2016 Winter Meetings (Day Four) - Rule 5 Draft
The 2016 MLB Rule 5 Draft will be the last order of "official" business at the Winter Meetings Thursday morning.
SELECTED BY CUBS IN MAJOR LEAGUE PHASE:
NONE
NOTE: The Cubs acquired LHP Caleb Smith from the Milwaukee Brewers for a Player to Be Named Later (or cash) after the conclusion of the draft. Smith was selected by the Brewers from the New York Yankees AAA Scranton affiliate in the Major League Phase (so the Cubs assume the Rule 5 obligations that go with selecting a player in the Major League Phase). Smith must be added to the Cubs MLB Reserve List (40-man roster) immediately (and tendered a major league contract by 5 PM Eastern), so the Cubs now have 36 players on their MLB 40-man roster (four slots are open).
CUBS MINOR LEAGUERS SELECTED IN MAJOR LEAGUE PHASE:
Armando Rivero, RHP (by Atlanta Braves from Cubs AAA Iowa affiliate)
CUBS MINOR LEAGUERS SELECTED IN AAA PHASE: :
Danny Lockhart, INF (by Arizona Diamondbacks AAA Reno affiliate from Cubs AA Tennessee affiliate)
PLAYERS SELECTED BY CUBS IN AAA PHASE:
Kevin Cornelius, INF (by Cubs AAA Iowa affiliate from New York Yankees AA Trenton affiliate)
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The Rule 5 Draft (technically known as the "Rule 5 Selection Meeting") is a mechanism that allows MLB clubs to select (draft) players off minor league reserve lists. There is a "Major League Phase" where an MLB club can select Rule 5 Draft-eligible players off the reserve lists of minor league clubs (any minor league classification) for $100,000 ("Major League Phase" Rule 5 Draft price increased from $50,000 to $100,000 beginning with the December 2016 draft), and a "AAA Phase" where a club's AAA minor league affiliate can select Rule 5 Draft-eligible players off the reserve lists of minor league clubs of a lower classification (below AAA) for $24,000 ("Minor League Phase" Rule 5 Draft price increased from $12,000 to $24,000 beginning with the December 2016 draft).
NOTE: Effective December 2016, the "AA Phase" (where a club's AA minor league affiliate could select Rule 5 Draft-eligible players off the reserve lists of minor league clubs of a classification below AA for $4,000) has been eliminated. (There were no players selected in the AA Phase of the Rule 5 Draft last year, probably speeding its demise).
There is no limit on the number of rounds in each phase (there could be one, there could be three, there could be five or more). As long as at least one club is still selecting players, the phase will continue, but as soon as all 30 teams have a full reserve list (so that clubs can no longer make selections) or have passed, the phase is over.
There is no limit on the number of Rule 5 Draft-eligible players any one organization can lose in a Rule 5 Draft.
The Cubs presently have 35 players on their MLB Reserve List (five slots are open), so they could select as many as five players in the Major League Phase of the Rule 5 Draft if they were so inclined. (A club can only select as many players in the Major League Phase of the Rule Draft as the number of open slots on the club's MLB reserve list). If the Cubs do select a player, it could either be for themselves, or for the purpose of trading or selling the rights to the drafted player to another club in a pre-arranged deal (a not uncommon practice). Or another MLB club with a more-favorable draft slot could select a player in the Rule 5 Draft for the Cubs and then trade or sell rights to the drafted player to the Cubs (with the Cubs assuming the Rule 5 obligations).
Since the Cubs have the 30th (last) pick in the draft order, it's more likely that the Cubs would ask another club with a more-favorable draft slot to make a selection for them (an MLB-ready lefty reliever, maybe?) and then acquire rights to the drafted player from that club for cash or player(s), than the other-way around. But that's only if the Cubs are interested in acquiring a particular Rule 5 Draft-eligible player. Actually, the Cubs are a lot more likely to lose one or more players in the Major League Phase of this year's Rule 5 Draft than they are to add one. It will be interesting to see if the increased cost of selecting players in the Major League Phase (up from $50,000 last year to $100,000 this year) will dampen some of the interest and enthusiasm on the part of some MLB clubs.
