The MLB Winter Meetings are always an offseason-defining burst of rumors, signings and trades, but this year, there’s a new event in the mix that has long-term implications. As part of the collective bargaining agreement that ended the lockout prior to the 2022 season, the league and the players’ union agreed to add a lottery system to set the top picks for July’s MLB Draft.

Designed to disincentivize tanking, the lottery gives each of the 18 teams that missed the playoffs a chance of getting one of the top six picks. Prior to this season, the draft order was set by reverse order of record — with the occasional addition or subtraction of compensation picks from unsigned selections or free agents — and was known pretty much the moment the regular season ended.