The 2025 MLB Winter Meetings: Everything You Need To Know

Technically, the 2025-26 MLB offseason began almost a month ago, but the action is only just getting started.

Four notable free agents accepted qualifying offers, and a few more – including, Josh Naylor, Dylan Cease, and Ryan Helsley – have signed multi-year deals. The Angels and Orioles shocked us with the Grayson Rodriguez for Taylor Ward swap, and the Mets and Rangers upped the surprise factor by flipping Marcus Semien and Brandon Nimmo.

Yet, 19 of Just Baseball’s top 25 free agents remain unsigned, and plenty of the offseason’s top trade candidates are still on the block. In other words, there’s tons of excitement still to come. Next week, that excitement could kick off in earnest.

It’s almost time for the Winter Meetings.

So, with the biggest event of the offseason fast approaching, here’s everything to know about what’s going to go down next week in Orlando.

When Are the 2025 MLB Winter Meetings?

The 2025 MLB Winter meetings will take place in Orlando, Florida from December 7-10. Thousands of figures within the industry, including players, agents, managers, executives, owners, scouts, and media members, will convene under one roof.

What Happens at the Winter Meetings?

The Winter Meetings are almost sure to be the busiest four-day period of the MLB offseason. With so many players, agents, and executives in one place at one time, a barrage of trades and free agent signings is inevitable, and some of them are bound to be blockbusters.

What’s more, with so many reporters in attendance (including Just Baseball’s own Patrick Lyons and Kevin Henry), there will be just as many rumors and revelations as there are transactions.

The Winter Meetings also play host to several important offseason events, including the 2026 MLB Draft Lottery and the Rule 5 draft. Several awards will be voted on and announced, and the Contemporary Baseball Era Committee will cast their Hall of Fame ballots. Here’s everything you need to know about the schedule of events.

Contemporary Baseball Era Committee Hall of Fame Vote

A 16-member committee will meet to discuss the candidates on the Contemporary Baseball Era Hall of Fame ballot on December 7. They will cast their votes that day, and the results will be announced later that evening on MLB Network.

Just like on the BBWAA HOF ballot, a player must receive at least 75% of the vote to be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. In this case, that means receiving the support of at least 12 of the 16 committee members.

These are the eight players under consideration this year:

• Barry Bonds
• Roger Clemens
• Carlos Delgado
• Jeff Kent
• Don Mattingly
• Dale Murphy
• Gary Sheffield
• Fernando Valenzuela

Awards Announcements

Several awards will be announced during the Winter Meetings. These include:

Ford C. Frick Award

The National Baseball Hall of Fame’s Ford C. Frick Award honors excellence in baseball broadcasting. This year’s finalists are Brian Anderson, Joe Buck, Skip Caray, Rene Cardenas, Gary Cohen, Jacques Doucet, Duane Kuiper, John Rooney, Dan Shulman and John Sterling.

The winner will be announced on December 10 and formally honored during next summer’s Hall of Fame Weekend in Cooperstown.

BBWAA Career Excellence Award

Every year, the Baseball Writers’ Association of America celebrates a writer for “for meritorious contributions” to the field.

The BBWAA votes on the award and announces the winner during the Winter Meetings, and the National Baseball Hall of Fame honors the winner as part of the following summer’s Hall of Fame Weekend.

Scout of the Year

For the past four decades, the Scout of the Year program has honored the game’s preeminent talent evaluators and administrators.

The Scout of the Year awards include multiple prizes for domestic scouts, as well as the International Scout of the Year Award and the Roberta Mazur Distinguished Woman in Baseball Award.

The Director’s Award, akin to a lifetime achievement prize, is not given out every year. The most recent winners have been Pat Gillick (2024) and Joe McDonald (2015).

When is the 2026 MLB Draft Lottery?

As of 2023, the order of the top six picks in the MLB draft is determined by a lottery. The 2026 MLB Draft lottery will take place at the Winter Meetings on Tuesday, December 9.

2026 Draft Lottery Odds

Teams that make the postseason are not eligible to receive a top-six pick in the following year’s draft. Of the 18 non-postseason teams from the 2025 season, 15 will participate in the draft lottery.

The Rockies, Nationals, and Angels are ineligble. Colorado received lottery picks in each of the past two drafts, and no team is allowed to have a lottery pick in more than two consecutive seasons. Washington and L.A. received lottery picks last summer, and as biggger-market clubs that pay into revenue sharing, they are not allowed to have lottery picks in consecutive seasons.

Here are the odds of each eligible team receiving the first overall pick in next summer’s draft, per MLB.com:

• White Sox – 27.73%
• Twins – 22.18%
• Pirates – 16.81%
• Orioles – 9.24%
• Athletics – 6.55%
• Braves – 4.54%
• Rays – 3.03%
• Cardinals – 2.35%
• Marlins – 1.85%
• Diamondbacks – 1.51%
• Rangers – 1.34%
• Giants – 1.01%
• Royals – 0.84%
• Mets – 0.67%
• Astros – 0.34%

When is the Rule 5 Draft?

The Rule 5 draft provides an opportunity for minor league players who do not earn a spot on their club’s 40-man roster to earn a major league opportunity with a new organization.

Teams with open 40-man spots can draft eligible, unprotected players from other teams, but to keep them, they must add those players to their 40-man roster immediately and keep them on their 26-man roster throughout the upcoming season.

This year’s Rule 5 draft will take place on Wednesday, December 10 as the final event of the Winter Meetings.

Upcoming Offseason Dates Post-Winter Meetings

• December 15: 2025 international signing period ends
• January 8: Arbitration filing deadline
• January 15: 2026 international signing period begins
• January 20: BBWAA Hall of Fame ballot results announced
• February 11: Pitchers and catchers report for spring training
• February 20: Final day for arbitration hearings
• March 5: 2026 World Baseball Classic begins
• March 25/26: Opening Day