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Angels Designate Oliver Ortega For Assignment

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The Angels are designating reliever Oliver Ortega for assignment, tweets Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times. That’s the corresponding 40-man roster move for infielder Brandon Drury, who has officially inked a two-year free agent contract.

Ortega has appeared in the majors in each of the past two seasons. The right-hander debuted as a September call-up in 2021, making his first eight MLB appearances late in the year. He logged a fair bit of action in 2022, coming out of the bullpen on 27 occasions and tallying 34 innings. Ortega posted a solid 3.71 ERA over that stretch, though his peripherals were less impressive. He struck out a slightly below-average 22.3% of opponents while walking batters at a lofty 12.2% clip.

It was a different story at Triple-A Salt Lake, where a rough ERA belied better underlying marks. In 25 2/3 innings as a Bee, he was tagged for a 5.96 ERA. His 22.3% strikeout rate there was a match for his MLB figure, but he nearly halved his walk rate to a solid 6.6% clip. Ortega posted slightly better than average ground-ball numbers at both stops.

Ortega throws fairly hard, averaging a bit north of 96 MPH on his fastball during his MLB time. He’s paired that with a low-80s curveball that has been a quality swing-and-miss offering. Both pitches have been hit hard when opponents have made contact, however. The 26-year-old has shown inconsistent control throughout his minor league career, and the walks contributed to squeezing him off the Halos roster entirely.

Initially an amateur signee out of the Dominican Republic, Ortega has played seven-plus seasons in the Los Angeles organization. His time with the franchise could now be nearing its end, as the Halos will have a week to trade him or try to run him through waivers. He still has two minor league option years remaining, meaning another team could freely move him between MLB and the upper minors for the foreseeable future if they’re willing to keep him on the 40-man roster. Ortega doesn’t have the requisite service time to refuse an outright assignment, so he’d stick in the organization if he goes unclaimed on waivers.

Angels Sign Brandon Drury To Two-Year Deal

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DECEMBER 22: Drury’s contract is now official. The Angels announced the move on Thursday evening.

DECEMBER 20: The Angels have continued their active offseason, agreeing to a two-year contract with free agent infielder Brandon Drury. The deal reportedly guarantees the Wasserman client $17MM.

Drury earns the first multi-year guarantee of his career after a personal-best season. He looked to have settled into journeyman territory in recent years. After a few seasons playing a semi-regular role with the Diamondbacks, Drury suited up with all of the Yankees, Blue Jays and Mets from 2018-21. He hit just .211/.254/.360 in 137 games with Toronto from 2019-20, resulting in his outright at the end of that season. Drury played well in a limited look for the Mets the next year, but New York designated him for assignment at year’s end.

The Oregon native signed a minor league contract with the Reds shortly after the lockout. While the move generated little fanfare at the time, it might’ve been the best non-roster pact signed all offseason. Drury broke camp with the big league club and almost immediately played his way into everyday reps. He connected on 20 home runs in 92 games as a Red, posting a cumulative .274/.335/.520 line across 385 plate appearances.

While Cincinnati struck gold on their minor league arrangement with Drury, their 2022 season on the whole was a disaster. With the team well out of contention by the deadline, the impending free agent became one of the sport’s most obvious trade candidates. Cincinnati dealt Drury to the Padres for infield prospect Victor Acosta on deadline day. He played the final couple months in San Diego, offering solid but not spectacular production.

Drury connected on a grand slam in his first at-bat as a Padre, but his work from that point forward was roughly average. While connected on eight homers in 185 trips to the dish, that came with a meager 4.9% walk rate and a .290 on-base percentage. It was a similar story in the postseason, with Drury reaching base in just eight of 31 trips to the plate.

Relatively slow finish aside, Drury had an impressive year overall. He picked up 28 homers (plus one more in the postseason), managing a .263/.320/.492 line in 568 plate appearances. Cincinnati’s very hitter-friendly Great American Ball Park certainly played to his strength, as Drury posted a .298/.354/.561 mark in 223 trips to the plate at that venue. His .240/.299/.447 line in 345 plate appearances in all other parks was closer to average, but the Angels will take a shot on him bringing an above-average bat to Orange County.

Drury has an aggressive offensive approach and rarely walks, drawing free passes just 6.7% of the time this past season. He makes contact at an above-average clip and has solid power from the right-handed batter’s box, though. Drury’s 42.2% hard contact rate was around seven percentage points higher than the league mark. He put the bat on the ball on 81.2% of his swings this year, around five points better than average. This year’s 28-homer showing is an outlier compared to the rest of his career, but he’s topped 15 longballs on two other occasions while hitting north of .260 in three years.

