Dec. 11 -- DAY 4: MORNING BRIEFING

BY SCOTT LAUBER

LAS VEGAS -- The end is near.

Baseball's annual winter meetings, which have overtaken the posh Bellagio for the past four days, will conclude this morning with the Rule 5 draft. Basically, the Rule 5 draft is a crapshoot of players with a certain level of service time who aren't protected on a 40-man roster. Here's the catch: It costs $50,000 to select a player, and the player must remain on his new team's active major-league (25-man) roster for the entire subsequent season or be offered back to his old team for $25,000.

Yeah, it's complicated.

Anyway, the Rule 5 draft is a favorite of Pat Gillick, who, as GM of the Blue Jays in 1981, plucked George Bell from the Phillies. Other famously unexpected Rule 5 finds include Johan Santana, Dan Uggla, Josh Hamilton and Shane Victorino. But the Phillies may not make a selection in this year's draft. They have the 26th overall pick, and Ruben Amaro Jr. said yesterday that it's doubtful any of the players they like will still be available.

Typically, after the Rule 5 draft, it's a race to the airport, with execs eager to leave town. This year, though, I have a feeling more folks will be sticking around for an extra night in Vegas. Amaro, for instance, isn't flying back to Philly until Friday morning.

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So, if Ronny Paulino has so much upside as an offensive catcher, why would the Pirates trade him? Well, according to people I spoke with last night, there are questions about Paulino's work ethic. The words "unmotivated" and "lazy" were used to describe him. The Phillies, though, believe that Paulino's willingness to play winter ball in the Dominican Republic is a sign that he's ready to begin fulfilling his potential.

Time will tell.

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Within the notebook, we examine the possibility that Ryan Howard and other Phillies could play in the World Baseball Classic. There also are a few words on the Mets' big three-team trade for reliever J.J. Putz. We'll try to get some Phillies reaction this morning.

What else is on tap today?

Well, never heard back from Amaro last night about the Chan Ho Park rumor, so I'll endeavor to get that addressed today. Also, we'll keep monitoring that complex three-team deal between the Cubs, Padres and Phillies. While signals were mixed yesterday about the possibility of the trade getting completed, one thing almost everyone agreed on is that it won't happen before the parties leave here. If it gets done, it'll take a few more days.