Bill Smith and the Twins discovered that at the winter meetings, which checked out of one of the Strip's plushest hotels Thursday. Minnesota's general manager came to Vegas with a shopping list -- a third baseman, a right-handed "impact bat," maybe a proven arm for the bullpen --but left wide-eyed at the price tags, in dollars or ballplayers, attached to everything here.

"We didn't find any kind of a fit without taking away what we consider too much talent out of our organization," Smith said after a week's worth of negotiations proved mostly fruitless. "Teams with quality players want to keep them."

He included his own in that description, and proved it by signing Nick Punto to a two-year contract that will guarantee the veteran infielder - and newly installed starting shortstop -- $8.5 million. But as Smith summed up the Twins' plan for the 2009 season, you couldn't miss the change in his message, from "we're looking for help" to "we can win without any."

Signing Punto "gives us pretty much the team we left September with ... and we like that team," Smith said. "It's young, it's athletic, it's energetic -- there are a lot of positives about that club."

Particularly its record, 88-75, just one game out of the playoffs. The Twins don't believe it was a fluke - "None of our guys had career years," vice president of player personnel Mike Radcliff said, meaning there is no reason to expect a decline - and they are more comfortable banking on improvement in their young players than in paying Bellagio prices for upgrades.

That became clear when they were outbid, but only by less than $4 million total, by the Dodgers for free-agent third baseman Casey Blake. They also reportedly discussed potential trades at length, with Colorado for Garrett Atkins, perhaps with the Chicago Cubs for Mark DeRosa and Seattle for Adrian Beltre, and balked at the talent they would have to send away.

"It's hard to find matches," Smith said. He added, without irony, "Maybe inherently every team overvalues their own talent."

Mostly, griped Radcliff, "people underestimate how hard it is to find a bat."

And to agree on a price. Beltre, according to a Seattle Times report Thursday, added the Twins to his limited no-trade rights when he heard rumors a deal was being discussed, likely a bargaining ploy to force the Twins to pay him to waive that clause if they strike a deal with the Mariners. The newspaper said the sides are still talking -- Delmon Young is rumored to be part of the deal -- but the added expense, particularly for a player whose contract expires next fall, could cause the Twins to walk away.

Smith sounded like he was laying the groundwork for the status quo, a platoon of Brandon Harris and Brian Buscher. "We're not embarrassed to go to spring training" with them, Smith said. "Those guys did a good job."

What about the big right-handed bat the Twins sought?

"We think Michael Cuddyer can be that," Smith said, counting on the outfielder, who missed more than half of the 2008 season, to return to health and productivity next year.

The bullpen? "Still looking," Smith said, but the Twins added Rule 5 draft pick Jason Jones, a Class AA starter who could be converted to long relief, to their roster Thursday, and "we wouldn't have taken him if we didn't think he could help us next year."

Two months remain until spring training, and Smith and his staff will keep talking. Asking prices could come down, or attitudes could change.

So don't be surprised if the 2009 Twins look nearly identical to the 2008 runners-up. "You always want to try to make your team better," Smith said, "but we like the group we have."

Loyalty wins out: Punto was contacted by 16 teams on free agency's first day in November and eventually narrowed his list to three or four. But the outcome, he said Thursday, never was particularly in doubt.

"We were always leaning toward Minnesota," Punto said after agreeing to a contract that will pay him $4 million in each of the next two seasons. (The Twins hold a $5 million option for 2011, which can be bought out for $500,000.) "It's where my family and I are most comfortable."

Not to mention where he finally has a stable, everyday job, after five seasons of moving from one position to another. Manager Ron Gardenhire already has declared Punto the Twins' starting shortstop, as he was in September.

"That's where I love to play. It's the position I've played for years and feel most comfortable," Punto said. "To have your manager have your back, it's very comfortable."

The newcomer: Nobody expects Jason Jones to live up to Johan Santana's Rule 5 legacy. A few dozen innings of long relief, that's all the Twins ask.

On former general manager Terry Ryan's recommendation, the Twins selected Jones, 26, in the Rule 5 draft, plucking him off the roster of the Yankees' Class AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre team. He has been a starting pitcher throughout his minor league career and posted a 13-7 record and 3.33 earned-run average in 148 innings at Class AA Trenton last year. He also pitched in two games at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, going 0-1 but striking out 11 while walking only one.

"He's a durable guy, and we think his fastball will go up a tick by going into the bullpen," Radcliff said. "The Yankees guys told us they think he'll stick (on the Twins' roster). He was one of the last guys they left off" their roster.

Under Rule 5, Jones must remain with the Twins this season or be offered back to the Yankees. His effectiveness against left-handed hitters, who batted only .227 against him last season, gives him a chance to make the Twins' roster.

Minnesota lost one player in the draft, when Kansas City chose (and then sold to Seattle) Jose Lugo, a 24-year-old left-handed reliever, off the Twins' Class AAA roster. Lugo posted a 4.04 ERA in 69 innings for Class A Fort Myers last season.

Twenty-one players were selected in the Rule 5 draft, including one other of note to the Twins: Pitcher Eduardo Morlan, sent to Tampa Bay a year ago in the Young trade, was selected by Milwaukee. If Jones had not been available, Radcliff said, the Twins would have reclaimed Morlan.