For veteran baseball players, any mention of the Winter Meetings, held at the gigantic Hilton Anatole Hotel in Dallas, brings back memories of wild weather.

On the final day of meetings in both 2000 (the same week Alex Rodriguez signed his record-breaking contract with his hometown Rangers) and 2005, ice storms of biblical proportions hit the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex and lobbying banter, that this permeates Meetings moved to airports, where long flight delays temporarily sidelined virtually the entire industry.

A very different kind of storm could be brewing when meetings resume at Anatole next week. You may have heard that there is a generational superstar who is not only leading the free agent market, but also clogging up much of it. Once he picks his target, get ready: things could get wild.

Here are eight reasons why we are looking forward to the 2024 Winter Meetings.

By now you know the main players. Soto could return to the Yankees and continue playing Lou Gehrig for Aaron Judge’s Babe Ruth. He could defect crosstown to the Mets or perhaps the rival Red Sox. He could be the blockbuster acquisition the Blue Jays have been looking for. We don’t think he’ll be heading to the West Coast with the Dodgers, but they’ve certainly gotten their man plenty of times. Or hey, maybe there’s still a mystery team in play that can sign Soto… or at least increase his already enormous price tag.

A floor of $600 million has reportedly already been set in the Soto talks. It could miss Shohei Ohtani’s record-breaking $700 million precedent, but at the same time nullify Ohtani’s heavily deferred deal in terms of today’s value. Soto doesn’t throw and has a lot of long-term defensive question marks, but that kind of thing can happen when the big dogs are motivated and you’re a 26-year-old, patient hitter on a Hall of Fame trajectory.

Once Soto signs, the big dominoes begin to fall…

The Soto sticker shock is one thing, but we’re already amazed at the finances involved in starting pitchers in a market full of pitching-hungry clubs.

It’s such a market. And with the impact weapons of Corbin Burnes, Max Fried, Jack Flaherty, Sean Manaea and Nathan Eovaldi still on the board, it will continue. Any of the teams that don’t sign Soto could switch to top-tier pitching, and the Orioles and Tigers are among the clubs that could be willing to spend heavily in that area.

Understandably, players like Willy Adames, Alex Bregman, Teoscar Hernández, Anthony Santander, Pete Alonso and Christian Walker were in a holding pattern during the Soto sweepstakes. That will change as soon as he signs…maybe the moment he signs.

If the Yankees lose Soto, their Plan B could include any of the above. You would have first base, second base, and right field open (or center field if Judge changes). Jazz Chisholm Jr. gives them positional flexibility as he could either stay at third or move back to second or the outfield.

If the Mets miss out on Soto, it would seemingly only increase the likelihood of them bringing back the popular and productive Alonso. But they would still be looking for another stick.

If the Blue Jays go after Soto like they did against Ohtani, how serious are they about spending on other free agents to add to a roster that has two centerpieces in Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette? are prepared to hit the open market in a year? ?

And if the Red Sox don’t sign Soto, their clearer lineup construction would be a right-handed hitter anyway.

Of course, that doesn’t even address the countless teams that don’t have Soto, but have a vested interest in the rest of the top players. The Astros have already made Bregman an offer. The Giants, Mariners, Braves, Tigers, Cubs and Nationals are all among the clubs in consideration for an impact bat.

But free rein is just the beginning, because…

It’s impossible to predict whether a significant trade will actually materialize at these meetings, but such deals are certainly being discussed considering the enormous cost of free agent pitching and the lack of productive free agent position players in spots , which also includes third base (behind Bregman), catcher, and left and center field.

You’ll hear 10-time Gold Glove winner Nolan Arenado’s name a lot as the retooling Cardinals consider their trade options. The White Sox are discussing with other clubs not only personnel ace Garrett Crochet (a real lockdown that will have to be postponed since there are still two years of contract control remaining), but also center fielder Luis Robert Jr. Also interest in Cody Bellinger from the Cubs will increase once The Soto deal fails.

This is exactly the stuff we know about. There’s a lot we don’t do.

Tanner Scott, Jeff Hoffman (who, like Clay Holmes, could be used as a starter in his new contract with the Mets), Carlos Estévez, Kirby Yates, David Robertson and Blake Treinen are at the top of this particular market, which remains as important as ever many contenders had to burn through their bullpens to survive an injury-filled 2024.

Last year our Dodgers beat writer Juan Toribio missed the Winter Meetings. Apparently he wanted to get married or something unimportant. So I stood in for him. And let me tell you: Dave Roberts was a writer’s dream.

On Day One, Roberts let reporters know that Mookie Betts would be a full-time second baseman in 2024. Obviously it didn’t work out that way, but it was important news at the time… and it was the perfect conversation piece for an otherwise boring day. The next day, at a time when everyone involved with the Shohei-Ohtani sweepstakes was afraid to talk about it for fear of upsetting Ohtani, Roberts blurted out that the Dodgers had recently dealt with the two-pronged Superstar at Dodger Stadium. It was entertaining to watch the reaction spread throughout the building afterward – with Dodgers GM Brandon Gomes immediately asking questions about whether his manager had just ruined his chances of signing Ohtani (spoiler: Ohtani is with the Dodgers anyway signed).

You never know what someone might reveal in these meetings, as they are often the first in-depth meetings with captains and front office people since exit talks at the end of the season. Here’s to more stirring revelations to warm our winter days.

Classic Baseball Era voting results will be announced live from the meetings on MLB Network on Sunday at 7:30 p.m. ET. The small committee process in which “veterans” passed over by the BBWAA, as well as managers and executives, hear their Hall of Fame cases is both fascinating and crazy. Sixteen people are selected to vote on a specific committee and eight people are on the ballot. The vote comes after lengthy debates that take place behind closed doors and confidentially. To be elected, a candidate must receive the support of at least 12 of the 16 voters, but those voters cannot elect more than three people.

Good luck guessing how this will turn out. This is not like BBWAA voting, where the electoral college changes little from year to year and many voters share their decisions and thoughts before the results are announced. On the contrary, this process, whose voters this year will include Hall of Famers Paul Molitor, Eddie Murray, Tony Pérez, Lee Smith and Ozzie Smith, is completely unpredictable.

While the classic era focuses on those whose heyday was before 1980, this year’s candidates are Dick Allen, Ken Boyer, John Donaldson, Steve Garvey, Vic Harris, Tommy John, Dave Parker and Luis Tiant. In previous small committee votes, Allen, Harris, Donaldson, Parker and Garvey were all within six votes of selection. Damn, Allen lost a vote…twice! He deserves to be exaggerated, albeit posthumously. And while Tiant never came that close, one wonders if his recent death might inspire sentimental support.