Padres GM meets with Adrian Gonzalez's agent

While agent John Boggs characterized the two-hour lunch meeting with Hoyer as "cordial," he said it was more a get-acquainted session than a formal negotiation.

"We just really got to know each other initially," Boggs said. "Obviously Adrian was a large part of the conversation, but there wasn't anything concretely decided.

"There wasn't any kind of negotiating or exchanging of numbers or anything like that. I'm sure we're going to keep the dialogue open, but nothing is imminent at this point. The way we're looking at it, Adrian is a Padre until something happens . And they're the ones who are really in control of the situation."

Hoyer, who replaced Kevin Towers as San Diego GM in October, was in the Boston front office last summer when the Red Sox made an unsuccessful pitch for Gonzalez at the July trade deadline. The Red Sox are expected to be in the mix this winter if the Padres decide to move Gonzalez, but San Diego is under no immediate pressure to make a deal.

Gonzalez, 27, hit 40 home runs in 2009, slugged .551, led the National League with 119 walks and won a Gold Glove award at first base. He's also signed to a club-friendly contract that will pay him a base salary of $4.75 million next season. San Diego has a $5.5 million club option on Gonzalez with no buyout in 2011.

Hoyer declined comment on the meeting in an email Friday, but Boggs said the two sides agreed to stay in contact over the coming weeks. Gonzalez is currently on an extended vacation trip to Europe.

"Until they decide to put something on the table in front of us -- if they decide to do it -- that's the only time we can actually make a decision," Boggs said.

Jerry Crasnick covers baseball for ESPN Insider.