10 burning questions ahead of MLB's Winter Meetings: Which free agents will sign? Who makes the Hall of Fame?

The Winter Meetings, baseball's annual hot stove extravaganza, open Sunday at the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort in Orlando. It will be four days of trades, free agent signings, and hot stove rumors. The Winter Meetings are the four busiest days of the offseason and the winter's biggest moves typically happen that week.

With that in mind, here now are 10 burning questions to help prepare you for this year's Winter Meetings.

1. Will Tucker sign?

Kyle Tucker, the offseason's top free agent, is still on the board, though it isn't at all uncommon for the No. 1 free agent to remain unsigned heading into the Winter Meetings. Tucker has suitors aplenty, with big-market contenders like the Dodgers, Mets, and Yankees rumored to have interest in recent weeks. Teams that miss out on Tucker could quickly pivot to Cody Bellinger, who is far and away the second-best free agent outfielder on the market. The opposite is true too -- Bellinger could sign before Tucker, making Tucker the pivot. The offseason's best free agent typically signs during the Winter Meetings (Juan Soto did last year). Tucker could be in his final days as an unemployed player.

2. Will the Cardinals trade Arenado?

It does seem inevitable, doesn't it? St. Louis had a farewell ceremony for Nolan Arenado in their final home game, signaling their intention. The Cardinals paid down $20 million to trade Sonny Gray to the Red Sox last week. Surely they're willing to eat money to move Arenado, whom they owe $37 million over the next two seasons. Arenado has a full no-trade clause and is said to want to go to a contender. His options may be limited though. Alex Bregman and Eugenio Suárez are better players at this point and both are available as free agents. Contenders may want to exhaust those possibilities before turning to Arenado. A heavily subsidized Arenado could be more appealing than Bregman or Suárez to a few teams, however.

3. Will a surprise trade candidate emerge?

There's one or two (or three) every offseason. Last offseason at this time, no one expected the Astros to move Tucker, then by the end of the Winter Meetings, it was clear he was available and had a real chance to move. The Chris Sale trade was more surprising than you may remember two offseasons ago. A player you wouldn't think is available will be traded this winter. It is inevitable. That surprising trade may not happen at the Winter Meetings, though the name(s) could become public. 

4. Will the pitching market continue moving?

The dominoes have begun to fall. Gray was traded to the Red Sox last week, and one day later Dylan Cease agreed to a seven-year contract worth $210 million with the Blue Jays. There are still plenty of quality free agents (Michael King, Ranger Suárez, Framber Valdez, etc.) and trade candidates (Sandy Alcantara, Joe Ryan, etc.) available, and pitching is always in demand. The question isn't so much if will the pitching market continue moving. Of course it will. The question is how many pitchers come off the board at the Winter Meetings and which teams will be left scrambling for arms the rest of the offseason.

5. Will any of the NPB stars sign?

Those stars being righty Tatsuya Imai, third baseman Munetaka Murakami, and first baseman Kazuma Okamoto. Stars in Japan, all of them, and they are available for MLB teams this offseason. All three have been posted and their 45-day signing windows are open. Murakami has until Dec. 22 to put pen to paper. Imai and Okamoto have until Jan. 2. The decision does not have to go down to the wire. These players could sign at any time, including at the Winter Meetings if they get an offer to their liking.

MLB free agency: What to know about NPB, KBO players to be posted this winter, including a home run champion

R.J. Anderson

6. Will any big names return to their teams?

It's not hard to envision more than a few top free agents re-signing with their most recent team. Bregman and the Red Sox, Bo Bichette and the Blue Jays, Kyle Schwarber and the Phillies, so on and so forth. Sometimes a player reaches free agency, sees what's out there, and ultimately decides to stay where he is. The grass isn't always greener, you know? The Winter Meetings are usually when players change teams, not re-up, though re-signings do certainly happen. 

7. Will manager interviews bring any news?

All 30 MLB managers will speak to reporters during the Winter Meetings, and while most of those press conferences are the same old (we're excited about our team, we're looking forward to getting that player back, etc.), every so often they bring important news. This player is changing positions, that player has an injury, etc. You'd be surprised how much can change between the end of the season and the Winter Meetings. Occasionally we learn something important from these manager press availabilities.

8. Will the Hall of Fame welcome any new members?

The Hall of Fame's Contemporary Era Committee will soon meet to consider eight candidates whose "primary contribution to the game came since 1980," and the results will be announced Sunday evening in Orlando. Those eight candidates: Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Carlos Delgado, Jeff Kent, Don Mattingly, Dale Murphy, Gary Sheffield, and the late Fernando Valenzuela. A candidate needs 12 votes from the 16-person committee for induction.

9. Who will win the Draft Lottery?

As part of the current collective bargaining agreement, MLB and the MLBPA agreed to a lottery to determine the top six picks of the amateur draft in an effort to curb tanking and noncompetitive behavior. Teams that missed the postseason all have a chance at the No. 1 overall pick in next July's draft, though the worse teams have the best odds. Last year, the Nationals moved up from the No. 4 pick to the No. 1 pick. The year before, the Guardians moved up from No. 9 to No. 1 and the Reds jumped all the way from No. 15 to No. 2. There's more than one way to win on lottery day.

10. Will a team find a gem in the Rule 5 Draft?

This is not a question we will be able to answer until next season gets underway. The White Sox struck Rule 5 Draft gold last year with righty Shane Smith, who was an All-Star as a rookie this summer. The Rule 5 Draft prevents teams from burying players in the minors indefinitely and creates another path to the big leagues. Players selected in the Rule 5 Draft must remain on their new team's MLB roster all season in 2026 or be passed through waivers and be offered back to their former team. Most Rule 5 Draft success stories are bench guys or middle relievers, though that won't stop clubs from looking for the next Smith.