While no more than 40 players can be assigned to an MLB Reserve List, there is a 38-man reserve list limit for AAA clubs (the reserve list limit is 37 for AA affiliates, and 35 for all affiliates below AA). Typically, most MLB clubs will leave four or five slots open on their AAA affiliate's reserve list when reserve lists are filed in November, for free-agents who might be signed to minor league contracts and for players on the MLB 40-man roster who might get outrighted to the minors prior to the Rule 5 Draft, and for players the club might want to select from other organizations in the AAA Phase of the draft. (Just as in the Major League Phase, a club can only select as many players in the Minor League Phase of the Rule 5 Draft as the number of slots that were open on the AAA affiliate's reserve list prior to the start of the draft).
In fact, it is FAR more-likely that the Cubs will make selections in the AAA Phase of the Rule 5 Draft than in the Major League Phase (they drafted three players in the AAA Phase last year), and likewise there is a good chance that they will lose several players in the AAA Phase as well (the Cubs lost four players in the AAA Phase last year). Although occasionally a decent prospect was left unprotected in the AAA Phase (1B Justin Bour was selected by the Miami Marlins off the AA Tennessee reserve list in the AAA Phase of the 2013 Rule 5 Draft), the AAA Phase is mainly used to acquire minor league depth at positions where the organization is thin, and while the Cubs are generally about as deep as any organization in baseball, they might look to acquire a LHRP or two, a catcher, and/or maybe a utility infielder for AAA Iowa or AA Tennessee in the Minor League Phase.
So figure about 33 of the Cubs minor leaguers eligible for selection in the 2016 Rule 5 Draft were placed on the AAA Iowa reserve list on 11/18 (making them eligible for selection in the Major League Phase only), with maybe 19 of the Rule 5 Draft-eligible minor leaguers placed on AA or Class "A" reserve lists, making those 19 eligible for selection in the AAA Phase (again, in this phase Rule 5 Draft-eligible players on AA or Class "A" reserve lists can be selected, the draft price is $24,000, and there is no right to later re-claim the player once he is drafted). The Cubs have not signed any free-agents to minor league contracts or outrighted any players to the minors In the twenty days since minor league reserve lists were filed, so there should still be about five slots open on the AAA Iowa reserve list for potential AAA Phase selections.
Listed below are the 52 Cubs minor leaguers eligible for selection in today's Rule 5 Draft. I have highlighted in bold & underlined the 33 players I suspect are probably on the AAA Iowa reserve list (making them eligible for selection in the Major League Phase of the draft only): The other 19 players are in italics and are likely available for selection in the AAA Phase. (Again, these are just educated guesses on my part)
CUBS MINOR LEAGUERS ELIGIBLE FOR SELECTION IN 2016 RULE 5 DRAFT (last updated 11/18):
Andury Acevedo, RHP (Article XX-D player)
Gioskar Amaya, C-IF-OF
John Andreoli, OF
Jeffry Antigua, LHP
Luis Aquino, RHP
Pedro Araujo, RHP
Jeffrey Baez, OF
Yasiel Balaguert, 1B-OF
Dallas Beeler, RHP (Article XX-D player)
Corey Black, RHP
David Bote, INF
Cael Brockmeyer, C
Stephen Bruno, INF
Roberto Caro, OF
Erick Castillo, C
Josh Conway, RHP
Taylor Davis, C-1B
Andin Diaz, LHP
Elvis Diaz, RHP
Greyfer Eregua, RHP
Luiz Escanio, RHP (on Restricted List serving 144-game PED suspension)
Bryant Flete, INF
Seth Frankoff, RHP (ex-LAD - signed 2017 minor league contract)
Robert Garcia, OF
David Garner, RHP
Luis Hernandez, RHP
Erick Leal, RHP
Danny Lockhart, INF
Mark Malave, RHP (ex-C)
Dillon Maples, RHP
Trey Martin, OF
Jonathan Martinez, RHP
Ryan McNeil, RHP
Alberto Mineo, C-1B
Jose Paniagua, 1B-OF
Juan Carlos Paniagua, RHP
Manny Parra, LHP (Article XIX-A player)
Adonis Paula, INF
Jose Paulino, LHP
Carlos Penalver, INF
Steve Perakslis, RHP
Chris Pieters, 1B-OF (ex-LHP)
Jordan Pries, RHP
James Pugliese, RHP
Bijan Rademacher, OF
Will Remillard, C
Armando Rivero, RHP
Alexander Santana, RHP
Nick Sarianides, RHP
Tyler Skulina, RHP
Daury Torrez, RHP
Michael Wagner, RHP
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RULE 5 DRAFT ELIGIBILITY
1. A minor league player who was 18 or younger on the June 5th immediately prior to signing his first contract is eligible for selection starting with the 5th Rule 5 Draft following his first qualified season, and a minor league player who was 19 years or older on the June 5th immediately prior to signing his first contract becomes eligible for selection starting with the 4th Rule 5 Draft following his first qualified season.
