing away a big contract. And with Jake Peavy recovering from surgery, Buehrle is their most tradable big-money player.

Such a move would be unpopular with South Side fans. Buehrle and Konerko are among the last remaining links to the 2005 World Series championship club. A.J. Pierzynski, the catcher from that team, is also a free agent.

-Jon Paul Morosi

The glut of first base/DH types on the open market isn’t preventing Lance Berkman from drawing serious early interest.

Berkman, 34, met with Oakland A's officials Tuesday night in his hometown of Houston. He recently told FOXSports.com the Cubs also were one of eight teams to contact him, and mentioned the Rockies, Cardinals, Pirates and Blue Jays in an interview with the Houston Chronicle.

While Berkman said his preference is the National League, the A’s wouldn't use him strictly as a DH. The team's open to him playing in left field, right field and first base while rotating their DHs, sources said.

The Denver Post reported Wednesday night that the Rockies were strongly in the mix for Berkman. However, the team’s initial financial offer was “low,” according to a source.

The A’s have identified Berkman as their No. 1 target. Geography could work against them, particularly if a team closer to Houston made a strong push. The Cubs could be that team. They're looking at both Berkman and Carlos Pena, sources say.

Then again, if the A’s could pay Berkman enough while assuring him of enough playing time in the field, they'd appear to have a legitimate chance of signing him.

Berkman wants to win and has noted the strength of the A’s pitching staff.

-Ken Rosenthal

Pittsburgh fans haven't read these words in a while:

The Pirates might have caught a break.

The Pirates would like to upgrade at shortstop, where career .245 hitter Ronny Cedeño is the incumbent. And, for once, the market seems to be unfolding favorably for them.

Although the Pirates weren't close to dealing for a shortstop early Wednesday afternoon, they have a chance to do so before Thursday's deadline to tender contracts.

Sources say the Pirates have interest in Tampa Bay's Jason Bartlett and Minnesota’s J.J. Hardy. Both are available via trade, because the San Francisco Giants (Miguel Tejada) and St. Louis Cardinals (Ryan Theriot) shopped elsewhere for their infield upgrades.

With the addition of a good shortstop, Pittsburgh fans could look at a credible everyday lineup in 2011.

The rest of the group will include catcher Chris Snyder, first baseman Garrett Jones, second baseman Neil Walker, third baseman Pedro Alvarez, left fielder Jose Tabata, center fielder Andrew McCutchen and right fielder Ryan Doumit.

Now, if only they had some pitching …

The Pirates have three starting pitchers who can be considered strong candidates to begin the season in their rotation: Paul Maholm, Ross Ohlendorf and James McDonald. Beyond that, there are questions.

But at least the Pirates are trying. They made a strong offer to free-agent starter Jorge De La Rosa before he re-signed with the Rockies, one major league source said.

— Jon Paul Morosi

Quick, name the best shortstops in the game.

Troy Tulowitzki. Hanley Ramirez. Jimmy Rollins.

Rafael Furcal, when healthy. Jose Reyes, when healthy. Stephen Drew. Elvis Andrus. Alexei Ramirez. Derek Jeter on his best days.

But really, that’s it.

The scarcity at the position is sharply increasing the trade value of the few promising young shortstops in the game.

Case in point: Ian Desmond of the Nationals.

Desmond, 25, is drawing strong trade interest, major league sources say, and could be a chip the team uses to land a quality starting pitcher.

The Nats will not part with Desmond easily – they value both his potential and his leadership. Yet, the team already has struck out on two free-agent starting pitchers, right-hander Javier Vazquez and lefty Jorge De La Rosa. The most attractive remaining free-agent starter is righty Carl Pavano, who might prefer to stay with the Twins.

A trade, then, might represent the Nationals' best chance to improve their starting pitching.

If the Nationals traded Desmond, they could sign a veteran to play short and keep Danny Espinosa at second. Or they could move Espinosa to short and sign a veteran to play second.

The team is deep in young catching and also has some intriguing young pitching, but 2011 will be a season in which righty Stephen Strasburg will be recovering from Tommy John surgery and outfielder Bryce Harper will be beginning his professional career.

