As is tradition, the Winter Meetings will include the Rule 5 Draft, this year held on Wednesday, Dec. 11. There is no event on the baseball calendar that appeals more to the obsessive seamhead. Although the Rule 5 Draft is seldom relevant in the grander scheme,

The Nationals will have the first pick in the 2025 MLB draft for the third time in franchise history after winning the draft lottery at baseball's winter meetings.

Meetings bring with them the Rule 5 Draft, which gives young players not currently on the 40-man roster of any Major League team a chance

I don’t know if the Rule 5 Draft has gotten increasingly less relevant, but it sure feels that way. Teams now care a lot about roster flexibility, and savvy organizations are focused on skillsets and their own development strengths in a way where the waiver/cash considerations wire can be a more useful avenue for speculative additions than the Rule 5 Draft,