The Winter Meetings are already buzzing, and Wednesdayâ€s Rule 5 draft will only add to the excitement.
As one of the signature moments of the hot stove season—and a favorite here at Baseball America—weâ€ve assembled a complete breakdown of what to expect.
When Is The Rule 5 Draft?
This year’s Rule 5 draft is set to take place during the Winter Meetings in Orlando on Wednesday, Dec. 10 at 2 p.m. ET.
How To Stream The Rule 5 Draft
While the Rule 5 draft won’t be broadcast on television, it will be streamed live for fans on MLB.com.
How Does The Rule 5 Draft Work?
An annual December tradition that actually predates the World Series, Rule 5 draft allows for teams to add to their rosters from other organizations.
For this year’s draft, those eligible to be selected include any player not on a 40-man roster who turned professional at age 18 or younger in 2021 or at age 19 or older in 2022.
The draft itself consists of a two-round major league phase and five rounds of a minor league phase. Only teams with room on their 40-man roster are eligible to participate.
Drafted players must be carried on the selecting teamâ€s active MLB roster without being optioned to the minors for the entire following season. Teams pay $100,000 to select a major league Rule 5 pick. If they offer the player back to his original team, that team has the option of accepting the playerâ€s return and giving back $50,000 of the Rule 5 fee.
You can read a more in-depth primer on how the Rule 5 draft works here.
What Is The Rule 5 Draft Order?
Teams draft in reverse order of the final regular season standings. This year’s order is as follows:
- Rockies
- White Sox
- Nationals
- Twins
- Pirates
- Angels
- Orioles
- Athletics
- Braves
- Rays
- Cardinals
- Marlins
- Diamondbacks
- Rangers
- Giants
- Royals
- Reds
- Mets
- Tigers
- Astros
- Guardians
- Red Sox
- Mariners
- Padres
- Cubs
- Dodgers
- Blue Jays
- Yankees
- Phillies
- Brewers
Do Future Star Players Ever Get Drafted?
While many Rule 5 players are role players or bit characters in the scheme of baseball history, there have been big names selected, too.
Historical standouts include Hall of Famers Roberto Clemente, Christy Mathewson and Hack Wilson, Cy Young winners Johan Santana and R.A. Dickey, MVP Josh Hamilton and all-stars like Jose Bautista, Shane Victorino, Anthony Santander and more.
You can read more about the best recent players taken in the Rule 5 draft here.
Who Are The Top Players Available For This Year’s Rule 5 Draft?
Will there be future stars in this year’s draft? Baseball America has been hard at work prepping our annual Rule 5 draft preview featuring top names to know and key positional categories. Check back regularly in the lead-up to the draft, as we’ll continue to add more names that might get picked.
You can find additional Rule 5 draft coverage here:
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