The last event of the Winter Meetings is the annual Rule 5 draft. This year the draft will happen on Thursday at 9 a.m. Pacific Time. After that, everyone at the Winter Meetings heads for home.
The Rule 5 draft is when minor league players who have four or five years of experience (depending on their age when they first signed) but aren’t on a major league 40-man roster are eligible to be drafted by any team for the low, low price of $100,000. The only catch is that the player has to be on the active 25-man roster all season, although they are allowed to spend half the season on the disabled list.