An Overview of the MLB Winter Meetings: Purpose and Significance

The 2024 MLB Winter Meetings take place from Dec. 9-12.

New York Mets manager Carlos Mendoza speaks to the media at the 2024 Winter Meetings. / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

The 2024 MLB Winter Meetings commenced on Dec. 9 at the Hilton Anatole Hotel in Dallas, Texas. MLB executives, managers, and members of the media gather annually during the offseason to hold meetings, speak to the media, and often conduct some of the offseason's most important signings and trades at this event.

Purpose of the MLB Winter Meetings

The MLB Winter Meetings allow the league to come together in the same building during a pivotal point of the offseason. The Winter Meetings lead to trades, signings, and plenty of rumors as teams are all in the same place at the same time. The meetings also give a time and place for the media to speak with managers and general managers during the offseason.

The biggest signing of the 2024 offseason happened shortly before the Winter Meetings began when Jeff Passan reported that Juan Soto signed with the New York Mets on Sunday night. With Soto signed, the top free agent of the offseason is officially off the market, allowing teams that didn't land him to spend their money elsewhere.

The Origin and History of MLB’s Winter Meetings

The Winter Meetings tradition dates back nearly 150 years, when the National League held an offseason meeting in 1876. The meetings became an annual event in 1901, the same year that the American League was founded.

Key Activities at the MLB Winter Meetings

During the MLB Winter Meetings, team executives often hold meetings with other teams and agents throughout the four days. Every team's manager and many general managers will talk to the press and/or hold a press conference. If a team makes a trade or major signing, they typically hold a press conference as well.

The lottery for the 2025 MLB Draft will also be held during the Winter Meetings. The lottery will take place on Dec. 10 at 5:30 p.m. ET. Two days later, the Rule 5 Draft will be held on the final day of the Winter Meetings.

Notable Deals from Recent MLB Winter Meetings

One of the most significant deals ever during the Winter Meetings took place just one year ago. At the conclusion of the 2023 MLB Winter Meetings, the San Diego Padres made the blockbuster trade of the season by sending Juan Soto and Trent Grisham to the New York Yankees in exchange for Michael King, Drew Thorpe, Jhony Brito, Randy Vásquez, and Kyle Higashioka.

The Yankees have been a part of multiple trades over the history of the Winter Meetings. The Yankees acquired then-reigning NL MVP Giancarlo Stanton during the 2017 MLB Winter Meetings. Over 60 years ago, the Yankees landed seven-time MLB All-Star and future two-time AL MVP Roger Maris at the 1959 Winter Meetings.

Outside of the Yankees, the Winter Meetings have been the site where historic deals, including the Detroit Tigers acquiring Miguel Cabrera, the Texans Rangers signing Alex Rodriguez, and the San Francisco Giants signing Barry Bonds, were completed.

Importance of the Rule 5 Draft During the Winter Meetings

The Rule 5 Draft takes place on the final day of the Winter Meetings, and gives minor league players a chance with another team to get promoted to the major leagues. The Rule 5 Draft prevents MLB teams from storing prospects year after year in the minor leagues, and give those prospects an opportunity for success with a different franchise.

Any player who is left off an MLB team's 40-man roster and has spent four-to-five years in professional baseball is eligible to be selected in the Rule 5 Draft. Players who signed at 18 years old or younger are eligible for the Rule 5 Draft after at least five years in professional baseball, while players who signed at 19 years old are eligible for the Rule 5 Draft after four years. Players on a team's 40-man roster are protected from getting selected in the Rule 5 Draft.

Any team that has an opening on their 40-man roster may select a player during the Rule 5 Draft. A team that selects a player in the Rule 5 Draft must pay $100,000 to the team he was drafted from, and the player must stay on the 26-man roster or injured list for at least the entirety of the next season. If he is not kept on the 26-man roster, he must be offered back to his original team for $50,000.

The most successful player taken in the Rule 5 Draft was Roberto Clemente, who went on to become a 15-time MLB All-Star with the Pittsburgh Pirates and a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame.

How to Follow the 2024 Winter Meetings and Beyond

MLB Network will provide coverage for much of the Winter Meetings. MLB Network will be on-site to cover the Winter Meetings on MLB Tonight and Hot Stove.

National reporters and MLB insiders including Jon Heyman of the New York Post, Bob Nightengale of USA Today, Jon Morosi of MLB Network, and Jeff Passan of ESPN will be among those providing updates and news throughout the Winter Meetings.

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