Hours after the Dodgers agreed to a $69 million contract with star closer Edwin Diaz, one of their biggest rivals scored a huge offseason win as well.
The Giants came away with the fourth pick in Tuesday’s MLB draft lottery at the Winter Meetings in Orlando, Fla., a surprise given their relatively long odds.
The Bay Area squad had just the 12th-highest chances of landing the No. 1 overall choice in the 2026 draft, yet it ended up inside the top five.
The White Sox ultimately came away with the first choice, while the Rays and Twins got picks 2 and 3, respectively.
The Pirates, who came into the night with the third-best odds of getting the top pick, will select at No. 5. The Royals rounded out the lottery portion of the draft by grabbing the No. 6 spot.
The Athletics, meanwhile, were deemed one of the night’s losers — as they ended up at No. 8 despite having the fifth-best odds of grabbing No. 1.
Three teams were ineligible for a lottery pick, including the Angels. As a franchise that gives instead of receives revenue sharing money — also known as a “payor club” — the organization was not allowed to be in the top six. It got the No. 12 spot.
The Rockies and Nationals were the two other franchises that were ineligible. They touched down at Nos. 10 and No. 11, respectively.
The MLB draft will go down in mid-July during All-Star Week in Philadelphia.
Last year’s draft lottery winners, the Nationals, selected shortstop Eli Willits with the top overall choice.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
