The Tampa Bay Rays front office is on the cusp of a pivotal offseason point as the Winter Meetings loom, but the four day stretch in Orlando is not the only set of dates that are important.
The apex of offseason activity in Major League Baseball is upon us as the annual Winter Meetings are being held in Orlando in one week.
The meetings will span from Dec. 7-10, with ample free agency moves and trade activity taking place. It will be a pivotal period for the Tampa Bay Rays, who have multiple areas to address on the roster and, once again, limited money at their disposal.
According to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times, the Rays “are going to spend a lot of time — and potentially much of their available money with a roughly $85 million payroll — on starting pitching.”
Tampa Bay also has needs in the outfield and at catcher. Tampa Bay brought in Ryan Vilade and Jake Fraley to provide more outfield options, but that may not be the only moves the front office makes. The Rays have a promising backstop prospect in Dominic Keegan, but how long until he is MLB roster ready? Can the team get more out of Nick Fortes and Hunter Feduccia, two catching acquisitions from last season’s trade deadline?
The Rays will have a lot to focus on during what may be the most pivotal point of the offseason, but other dates of importance remain. Some coincide with the Winter Meetings, while others stand alone. Some of those dates are listed below:
DECEMBER 7: Hall of Fame Contemporary Baseball Era Players Committee Announcement- Formerly known as the Veterans Committee, the 16-person panel votes on eight candidates who were not previously inducted into Cooperstown by the Baseball Writers Association of America. The eight candidates under consideration are usually announced in early November; those who receive at least 12 votes on December 7 are elected to the Hall of Fame. This year's committee will consider only players whose greatest contributions came in the 198os or later.
DECEMBER 9: Amateur Draft Lottery- The White Sox have the best chance of securing the first overall pick at 27.8% (h/t to Baseball America). The Rockies, Nationals and Angels are not allowed to pick higher than 10th. The CBA prohibits teams trom having lotter picks in three straight vears, which rules out Colorado. Clubs that do not receive revenue sharing cannot pick in the lottery in consecutive seasons, ruling out Washington and Los Angeles.
DECEMBER 10: The Rule 5 draft will conclude the Winter Meetings- Players selected must stay on their new teams' active rosters for the entire '26 season or be offered back to their original organization.
DECEMBER 15: Closing of the 2025 signing period for international amateurs.
JANUARY 8: Teams and arbitration-eligible players exchange salary filing figures- They're free to continue negotiating beyond this date, though virtually every team treats this as an unofficial deadline to avoid an arbitration hearing unless they sign a multi-year contract.
JANUARY 15: Opening of the 2026 signing period for international amateurs- The majority of the international signings for the year will be announced on this date, as virtually all the top prospects have reached handshake agreements by this point.