The MLB Winter Meetings bring more than just free agent action and massive trades. Other orders of business need to be attended to, not the least of which is the Rule 5 Draft which is set to take place on Wedensday in Nashville.
It’s a weird one, the Rule 5 Draft, as it’s not quite a traditional format that we’re used to but it functions almost identically to a normal draft. Instead of drafting college and prep players, teams will pick unprotected minor leaguers who their current clubs failed to prioritize in ways a new one might.
There have been some notable names picked up in the Rule 5 Draft, with the Minnesota Twins having some success in the past. Closer Ryan Pressly was picked up this way, as was Shane Mack who helped the Twins win a World Series back in 1991.
Other notable players picked in the Rule 5 Draft include Marwin Gonzalez, Darren O’Day, and Cy Young winner R.A. Dickey. It’s basically a chance for teams to pick through prospects others have decided aren’t important to see if they can find a diamond in the rough.
How does the MLB Rule 5 Draft work?
All teams have a rough timeline for needing to eventually add players to the 40-man roster, otherwise they become eligible for the Rule 5 Draft. Players who signed with a team at 19 or older need to be added within four years, while any player who signed at 18 or younger needs to be added within five.
If that doesn’t happen, they can be essentially stolen by another team in the Rule 5 Draft and their rights transfer to a new club.
Part of this is like a traditional draft, as teams are stacked in reverse order of winning percentage to determine who picks first. Where it differs is when a player is picked his new team needs to pay some fees before the transaction is official.
There are actually two fees that must be paid, one monetary and one transactional. A team that selects a player must pay his old team $100,000 and had to keep him on the 40-man roster all season in order to retain his rights.
Twins players who are eligible for Rule 5 Draft
A deadline was set back in November for all teams to have properly protected players they didn’t wish to see made eligible for the Rule 5 Draft. This meant adding them to the 40-man roster before the deadline passed, which is something the Twins did for a number of prospects.
Players like Austin Martin, Emmanuel Rodriguez, Yunior Severino, and Jair Camargo were all protected. One notable player who wasn’t is DaShawn Keirsey, a 2018 draft pick who slashed 271/.329/.395 with 26 doubles, 3 triples, and 7 home runs last year in Texas League. There’s a decent chance he gets selected, with some Twins fans worried that the team will one day regret not protecting him in time.
Other players the Twins could lose are former first round pick Aaron Sabato, Anthony Prato, and Michael Helman. Minnesota also elected not to protect Jose Salas, a top prospect they received as part of the Luis Arraez-Pablo Lopez trade.
If a player isn’t selected in the Rule 5 Draft, his rights remain with his current team. So if any of the players Minnesota left unprotected aren’t picked, they’ll stay where they are.
MLB Rule 5 Draft start time, TV Channel, and live stream
- Date: Wednesday, December 6th
- Start Time: 1pm ET
- Live Stream: MLB.com
2023 MLB Rule 5 Draft Order
One major caveat to the Rule 5 Draft is that a team must have space on its 40-man roster in order to select a player. If there’s no space, then there’s no pick; it’s as simple as that.
Here’s a look at the Rule 5 Draft order this year:
- Oakland Athletics
- Kansas City Royals
- Colorado Rockies
- Chicago White Sox
- Washington Nationals
- St. Louis Cardinals
- Los Angeles Angels
- New York Mets
- Pittsburgh Pirates
- Cleveland Guardians
- Detroit Tigers
- Boston Red Sox
- San Francisco Giants
- Cincinnati Reds
- San Diego Padres
- New York Yankees
- Chicago Cubs
- Miami Marlins
- Arizona Diamondbacks
- Minnesota Twins
- Seattle Mariners
- Toronto Blue Jays
- Texas Rangers
- Philadelphia Phillies
- Houston Astros
- Milwaukee Brewers
- Tampa Bay Rays
- Los Angeles Dodgers
- Baltimore Orioles
- Atlanta Braves
A team doesn’t have to select a player if it doesn’t want to. In this way the Rule 5 Draft functions like the NFL Supplemental Draft, although no actual draft picks are forfeited for taking a player like they are in football.