Happy Rule 5 Draft day!
One of our favorite days of the year at Baseball America is set to begin at 2 p.m. ET at the Winter Meetings in Dallas. The event is an annual opportunity for teams to identify and add unheralded players in other organizations who are not currently on 40-man rosters.
Here are some helpful primers to prepare you for the draft. We will update this post with results as the picks roll in. While the Rule 5 draft won’t be broadcast on television, it will be streamed live for fans on MLB.com.
Rule 5 Draft Preview
2024 Rule 5 Draft Order
- White Sox
- Rockies
- Marlins
- Angels
- Athletics
- Nationals
- Blue Jays
- Pirates
- Reds
- Rangers
- Giants
- Rays
- Red Sox
- Twins
- Cardinals
- Cubs
- Mariners
- Royals
- Tigers
- Astros
- Mets
- D-backs
- Braves
- Orioles
- Guardians
- Padres
- Brewers
- Yankees
- Phillies
- Dodgers
There is also a minor league portion of the Rule 5 draft. This occurs following the MLB phase. Those players do not need to be kept on big league rosters.
Who Is Eligible For The Rule 5 Draft?
Any player not added to a team’s 40-man roster is eligible if they meet the following criteria:
- They signed at 18 years or younger and have played five professional seasons
- They signed at 19 years or older and have played four professional seasons
What Are The Rules?
The draft order is set in the reverse order of the standings from the preceding season. Teams can bypass their selection. At that point, the draft moves on to the following team in the order and continues until every team skips their pick and/or runs out of space on their 40-man roster.
A team can select any eligible player from another team’s roster for $100,000. They must keep that player on their active 26-man roster for the duration of the 2024 season. If they choose to remove the player from their roster, they must waive him. If the player clears waivers, he is offered back to his original team.
Who Are Some Famous Rule 5 Draft Picks?
Last year, 10 players were selected in the first round of the Rule 5 draft. That included a useful starter (Mitch Spence, A’s), a useful reliever (Justin Slaten, who was later dealt to the Red Sox) and even Deyvison De Los Santos, who was ultimately offered back to the D-backs before becoming one of the minor leagues’ best power hitters last year.
It’s not uncommon to see upwards of 15-20 players selected. Red Sox righthander Garrett Whitlock and Tigers outfielder Akil Baddoo are two more recent examples of Rule 5 picks—both were selected in 2021—who made immediate impacts in their new organizations.
Here are the best Rule 5 Draft picks of the 21st Century.
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