With baseball's winter meets set to begin tomorrow in Las Vegas, Randy Johnson may have a chance to win his 300th game in the National League West after all.

The Diamondbacks' division foes San Francisco and the Los Angeles Dodgers are among the teams that have inquired about Johnson's availability for the 2009 season, according to major league sources familiar with the situation.

Milwaukee, Oakland, Texas and the Chicago Cubs also have expressed varying degrees of interest in the pitcher long known as "The Big Unit," sources said.

Arizona still appears to be out of the picture -- Johnson had sought to return, but negotiations hit at an impasse Nov. 13, when he rejected the Diamondbacks' one-year, $2.5 million offer and filed for free agency.

Johnson, 45, appears willing to sign a one-year contract as he enters the 2009 season with 295 victories, five short of the magic 300.

Cubs chairman Crane Kenney said Friday he expects the team to be sold by spring training, and he shot down speculation that Tribune Co. would retain ownership of almost half the team.

Kenney denied reports that Tribune Co. chairman and chief executive officer Sam Zell would "hang on to a big, big piece" of the team.

"The bids that came in were for control of the team where for Sam, any interest would be a small interest," Kenney said. "I think at some point people were talking about Sam holding almost half of it. That's not the way they [bid]."

At least three bidders submitted proposals Monday for the team, Wrigley Field and a 25 percent share in Comcast SportsNet: groups led by Chicago real estate magnate Hersch Klaff; Chicago financier Tom Ricketts; and Mark Utay and Leo Hindery Jr., who are private-equity investors in New York.

Alex Rodriguez will play for the Dominican Republic in the 2009 World Baseball Classic. He played for the United States in the inaugural 2006 Classic and was largely criticized by fans in the Dominican Republic and across Latin America. ... The Dodgers have shown interest in veteran closer Trevor Hoffman, baseball's all-time saves leader. ... The Indians reportedly are interested in bringing back Casey Blake, who they traded to Los Angeles at the trade deadline this past season.