2. If a player signs his first contract after the conclusion of the season of the MLB or minor league club to which he is first assigned (even if he signs prior to the Rule 5 Draft), the next season is considered to be the player's "first qualified season" for Rule 5 eligibility purposes. (Depending on the minor league, the conclusion of a minor league club's season could be as early as the first week of August, or as late as the second week of September).
3. A player eligible to be an MLB Rule 55 minor league free-agent who signs a minor league successor contract prior to being declared a free-agent and a free-agent with prior MLB and/or minor league service who signs a minor league contract prior to the Rule 5 Draft is eligible for selection if the player;was 18 or younger on the June 5th immediately prior to signing his first contract and it is at least the 5th Rule 5 Draft since he signed his first contract, or the player was 19 years or older on the June 5th immediately prior to signing his first contract and it is at least the 4th Rule 5 Draft since he signed his first contract.
4. Any player on a minor league reserve list who has either been released or had his contract voided and then re-signs with the same MLB organization within one year is eligible for selection.
5. Any player on a minor league reserve list who has been outrighted to the minors previously in his career is eligible for selection.
6. A player on the Voluntary Retired List, Disqualified List, or Ineligible List is not eligible for selection.
7. An MLB club can designate any player on a minor league reserve list "eligible for selection" in the Rule 5 Draft even if the player would not normally be eligible, but once a player is designated "eligible for selection," he remains eligible for selection in all subsequent Rule 5 drafts. NOTE: A club might opt to do this if the club is planning to release the player during the off-season.
8. A minor league player-manager who would be eligible for selection in the Rule 5 Draft if he was only a player can be selected, but if he is selected, the player-manager can reject the selection and retire. He has 30 days to decide. If he rejects the selection and opts to retire as a player, the player-manager is ineligible to be reinstated as a player for a minimum of one year.
RULE 5 DRAFT RESTRICTIONS:
1. A minor league player eligible for selection in the Rule 5 Draft cannot be added to an MLB Reserve List (40-man roster), traded to another organization, or transferred from one minor league reserve list to another within the same organization, starting with the filing of MLB & minor league reserve lists on November 20th up through the conclusion of the Rule 5 Draft.
2. A Rule 5 Draft-eligible player cannot be sent outright to the minors on the two days prior to the Rule 5 Draft and on the day of the Rule 5 Draft (through the conclusion of the draft).
3. A club must have as many slots open on its MLB Reserve List (40-man roster) prior to the Rule 5 Draft as the number of players it selects in the Major League Phase, and an MLB club's AAA affiliate must have as many slots open on its reserve list prior to the Rule 5 Draft as the number of players the affiliate selects in the AAA Phase.
4. A player selected in the Major League Phase of the Rule 5 Draft must be placed on the drafting club's MLB Reserve List (40-man roster) immediately, and must be tendered a major league contract by 5 PM (Eastern) on the day of the draft.
5. A player selected in the Major League Phase of the Rule 5 Draft can be traded at any time, but the player cannot be released or sent to the minors any earlier than 20 days prior to MLB Opening Day, and then only if Outright Assignment Waivers have been secured and the player's former club declines to reclaim the player.
6. If a player selected in the Major League Phase of the Rule 5 Draft spends at least 90 days on an MLB Active List during the MLB regular season following selection, Rule 5 restrictions are removed at the conclusion of the MLB regular season. If time spent on an MLB Active List is less than 90 days in the season following selection, the player remains a Rule 5 player into the next season, and the player continues to be a Rule 5 player until he has spent 90 days total on an MLB Active List.
