Three things we’ll be keeping an eye on as the Winter Meetings continue in Orlando…
1. The Schwarber Watch continues
While most believe Kyle Schwarber will eventually re-sign with the Phillies, the veteran slugger continues to draw tons of interest from around the league. The Mets are the latest team linked to Schwarber’s market, joining the Phillies and such other clubs as the Giants, Orioles, Red Sox, Pirates (who have made a four-year offer), and Reds (Schwarber’s hometown team). ESPN’s Buster Olney, MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand, and other pundits have heard that Schwarber might be the first major position-player free agent to decide on a new team, so if Schwarber makes his choice during the Winter Meetings, that could open up more movement for other players.
2. Polar warning in Orlando
Pete Alonso will be among the free agents there in person at the Winter Meetings, taking the trip up from his Tampa-area home to meet with some of his suitors face to face. The Mets are naturally familiar enough with Alonso that they won’t be meeting with their longtime slugger, but the Orioles and Red Sox are two of the clubs expected to sit down with Alonso to discuss a possible contract. Given the overlap in their list of suitors, Alonso is one of the free agents who might particularly benefit if Schwarber signs fairly quickly, as plenty of hitting-needy teams may logically turn to Alonso as a power source.
3. Draft Lottery takes place
The fourth MLB Draft Lottery will be held today at 4:30PM CT, and 15 non-playoff teams are eligible to win a top-six selection in the 2026 draft. (The 119-loss Rockies aren’t eligible because they won a lottery picks in each of the previous two drafts, and the Nationals and Angels aren’t eligible because teams that pay revenue-sharing funds can’t receive lottery picks in consecutive drafts.)
This leaves the White Sox with the best odds (27.73%) of landing the first overall pick, though as we’ve seen in the first three years of the draft lottery’s existence, the numbers don’t always work out as the chalk would suggest. The Pirates were one of three teams with an equal share of the top odds when they won the 2022 lottery (and the chance to draft Paul Skenes in 2023), but the Guardians had only a two percent chance of winning when they got lucky in the 2023 lottery, and the Nationals had just the fourth-highest odds when they won last year’s lottery. Beyond just the 1-1 pick, the lottery has led to plenty of shakeups within the top six, so teams with winning records like the Astros, Mets, or Royals still have an outside shot at a high first-round pick.
Let’s get some action today. Can we have a lil? Meetings ain’t what they used to be.
AI – So far it’s definitely been a lot slower than past years, they began gathering in Orlando over the weekend and still not even one of the Top 50 have come off the board this week.
One nit-picky thing, position players are called such because they field a position. DH’s are not position players, DH is a role that was created to increase offense and give poor fielders a chance to play in the majors if they can hit well. Just my two cents ;O)
Its interesting that the narrative surrounding Schwarber and Alonso are so different. Alonso has a higher WAR for his career with a higher avg, ops, ops+. But Schwarber is likely to command more even though Alonso affords a team more flexibility as he actually plays a position (at least for the short term, likely ends any long term contract as a DH)
I think it’s the perception of Alonso as a more difficult player vs the great clubhouse guy in Schwarber for similar output. And Alonso some how feels more clunky offensively. Perhaps it’s bc we’re so aware of what Schwarber is and accept that while we keep hoping Alonso has another level. Whatever it is, I fully expect Schwarber to out earn Alonso. Schwarber seems like the prize while Alonso is more of an “also present”.
Exactly.. Nowadays people claim one guy’s the domino.
First
First tiny brain meat sack. It’s going to be so so easy to take over the world.
Must be here to pick for the White Sox
Earliest opener ever. Still catching up on last night’s articles with the morning coffee. Fell asleep on the couch and I’m all out of sorts this morning, oof. Coffee and mlbtr to the rescue!
MLB needs to have a window where the off season is closed. They should have the window open until say 12/15 and then reopen on 2/1. You would have a flurry of activity in December and then a huge flurry in early February. The slow slog of the off season gives MLB NO big opportunities for media news… A freeze on moves would create two big opportunities…
No
There would still be the rumors.
Players are human beings with families. They want to have some certainty. A freeze would make for better fan entertainment i guess but why would the players agree to that
Let’s go White sox, the road to dominance starts tonight today with the number one pick
Yes, let’s go White sox!
Hell ya man they got it!!!
Domi-what?
dominance
/dŏm′ə-nəns/
noun
The condition or fact of being dominant.
Knowledge is power! You learned a new word today congrats!
The draft lottery is still ridiculous just like it is in the NBA.
A whole lot of “this team is interested in so and so” but not a lot of action so far in Orlando.
The meetings are just getting underway! Hopefully the stove heats up a bit today.
Schwarber can hit it far but he has a lifetime .231 average and may break the record for most strikeouts in a career
He’s 111th in all-time home runs, and if he hits even just 40 next season, he’ll move into 75th place. I don’t think the strikeouts really matter for him– it’s often better than a groundout in many instances for him since he’s a classic DP candidate.
Batting average just isn’t that important. His wRC+ the last 5 years – 145 129 118 134 152
He’s a stud who would make any team better.
Schwarber needs some river balls on his resume
Agreed; give me an Edgar Martinez in comparison any day!
His impact wouldn’t be much greater if he dropped 20 more singles in to get the avg up. He’s getting on base. Hes led off so he’s facing a zero 2 rbi situation 20-25% of the time anyway. Yeah I think we all dream a .280 Schwarber…but he’s super valuable and why we’re all talking about him now even with the Ks
I remember one being traded for Chris Sale and one being traded for Crochet. Which was the 5th starter you refer to?
Rusney Castillo, anyone?
Things are going slow because no one wants to hand out huge contracts. There is going to be some disappointed players this year! I would sign early this year!
As a White Sox fan, I can assure you that they aren’t going to win the first pick
You mispronounced Yankees.
I believe with the pending lockout, the owners are not willing to sign big deals. Cease was a mistake, but he can pitch. It could end up like the Burns deal. The players union will cry collusion, but there have been too many Anthony Rendon type deals that end up ruining a teams future flexibility.
0.34% for Astros to get No.1.
I’m assuming Astros get No. 17
No mention of the Rule 5 draft?