Yankees Lose Seven Prospects in the Rule 5 Draft; Add Two From Other Organizations
The Rule 5 Draft is difficult to explain to a casual fan. In many sports, a “Draft” means one thing: teams selecting players that are new to the league. But MLB’s Rule 5 Draft is different than the ones sports fans have grown accustomed to. The Rule 5 Draft is split into two phases: Major League Phase and the Triple-A Phase.
What is the Rule 5 Draft in the Major League Phase?
Essentially, the Rule 5 Draft at the Major League Phase is when certain prospects can be “drafted” right off of another team’s roster, but on conditions set by MLB. None of the players in the draft are new to professional baseball. The draft order is set in reverse order of the previous season’s standings, but teams can only select up to as many unfilled spots exist on their 40-man roster. Teams are given the option to make their selection, so it is not mandatory to select a player. But once a team opts out of its opportunity to make a selection, they are refrained from selecting again in that draft phase.
What Players Are Rule 5 Eligible?
Players that originally signed into the organization at 19 years old or older must be added to the team’s 40-man roster within four seasons. (e.g. a 20 year old signee that signs this offseason must be added to their team’s 40-man roster by the end of the 2024 season to avoid Rule 5 eligibility).
Players that originally signed into the organization at 18 years old or younger must be added to the team’s 40-man roster within five seasons.
Any players that do not satisfy either of those requirements are eligible to be drafted. The deadline to protect players from the Rule 5 Draft (by adding them to the 40-man roster) was November 20, 2020.
What Happens When a Player is Drafted?
When a team decides to use its optional draft pick in the Rule 5 Draft, the player picked must be added to the new team’s 26-man roster immediately and remain on the 26-man roster for the entirety of the subsequent season. The new team must also send $100,000 to the player’s old team. If the new team decides to remove the player from their 26-man roster prior to the end of the subsequent season, they must place the player on waivers and make them eligible to be claimed by any team, but with the Rule 5 limitations remaining imposed.
If the player clears waivers (meaning no team submits a claim), they must offer the player back to his old team in exchange for $50,000. If the old team declines the offer, then the new team may assign the player to a minor league affiliate.
Players The Yankees Lost in the Major League Phase
Garrett Whitlock - Right Handed Pitcher - Round 1, Pick 4 (Boston Red Sox)
Garrett Whitlock became the first of two Yankees’ minor leaguers selected by the Boston Red Sox in this year’s Rule 5 Draft. He originally entered the Yankees’ system when the Bombers took him in the 18th round in 2017’s First-Year Player Draft. The 6’5” right-hander elicits ground balls at a high rate. He throws a heavy two-seam fastball to help induce the low launch angles. In his 3 minor league seasons, he totaled 205.1 innings, 201 strikeouts, a 2.41 ERA, and 1.16 WHIP. It served as somewhat of a surprise that Whitlock was not protected prior to the Rule 5 eligibility deadline. The Yankees will most likely face Whitlock in live-game action this season. He slots in as Boston’s 27th ranked prospect on MLB.com’s rankings.
Kyle Holder - Shortstop - Round 1, Pick 11 (Philadelphia Phillies)
Scouts have raved about Holder’s ability to play defense, but his bat is what needs to catch up in order to maintain steady playing time on the Phillies. At the AA-level in 2019, Holder batted .265 with a .336 OBP and 9 home runs. He was not a top-30 prospect for the Yankees this season, but he does project as a major league ready shortstop on the defensive side.
Trevor Stephan - Right Handed Pitcher - Round 1, Pick 15 (Cleveland Indians)
Another 6’5” right-hander was taken away from the Yankees. Stephan, who was the Yankees’ 24th ranked prospect, becomes the Indians’ 29th ranked prospect. The third round pick from the 2017 draft reached as high as AA-ball in 2019. He threw 238.2 innings with 275 strikeouts and a 3.70 ERA in his minor league career. The strikeout numbers are promising, and Stephan can definitely make an impact for Cleveland this season.
Rule 5 Draft in the Triple-A Phase
In the Triple-A phase of the Rule 5 Draft, selected players are not subject to roster restrictions on their new team, but they do immediately become a member of the new organization on the Triple-A affiliate’s roster. Teams must pay $24,500 to the old team of the player they selected. The draft order is the same as the Major League Phase and teams can select up to the amount of unfilled slots exist on their 38-man Triple-A roster.
Players the Yankees Selected in the Triple-A Phase
Matt Krook - Left Handed Pitcher - Round 1, Pick 16 (Tampa Bay Rays)
The Yankees’ first selection of this year’s Rule 5 Draft came in the first round of the Triple-A Phase. Krook was an original first round draft pick in the 2013 MLB Draft, but elected to attend college at the University of Oregon after passing on signing with the Marlins. The Giants ended up drafting Krook in the 4th round in 2016. He spent all of 2019 in Double-A where he was snakebitten by one thing: walks. In 50 innings, the lefty dished out 32 free passes. His walk numbers have been absurdly high since he began pitching in the minors and last season marked his lowest BB/9 rate, which at 5.8, is not impressive. If he can get past command controls, he would be ready to move to the next level, since the rest of his game appears ready (he only allowed 3 home runs all season in 2019).
Reggie McClain - Right Handed Pitcher - Round 2, Pick 36 (Philadelphia Phillies)
McClain is on the older side of Rule 5 players, at 28 years old. He also comes with big league experience between two teams. He debuted in the Show in 2019 and pitched 21 innings for the Mariners. He then threw a handful of innings for the Phillies this past season after he was claimed off waivers. 2019 was McClain’s breakout year. He started in high-A ball and made it through the minors to Triple-A and totaled a 2.23 ERA in 72.2 innings in the minors. His major league ERA is 5.81, but the sample size is rather small (26.1 innings).
Players the Yankees Lost in the Triple-A Phase
Matthew Wivinis - Right Handed Pitcher - Round 1, Pick 2 (Texas Rangers)
This reliever dominated the lower-level minor leagues. He had ERAs of 0.87, 0.48, and 2.18 in Rookie Ball, Single-A, and High-A respectively, albeit low innings counts. Double-A presented its first professional challenge to Wivinis. He pitched to a 4.61 ERA, but the indicating numbers look very good for him. He maintained a 10.2 K/9, 1.10 WHIP, and 3.3 BB/9.
Kaleb Ort - Right Handed Pitcher - Round 2, Pick 28 (Boston Red Sox)
Ort will join Whitlock, with both shipping up to Boston this offseason. Ort has been a steady reliever in the Yanks’ farm system, pitching in each level. He struck out tons of hitters along the way. In 131.2 minor league innings, he K’d 186 batters and kept a 3.14 ERA.
Gustavo Campero - Catcher - Round 2, Pick 30 (Los Angeles Angels)
Campero has been a constant at the Yankees’ Rookie-Ball level of the minors. All three of his minor league seasons have been there, with his most recent resulting in a .293 average and 10 stolen bases while manning the catcher position in 26 of the 36 games he appeared in.
Ben Ruta - Outfielder - Round 2, Pick 41 (San Diego Padres)
Ruta last appeared in Double-A in 2019. He proves to be a good athlete, swiping 25 bags and clubbing 8 home runs in 117 games in action that year. Ruta grew up in New Jersey and attended Wagner College in Staten Island, but he will now move across the country and join the Padres’ system.
Some players may find their way back to the Yankees, but the farm system definitely took a hit to its depth.
Garrett Whitlock pitching for the Yankees in Spring Training. Photo: The Athletic