BOSTON -- Starting tomorrow, baseball's annual winter meetings convene in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., for four days.

That may be barely enough time for the Red Sox to fill their positional holes and needs for 2007.

Following their worst finish in a decade, there's plenty of work to be done, even after the Red Sox officially consummate their long-discussed deal with free-agent outfielder J.D. Drew, which is expected to be completed tomorrow.

A look at the tasks at hand for general manager Theo Epstein and his baseball operations staff:

THE Manny Ramirez TALKS: For at least the third winter meetings running, Ramirez is being made available -- at the slugger's request.

Salary inflation being what it is, Ramirez's remaining two-year deal isn't nearly the financial albatross it once was. If Carlos Lee can get a six-year, $100-million deal, then surely Ramirez must be considered a relative bargain at two years, $36 million.

The trick will be if Epstein can get teams bidding against one another, upping the ante for the enigmatic Ramirez.

At least five teams have expressed varying levels of interest: San Francisco, Seattle, San Diego, Cleveland and Los Angeles. Of those, the Dodgers have by far the most to offer.

Some combination of the Dodgers' many prospects -- outfielder Matt Kemp, third baseman Andy LaRoche, first baseman James Loney, starter Chad Billingsley and reliever Jonathan Broxton -- would greatly interest the Sox, but to date, the Dodgers have been unwilling to part with their best young players.

A key might be drawing the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim into the fray. The Dodgers-Angels' rivalry has never been hotter now that owner Arte Moreno has made the rivalry into a Southern California turf war, right down to the use of Los Angelesin his team's name.

The Angels have plenty that the Sox like -- shortstops Brandon Wood and Erick Aybar, starter Ervin Santana -- and Moreno might feel compelled to overpay to land Ramirez while keeping him away from Chavez Ravine.

Unless the Giants can be talked into including starter Matt Cain, they don't have much to satisfy the Sox and the same is true with Seattle and Felix Hernandez.

The Padres might match up, even if they're unwilling to discuss Jake Peavy. Reliever Scott Linebrink remains someone the Sox covet, but they'd need considerably more to get a deal done with San Diego.

The Indians are a long shot, but their stash of young players is as good as any organization in the American League. And there's this: there's little doubt that Ramirez would agree to the organization with which he began his career.

SHORTSTOP: The Sox like Julio Lugo. They believe he can solve their leadoff hole in a way Coco Crisp probably never will. They like his extra-base power and believe he's athletic enough to make up for the errors he'll commit at short.

But they only like him so much. If the bidding -- from the Cubs or Mets -- gets too rich, the Sox will gladly get up from the table and pursue other options.

Just one problem: there aren't many left, at least on the free-agent market. Chris Gomez doesn't exactly get their pulse racing. But the Sox might have to settle for a journeyman right-handed hitting shortstop and platoon him there with Alex Cora.

Of course, that could change if the club lands a big-time shortstop prospect (Wood, Aybar) in a deal for Ramirez.

You can cross Michael Young off the list -- the Rangers would talk about Ramirez, but have made it clear that Young is untouchable.

CLOSER: Here, too, the pickings are slim. Among free agents, Miguel Batista is perhaps the most interesting. He started for Arizona last year, but in 2005, earned 31 saves for Toronto, so he's proven he can close in the A.L. East, no small feat.

A more likely scenario has the Sox dealing for someone who has been setting up and hoping they stumble into the second coming of Joe Nathan, whom the Twins stole in their heist from the San Francisco Giants two years ago.

Broxton, Linebrink and perhaps Scot Shields (Angels) would fit the bill nicely in deals for Ramirez, but the Sox would also be content to find a one-year solution before turning the job over to either Craig Hansen or Bryce Cox in 2008.

BACKUP CATCHER: Here, too, there aren't many choices left beyond the likes of Chris Widger or Kelly Stinnett. The hard part, of course, will be finding someone who can master Tim Wakefield's knuckleball, and as Josh Bard established last March and April, that's easier said than done.

smcadam@projo.com / (401) 277-7340