Baseball's annual Winter Meetings take place in sunny San Diego this week. The Winter Meetings are traditionally the four busiest days of the offseason. Last year there were four trades and 10 free-agent signings during the Winter Meetings, including the Andrew McCutchen signing, the Charlie Morton signing, and the Carlos Santana/Edwin Encarnacion three-team trade.

Here are the details for the 2019 Winter Meetings:

Where: Hilton San Diego Bayfront
When: Sunday, Dec. 8 to Thursday, Dec. 12

We here at CBSSports.com and on CBS Sports HQ will of course provide around-the-clock Winter Meetings updates and analysis. We'll have all the latest rumors and break down any and all trades and free-agent signings. It's a hectic week but a very fun one. The offseason doesn't get any better.

Here is everything you need to know about this year's Winter Meetings.

What events take place at the Winter Meetings?

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The 2019 MLB Winter Meetings will be held in sunny San Diego. USATSI

Technically, the Winter Meetings are a minor-league event. MLB teams just tag along. Minor-league clubs get together to network, seek potential employees, discuss industry trends, handle business matters, and attend seminars.

Here are the Winter Meetings main events:

  • Modern Era Hall of Fame class announced: Dwight Evans, Steve Garvey, Tommy John, Don Mattingly, Marvin Miller, Thurman Munson, Dale Murphy, Dave Parker, Ted Simmons, and Lou Whitaker are on the ballot this year.  
  • PBEO Job Fair: The Professional Baseball Employment Opportunities (PBEO) Job Fair is an opportunity for job seekers to meet with team representatives and even interview. Here's the agenda and registration info. The vast majority of available positions are entry level with minor league teams, but hey, it's a way to get your foot in the door.
  • Baseball Trade Show: The trade show is a blast. Vendors from around the country show off their products. There's everything from equipment to concessions to bobbleheads. Here's the trade show information and here is Matt Snyder's trip through the 2015 trade show.
  • Bob Frietas Business Seminar: Features guest speakers from both inside and outside baseball, plus informal workshops.
  • Awards gala: Includes the presentation of Bowie Kuhn Award, various Scout of the Year awards, and the Baseball America Organization of the Year award, among other things.

It should be noted MLB and minor league teams are currently negotiating a new Professional Baseball Agreement, the contract that keeps everyone working together. MLB has proposed eliminating 42 minor league teams as part of a large minor league overhaul and, understandably, minor league teams are not happy. The PBA expires after next season and this week's negotiations could be contentious.

The All-MLB Team

MLB will reveal its inaugural All-MLB Team at the Winter Meetings. The All-MLB Team will reflect performances from the 2019 season and there will be one single All-MLB Team covering both leagues. There won't be separate American League and National League teams.

The inaugural All-MLB Team will be selected through a combination of fan voting and a panel consisting of media members, broadcasters, former players, and other baseball officials. If you're hoping to vote for this year's All-MLB Team and haven't already, you're out of luck. Voting closed earlier this week. Sorry.

The All-MLB Team will be revealed during the Winter Meetings next Tuesday. The team will consist of a catcher, a first baseman, a second baseman, a shortstop, a third baseman, three outfielders regardless of specific outfield position, a DH, five starting pitchers, and two relief pitchers.

Spoiler alert: Mike Trout will be on the All-MLB Team. No inside info here, just a hunch.

Rumors! Trades! Signings!

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The Gerrit Cole market will heat up during the Winter Meetings. USATSI

Of course, almost all baseball fans associate the Winter Meetings with the hot stove, and for good reason. All 30 front offices -- it's not just the general manager or president of the baseball operations, it's their assistants as well as trusted scouts and analytics folks -- are in one place, and deals are inevitable. It's a chance to meet face-to-face and negotiate.

Historically, the Winter Meetings are the four busiest days of the offseason. There are non-stop rumors in the Twitter era, so much so that it's tough to separate the legitimate rumors from the noise. Teams and agents both use the media to push their agenda. No doubt about it. Inevitably, trades and free-agent signings take place. Lots of them. Several a day. It's a lot of fun.

Already Zack Wheeler and Yasmani Grandal have signed. Scott Boras tends to drag things out with his top clients, so there's no guarantee Gerrit Cole, Anthony Rendon or Stephen Strasburg will sign during the Winter Meetings. There are still lots -- lots -- of free agents out there, and many will sign within the next week.

Here are some key storylines to watch during the Winter Meetings next week:

Also, all 30 MLB managers meet with the media during the Winter Meetings to give a "state of the team" press conference. It's usually the first time they're asked about the new player the team just signed or a new coach they just hired, things like that. Every once in a while some news comes out of those media sessions, like a position change or injury update.

The Rule 5 Draft

The annual Rule 5 Draft takes place Thursday morning and is the unofficial end of the Winter Meetings. Everyone packs up and heads home after that. Any player selected in the Rule 5 Draft must remain on their new team's active 26-man major league roster the entire 2020 season, or be placed on waivers and offered back to their former team.

Only players not on the 40-man roster are eligible to be selected in the Rule 5 Draft. It's a way to give minor leaguers blocked in their current organization a chance at the big leagues. This year's pool of eligible players includes:

  • Players drafted out of high school in 2015 or earlier.
  • Players drafted out of college in 2016 or earlier.
  • Players signed as international free agents in 2015 or earlier.

There are some exceptions based on age, but, generally speaking, those are the eligible players. Baseball America's J.J. Cooper put together a list of the best available players, if you're interested. Keep in mind MLB will add a 26th roster spot next season. That will make it that much easier to carry a Rule 5 Draft player all year. The Rule 5 Draft could be busier than usual.

Teams seem to be getting better at finding quality players in the Rule 5 Draft these days. Joe Biagini, Mark Canha, Odubel Herrera, Brad Keller, and Victor Reyes are among the Rule 5 Draft success stories in recent seasons. 

Can fans attend the Winter Meetings?

Officially, the Winter Meetings are closed to the public. You can't just walk in and attend the trade show or workshops, for example. Those are for teams and people in the industry.

You are, however, free to roam the hallways of the Hilton San Diego Bayfront and watch everything that goes on, which I assure you is not as exciting as it sounds. You'll see famous faces walk by -- mostly team executives, but some players also stop by as well, particularly those who live locally or are looking for a job -- but you won't see Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman and Indians GM Mike Chernoff sitting in the lobby discussing a Lindor trade, for example. Those talks happen behind closed doors, in the team suites.

If you're an ambitious job-seeker hoping to hand out resumes at the Winter Meetings, by all means, go for it. I wish you the best of luck. If you're a fan just wanting to stake out the lobby and hallways, it's probably not worth the trip, especially if you're not close by and can't easily walk or drive over one afternoon.

Speaking from experience, being on-site at the Winter Meetings is not as exciting as you may think. You can follow all the rumors, trades, and signings just as quickly and easily from home.