7. If a club wishes to send a Rule 5 player to the minors before Rule 5 restrictions have been removed, the player must be placed on Outright Assignment Waivers, where any of the other 29 MLB clubs can claim the player for the $50,000 Rule 5 waiver price (formerly $25,000) and assume the Rule 5 obligations.
8. If the Rule 5 player is not claimed off Outright Waivers, the player then must be offered back to the club from which he was drafted, and the player's former club can re-claim the player for $50,000 (formerly $25,000), with the player being automatically outrighted to the Reserve List of the minor league club from which he was drafted. The club from which the player was drafted usually has 72 hours to decide whether to re-claim the player, but it has only 24 hours to decide if the player is eligible to be an Article XX-D or Article XIX-A minor league free-agent if outrighted to the minors (player has accrued at least three years of MLB Service Time, qualifies for salary arbitration as a "Super Two" player, and/or has been outrighted to the minors previously in his career). NOTE: A Rule 5 player with Article XIX-A rights (player has accrued at least five years of MLB Service Time) cannot be re-claimed and outrighted back to the minor league club from which he was drafted unless the player consents in advance to the assignment.
9. If a Rule 5 player is returned (outrighted) to the minor league club from which he was drafted, the drafting club is responsible for any portion of the player's salary above what the player was paid the previous season.
10. If a Rule 5 Player is returned (outrighted) to the minor league club from which he was drafted, and if the player has accrued at least three years of MLB Service Time, qualifies for salary arbitration as a "Super Two" player, and/or has been outrighted to the minors previously in his career, the player can elect to be an MLB Article XX-D minor league free-agent (or Article XIX-A minor league free-agent if the player has accrued at least five years of MLB Service Time) after being outrighted (he has three days to decide), or he can accept the Outright Assignment and defer the right to be a minor league free-agent until after the conclusion of the MLB regular season. (An outrighted "Super Two" Rule 5 player who has not previously been outrighted to the minors can elect free-agency if he is outrighted to the minors, but he cannot defer free-agency until after the conclusion of the MLB regular season).
11. If the club from which the player was drafted declines to re-claim the player, the Rule 5 restrictions are removed, the drafting club retains the player, and the player can be sent to the minors or released.
12. A player selected in the AAA Phase of the Rule 5 Draft must be assigned to the Reserve List of the AAA club that drafted the player and he must be given a 15-day trial during Spring Training with that club, but the player can be assigned to the Active List of any minor league affiliate in the MLB club's organization once the minor league regular season commences. Also, unlike players selected in the Major League Phase of the Rule 5 Draft, a player selected in the AAA Phase of the Rule 5 Draft does not have to be offered back to the club from which he was drafted if the player is ultimately assigned to the Active List of a minor league affiliate below the level of the minor league affiliate that drafted the player.
13. A club can select a player off the reserve list of one of its own minor league affiliates, but if the player is selected in the Major League Phase, the club is bound by the same Rule 5 roster restrictions as if it had selected the player off the reserve list of another club's minor league affiliate. NOTE: This actually happened at least once (a number of years ago), after a club inadvertently left one of its top prospects off its MLB Reserve List (40-man roster) when it was submitted to the MLB Commissioner on November 20th.
14. A player eligible for selection in the Rule 5 Draft cannot be "covered up" from selection, either by agreement between two clubs or by effect (such as by concocting a phony injury and placing the player on the disabled list in an attempt to decrease a player's value when the player is not really injured). Also, a player selected in the Major League Phase of the Rule 5 Draft cannot be "hidden" on a disabled list to help the drafting club fulfill Rule 5 roster obligations (such as by leaving the player on the DL after he is healthy enough to play). If the MLB Commissioner believes a club "covered up" a player to avoid losing the player in the Rule Draft or "hid" a selected player on a Disabled List, the offending club or clubs are subject to a penalty (TBD by the MLB Commissioner).
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RULE 5 DRAFT - CUBS CONNECTION
Even if a player is selected in the Major League Phase of the Rule 5 Draft, there is better than a 50-50 chance that the player will later be re-claimed.
For players "on the bubble," it's actually better to lose the player in the Major League Phase of the Rule 5 Draft with the possibility that the player could be returned (re-claimed), than to add a player to the MLB 40-man roster and then lose the player off waivers (for $20,000 with no right to re-claim) if the 40-man roster slot is needed at a later time for another player.