It might not be the right time to trade a player such as Desmond, particularly for a pitcher such as Royals right-hander Zack Greinke, who has only two years left on his contract.

But the Nationals might be tempted on Desmond if they could land a talented young pitcher with comparable service time in return.

— Ken Rosenthal

The Rockies had surprising competition from a National League West rival in their quest to re-sign free-agent left-hander Jorge De La Rosa.

The Padres never actually made De La Rosa an offer but showed serious interest in the pitcher, major league sources said.

De La Rosa, 29, would have joined righty Mat Latos and lefty Clayton Richard in the Padres’ rotation, giving the team a formidable front three.

The idea of De La Rosa to the Padres didn't originate with the club; the pitcher’s camp made the initial overtures, sources said. De La Rosa would have been moving closer to his native Mexico and going from hitter-friendly Coors Field to pitcher-friendly Petco Park.

He turned down a higher offer from at least one team, believed to be the Nationals, to re-sign with the Rockies for three years and $32 million. He was willing to give the Padres a similar discount, sources said.

The Padres gave serious consideration to the notion but ultimately couldn't make the finances work.

De La Rosa's new average salary of nearly $11 million would have amounted to nearly one-fourth of the Padres' payroll. And because he was a Type A free agent, the Padres would have forfeited their first-round draft pick, 25th overall, to sign him.

The increased salary pressure almost certainly would have forced the Padres to trade first baseman Adrian Gonzalez. De La Rosa would have replaced Gonzalez as the team's leading Mexican-American player.

A trade of Gonzalez, who will earn $5.5 million in the final year of his contract, still could happen.

But it will not be because of De La Rosa.

— Ken Rosenthal

If the A’s indeed made an offer to free-agent third baseman Adrian Beltre – and no one has denied they have – it stands to reason the team will want an answer soon.

Thursday's the deadline for teams to offer contracts to players under their control. The A’s can “tender” third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff (and likely non-tender third baseman Edwin Encarnacion) even if they don't know where they stand with Beltre. Kouzmanoff, working on a non-guaranteed, one-year contract, would remain expendable.

Yet, even then, the A’s wouldn't want to continue waiting. As much as they like Beltre, they eventually would want to move onto other pursuits.

The team’s immediate goal is to sign free agent Lance Berkman, with whom club officials met Tuesday night. DH types such as Hideki Matsui, Vladimir Guerrero and maybe even Adam Dunn loom as possible alternatives if Berkman chooses another club.

The A’s reported offer to Beltre, according to Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deportes.com, was five years, $64 million – the same terms Beltre received when he joined the Mariners as a free agent six years ago.

Beltre’s agent, Scott Boras, is extremely unlikely to recommend that Beltre accept such an offer so early in the offseason. Beltre, 31, not only is coming off a terrific season with the Red Sox, but the game’s revenues also are higher than they were six years ago.

Still, a five-year, $64 million proposal would represent a major commitment for the A’s, a low-revenue team. They'd presumably want to redirect at least some of the Beltre money toward other areas even if they signed Berkman or another hitter.

Perhaps the A’s would pursue another offensive piece. Perhaps they'd make a renewed push for Japanese right-hander Hisashi Iwakuma, with whom they're negotiating exclusively. Perhaps they'd do both.

One thing seems certain: The A’s would not want Boras to use their offer to Beltre as a benchmark in the agent’s negotiations with other clubs.

If the A’s indeed made an offer, it would figure to come with an expiration date. And that expiration date would figure to be coming soon.

-Ken Rosenthal

Throughout the major leagues, shortstops are coming off the board – Juan Uribe to the Los Angeles Dodgers, Ryan Theriot to the St. Louis Cardinals.

And in recent days, sources say, the San Francisco Giants have become one of the most serious suitors for Tampa Bay shortstop Jason Bartlett.

San Francisco's interest picked up once Uribe signed with the Dodgers, a source said. Bartlett, 31, is the type of veteran player favored by Giants general manager Brian Sabean. He was born in Mountain View, Calif., and attended St. Mary's High School in Stockton, Calif.

