MLB Winter Meetings: 5 bold predictions for baseball’s offseason showcase
By Kevin Henry
MLB Winter Meetings kick off Sunday in San Diego and there will be plenty of news and rumors coming out of the event.
At the annual gathering of baseball executives, agents, and media members, there are always signings to announce … and some of those can be bombshells. Additionally, some of the things that experts often think are going to happen at the MLB Winter Meetings never come to fruition, making predictions about what is to come very often a roll of the dice.
However, for this article, we’re looking into the future and bringing you some hot takes on what could happen in San Diego very soon.
5 bold predictions for the 2022 MLB Winter Meetings
5. The Rule 5 Draft will be more interesting than ever
Another consequence of the cancellation of the 2020 minor league season due to COVID-19 was that MLB teams missed out on a year of seeing which of their prospects were taking steps forward and which ones were not going to be a part of the plan for years to come.
With that in mind, this year’s Rule 5 Draft includes some very interesting candidates, including plenty of players who are listed among the top 30 prospects of most teams.
The 2022 Rule 5 Draft takes place on Wednesday, December 7. You can learn all of the details about the draft here, but here’s an important note: “…the Rule 5 Draft allows clubs without a full 40-man roster to select certain non-40-man roster players from other clubs. Clubs draft in reverse order of the standings from the previous season.”
With teams unable to protect all of their prospects and plenty of unknowns still out there after missing an entire season, expect more teams to take a chance on a Rule 5 Draft pickup this year than ever before.