There was a time prior to minor league free-agency when a player selected in the Rule 5 Draft could turn out to be pretty good, the most-famous example being future Hall of Fame RF Roberto Clemente (selected by Pittsburgh Pirates GM Branch Rickey from the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1954 when Clemente was a 20-year Dodger prospect).
Other Rule 5 Draft picks of note over the last 30 years or so include INF Manny Lee and OF George Bell (both drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 1980's), LHP Johan Santana (drafted by the Minnesota Twins from Houston in 1999), OF Shane Victorino (drafted twice from the Dodgers - they re-claimed him the first time he was drafted, then lost him for good the second time two years later), OF Josh Hamilton (drafted by the Cubs from Tampa Bay in the 2006 Rule 5 Draft and and then sold to the Reds in a pre-arranged cash deal immediately after the draft),3B Bobby Bonilla (drafted by the White Sox as a 22-year old from the Pirates in 1985, then traded back to Pittsburgh for RHSP Jose DeLeon six months later), 2B Dan Uggla (drafted by the Marlins from Arizona in 2005), and OF Jose Bautista (drafted by the Baltimore Orioles from Pittsburgh in 2003).
Probably the best Rule 5 Draft pick in the last couple of years was OF Odubel Herrera, selected by the Philadelpuhia Phillies from the Texas Rangers in 2014.
The Cubs have acquired some significant players in the Rule 5 Draft over the years, too, most notably future Hall of Fame CF Hack Wilson (drafted fby the Cubs from the New York Giants in 1925), long-time Phillies 2B Tony Taylor (drafted from the New York Giants in 1957, then traded to the Phillies for Don Cardwell in 1960), LHRP Guillermo "Willie" Hernandez (drafted from the Philadelphia Phillies in 1976, then traded back to the Phillies for Dick Ruthven in 1983, before ending up in Detroit and winning the A. L. Cy Young Award for the World Series Champion Tigers in 1984), catcher Jody Davis (drafted from the St. Louis Cardinals in 1980), and RHRP Hector Rondon (drafted from the Cleveland Indians in 2012 and now an integral part of the Cubs bullpen).
Until fairly recently, the Cubs have been able to avoid losing players of note in the Rule 5 Draft. OF Jason Dubois and RHP Randy Wells were selected by the Toronto Blue Jays (Dubois in 2002 and Wells in 2007), but the Cubs got both back.
However, the Kansas City Royals selected 6'9 LHP Andy Sisco (Cubs 2001 2nd round pick) in the 2004 Rule 5 Draft (Sisco had a fine rookie season as a lefty reliever for the Royals in 2005 before hurting his arm), LHP Donald Veal (Cubs 2005 2nd round draft pick) was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 2008 Rule 5 Draft (after rehabbing from TJS, Veal eventually turned out to be a "lights-out" MLB LOOGY for the White Sox in 2012-13), and the Baltimore Orioles selected INF Ryan Flaherty (Cubs 2008 1st round supplemental pick received for losing FA catcher Jason Kendall) in the Major League Phase of the 2011 Rule 5 Draft (Flaherty was subsequently rated by Baseball America as the Orioles #7 prospect, which I believe might have been the first time a Rule 5 draft pick ended up on the drafting club's BA Top 10 Prospects List). The 6'5 LH hitting Flaherty has played 1B-2B-3B-SS-RF-LF for the Orioles over the course of 429 games 2012-16. And switch-hitting IF-OF Marwin Gonzalez (drafted by the Boston Red Sox from the AAA Iowa roster in the 2011 Rule 5 Draft and then traded to Houston) has been the Astros #1 utility infielder for the last five seasons.
The most significant Rule 5 Draft loss by the Cubs in recent years was 1B Justin Bour, who was selected by the Miami Marlins in the AAA Phase of the 2013 Rule 5 Draft. Bour has hit 265/335/467 with 39 HR & 135 RBI and 35 doubles in 258 MLB games with the Marlins 2014-16. Of course Bour was blocked at 1B in the Cubs system by Anthony Rizzo (with Dan Vogelbach coming up fast from behind), but still it was unusual that the Cubs would leave him available for selection in the AAA Phase.
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