- Commissioner’s statement on Ventura, Marte
- Ronnie O’Sullivan: Masters champion ‘felt so vulnerable’ in final
- Arron Fletcher Wins 2017 WSOP International Circuit Marrakech Main Event ($140,224)
- Smith challenges Warner to go big in India
- Moncada No. 1 on MLB Pipeline’s Top 10 2B Prospects list
- Braves land 2 on MLB Pipeline’s Top 10 2B Prospects list
- Kingery makes MLB Pipeline’s Top 10 2B Prospects list
- New Zealand wrap up 2-0 after Bangladesh implosion
- Mathews, Pradeep, Gunathilaka to return to Sri Lanka
- Elliott hopes for rain for Poli
From Hack to Herrera: A history of the Rule 5 Draft
- Updated: December 7, 2016
This week’s Winter Meetings in National Harbor, Md., will conclude on Thursday morning with the annual Rule 5 Draft, which will be streamed live on Dec. 8 at 9 a.m. ET.
Though it has changed considerably over the years, the Rule 5 Draft dates back a century and a quarter, making it older than the World Series. Along the way, it has produced many big league contributors and a handful of stars but remains a relatively minor source of talent.
Because the Rule 5 is a somewhat complicated affair, here is a look at how it works, as well as how it has evolved.
Rule 5 rules
When this year’s Draft is held on Thursday, any club with an open spot on its 40-man roster is eligible to make a selection. Teams pick in reverse order of 2016 record, so the Twins get the first crack, with the Cubs last. Last year, 16 players were picked in the Major League phase. (There also are Triple-A and Double-A phases).
Players on an organization’s 40-man roster are protected from the Rule 5 Draft. To be eligible for selection, a player must either have spent four seasons in professional baseball after signing at age 19 or older, or spent five seasons in pro ball after signing at 18 or younger (as of June 5 of that year). In other words, this year’s Rule 5 Draft mostly will affect unprotected players who were international signings or Draft picks out of high school in 2012, as well as college players who were drafted in 2013.
• Rule 5 Draft preview
A team that makes a selection pays a player’s previous team $100,000 and places the player on its 40-man roster, then must keep the player on the 25-man roster or disabled list for the whole season. (He must be active for at least 90 days, so teams can’t hide him on the DL the whole time.) If the acquiring team removes the player from the big league roster, it must offer him back to the former team for $50,000. (The costs increased from $50,000 and $25,000 to $100,000 and $50,000, respectively, in the new Collective Bargaining Agreement.)
The early years
The event now known as the Rule 5 Draft dates all the way back to 1892, 11 years before the American League and National League held the inaugural World Series. Most commonly referred to as the “Selection of Players” at first, it allowed big league teams to draft players between Oct. 1 and Feb. 1 each offseason, in no predetermined order.
Before the rules recognized affiliated farm systems in 1931, big league teams made their picks solely from Minor League teams, all of which operated in independent leagues. Initially, a pick cost either $500 or $1,000, depending on the level of the player’s league. Both the …