The Rays need to rebuild their bullpen, and the Giants have enough depth there to move a reliever. San Francisco right-handers Chris Ray and Ramon Ramirez have experience in the American League East, but it’s not clear if the Rays have interest in them.

The Padres, Orioles and Pirates are also looking for a shortstop.

The Minnesota Twins aren’t negotiating an extension with their shortstop, J.J. Hardy, enhancing the odds he'll be moved. Hardy, 28, has more power potential than Bartlett, but Bartlett's the better small-ball player.

Bartlett's had a better OPS than Hardy over the past two seasons - .780, compared with .684.

-Jon Paul Morosi and Ken Rosenthal

The Dodgers have been among the most active teams this offseason, re-signing three-fifths of their starting rotation, along with infielder Juan Uribe.

But they’re not finished yet.

Two older free agents – outfielder Johnny Damon, 37, and catcher Jason Varitek, 38 – are among the players on the Dodgers’ radar, according to major-league sources.

In fact, the Dodgers are in contact with virtually every free-agent catcher – Rod Barajas, A.J. Pierzynski, Miguel Olivo – as they try to determine their next step with Russell Martin.

The team's in talks with Martin, who's coming off a small fracture in his right hip and a $5.05 million salary. If no agreement's reached by Thursday, the deadline for tendering contracts, Martin almost certainly will hit the open market; the Dodgers will not risk going to arbitration with him.

The problem for the two sides is trying to determine Martin’s health, let alone his value.

Martin, 27, is at least a week away from running, sources say, and perhaps six weeks away from resuming baseball activities. He'd be returning to the most physically demanding position on the field, and his offensive performance is in decline – he posted on-base slugging percentages of .680 and .679 the past two seasons, though he didn't play after Aug. 3 last season due to his injury.

A.J. Ellis and Hector Gimenez are the only other catchers on the Dodgers’ 40-man roster. Varitek could be a possibility if he was willing to move west, but the team might be better served by a slightly younger veteran such as Barajas, Pierzynski or Olivo.

Damon seemingly would be a better fit in the American League – more than 75 percent of his plate appearances for the Tigers last season were as a DH. But with the Dodgers, he could replace free agent Scott Podsednik and hit second behind Rafael Furcal.

The Dodgers likely would want assurances Damon was in good enough shape to play the outfield, but the team’s current left fielder, Jay Gibbons, also is below-average defensively.

Damon would carry added value as a positive influence for the club’s younger players, and new manager Don Mattingly is familiar with him from their days together with the Yankees.

-Ken Rosenthal

Type A free-agent reliever Scott Downs will reject the Toronto Blue Jays’ offer of salary arbitration, a major league source told FOXSports.com.

Downs has drawn interest from the Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees and Los Angeles Angels, among others.

Downs, a 34-year-old left-hander, is not well-known to casual baseball fans, perhaps because he's pitched exclusively for Montreal and Toronto since 2003. He has relatively little experience as a closer.

However, teams have long coveted him on the trade market, in part because he's had success against difficult American League East lineups. He is likely to sign a multi-year contract as a free agent.

-Jon Paul Morosi

There is strong mutual interest between the Toronto Blue Jays and reliever Jesse Crain, according to multiple major league sources.

Peter Gammons of MLB Network and NESN reported earlier this week that the Blue Jays were among at least nine teams with interest in Crain.

Crain was born in Toronto, but his parents returned to the United States within several months of his birth. He graduated from high school in Colorado, and the Minnesota Twins selected him in the second round of the 2002 draft from the University of Houston.

Crain, 29, is coming off perhaps his best all-around season since 2005. While he has only three career saves in the major leagues, Crain, most often a setup man, is said to have interest in closing.

So, if all offers are equal, he could favor the team that lacks an established closer. At the moment, the Blue Jays don’t have a closer for 2011, but it isn't clear if the team views Crain as a potential ninth-inning man.

-Jon Paul Morosi