The most exciting time of the Major League Baseball offseason is upon us, with the annual MLB Minter Meetings coming up next week beginning on Monday. While the offseason hot stove has been heating up with free agent signings starting to roll in, the upcoming four-day gathering promises plenty of excitement.
It's true that as baseball fans we'd prefer to see the action taking place on the field, but with over two months until pitchers and catchers report for spring training, the business side will have to do. The Winter Meetings should give us lots of action, though, especially hopefully from a Philadelphia Phillies angle. From free agent signings, both big and small, to trades and juicy rumors galore, we'll be keeping our eyes peeled for any Phillies-centric news to come out of the gathering.
MLB Winter Meetings 2024: What are the Phillies going to do?
The Phillies have clear needs heading into the Winter Meetings. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski is staying open-minded on the prowl for moves to improve his NL East-winning roster.
It's good to keep things in perspective, though. If you're expecting a massive, ground-shaking move like two winters ago when the Phillies inked shortstop Trea Turner to an 11-year, $300 million contract, you'll be disappointed.
However, we can expect more to happen than last year in Nashville when the Phillies' big move was to extend manager Rob Thomson.
The Phillies need to fill a bullpen spot. Dombrowski has said he's looking to sign one right-handed reliever to replace the loss of Jeff Hoffman and Carlos Estévez to free agency. It's unlikely they'll get two new relievers, according to MLB.com's Todd Zolecki.
They need an outfielder for either left or center. How Dombrowski goes about that remains to be seen. There are big-name corner outfielders on the free agent market, like Teoscar Hernández and Anthony Santander, but the biggest names might not necessarily fit the type of player the Phillies are looking for to complement the lineup.
Also looking for starting rotation depth, the Phillies were all over the Garrett Crochet trade market earlier, but that may have taken a backseat for now, with the Chicago White Sox not being in a hurry to make that deal.
MLB Winter Meetings 2024: Location, schedule, MLB Draft Lottery, Rule 5 Draft
This year's MLB Winter Meetings will be set in Dallas, Texas, at the Hilton Anatole hotel. The event officially runs from Dec. 9-12, but teams will begin arriving on Sunday. The Phillies front office plus Thomson will be in attendance and will be speaking to the media at some point.
There are three events on the schedule that fans should be aware of. On Sunday, Dec. 8, the Baseball Hall of Fame Classic Era Committee will announce its selections from this year's ballot. Phillies fans will want to be watching this, as late Phillies legend Dick Allen is making his seventh Classic Era attempt to make Cooperstown after missing out by one vote the last two times. The announcement will be made on MLB Network at 7:30 p.m. ET.
The 2025 MLB Draft Lottery is scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 10, at 5:30 p.m. ET. The Phillies won't be involved in this as a playoff team — they're already locked into the 26th overall pick next summer.
The final event of the Winter Meetings is the Rule 5 Draft on Wednesday, Dec 11 at 2 p.m. ET. While the Phillies will have a chance to select a player from another organization and add him to their 40-man roster, it's hard to see them doing so. They left some interesting players exposed to the draft this year, with names like Griff McGarry, Christian McGowan and Eiberson Castellano available to be plucked by other teams.