The Major League Baseball Winter Meetings get underway in Orlando on Saturday and last through next Wednesday. A lot of official things happen during the five days along with the unofficial, like trade talks and free agent deals.
Among the items to be checked off, perhaps the most important is the MLB Draft Lottery, which is scheduled for next Tuesday. It determines who gets the top choice in the draft, and the Pirates have the third-best odds of snatching that pick. The White Sox have a 27.73 percent chance of getting the top overall selection, followed by Derek Shelton’s Twins, at 22.18 percent. The Pirates’ have a 16.81 percent chance, and they are followed by the Orioles and Athletics.
Other big events from the Winter Meetings include the Contemporary Baseball Era Hall of Fame ballot on Saturday, the Hall of Fame’s Ford C. Frick Award honors excellence in baseball broadcasting next Wednesday, and the Rule 5 Draft, also next Wednesday.
Contemporary Baseball Era Hall of Fame Candidates:
Barry Bonds
Roger Clemens
Carlos Delgado
Jeff Kent
Don Mattingly
Dale Murphy
Gary Sheffield
Fernando Valenzuela
Ford C. Frick Award Nominees:
Brian Anderson
Joe Buck
Skip Caray
Rene Cardenas
Gary Cohen
Jacques Doucet
Duane Kuiper
John Rooney
Dan Shulman
John Sterling
.