The 30-year-old has some defensive flexibility. He’s played mostly second and third base throughout his big league career, logging around 1500 innings at both spots. Public metrics have been mixed on his work, though both Defensive Runs Saved and Statcast feel he’s better suited at the keystone than at the hot corner. Drury isn’t likely to win a Gold Glove, but he’s rated as a capable defender at both positions. He also has a decent amount of experience at first base and in the corner outfield, though he’s not a regular option in center field or at shortstop.

The Halos have focused on upgrading their roster with solid but not elite additions, attacking the lack of depth that has burned them repeatedly in recent seasons. They landed the final years of arbitration control over Gio Urshela and Hunter Renfroe via trade and inked Tyler Anderson and Carlos Estévez to free agent deals. Drury now looks as if he’ll join that mix, serving a similar role to Urshela as a righty-swinging infielder who can bounce around the diamond.

Second base seems likely to be Drury’s primary home. Playing him there regularly could push David Fletcher and/or Luis Rengifo more frequently to shortstop, where the Angels got nothing offensively this past season. Urshela can also occasionally factor in at shortstop while serving as injury insurance for Anthony Rendon at third base. Both players offer potential platoon complements at first base to the lefty-swinging Jared Walsh, as well.

There’s not a whole lot locked in around Shohei Ohtani, Mike Trout, Taylor Ward and Renfroe in the everyday lineup. General manager Perry Minasian and his group have worked hard to bring in better offensive options for manager Phil Nevin to move around the diamond in 2023, and the coaching staff has a few more weapons at their disposal than they had this past season.

They’ve kept those investments to relatively short terms, with Anderson’s three-year pact standing as the longest of their offseason commitments. There was plenty of uncertainty hanging over the organization with owner Arte Moreno exploring a sale of the franchise, but the front office has at least had plenty of leeway to make notable short-term commitments. Drury’s contract falls right in line with MLBTR’s prediction of two years and $18MM.

The specific financial breakdown has yet to be reported, but an even salary distribution would push the club’s payroll projection around $206MM, per Roster Resource. They’ll easily top this past season’s $189MM franchise-record Opening Day figure as they seek to compete with the defending World Series champion Astros, Mariners and upstart Rangers in the AL West. Regardless of the financial distribution, the deal will count for $8.5MM against the club’s luxury tax ledger. That’s suddenly a relevant consideration for the Halos, with Roster Resource projecting them for a CBT number around $220MM. That’s $13MM shy of the $233MM base tax threshold.

Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic first reported the Angels and Drury were in agreement on a two-year, $17MM contract.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Denny Doyle Passes Away

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Former major league infielder Denny Doyle passed away yesterday, according to multiple reports. He was 78 years old.

Doyle appeared in parts of eight big league seasons during the 1970’s. A Kentucky native, he attended Morehead State before entering the professional ranks with the Phillies in 1966. He’d play four years in the minors before cracking the majors a bit after his 26th birthday in 1970. Doyle would work as the Phils primary second baseman for his first four MLB seasons.

Listed at just 5’9″, Doyle didn’t bring much power to the table. He never topped four home runs in a season, but he was adept at putting the ball in play. Doyle struck out in fewer than 10% of his plate appearances in each season from 1971-76, a time when the league strikeout percentage sat in the 13-14% range. Teams clearly valued his up-the-middle defense as well.

The Phillies traded Doyle to the Angels after the 1973 season. He spent the ’74 campaign with California, and he’d remain there through the first few months of the following season. In June, the Angels dealt him to the Red Sox for a player to be named later (eventually minor league pitcher Chuck Ross). That move paid off for Boston, as Doyle hit .310/.339/.429 in 89 games down the stretch. He received some down ballot MVP votes for his performance and, more importantly, earned a key role on the Sox’s 1975 pennant-winning team.

Doyle appeared in and picked up a hit in all seven games of that year’s World Series showdown with the Reds, one of the most iconic series in MLB history. Boston would come up short in that set, relinquishing a three-run lead late in the decisive Game 7 and losing 4-3 on a two-out RBI single by Joe Morgan in the top half of the ninth. Doyle went 8-30 with a pair of walks and one strikeout in that series.

After two more seasons in Boston, Doyle retired following the 1977 campaign. He finished his career with a bit less than 1000 games played. Over 3572 plate appearances, he posted a .250/.296/.316 line. Doyle only hit 16 homers but collected 823 hits, including 113 doubles and 28 triples. He drove in 237 runs and scored 357 times.

Doyle’s brothers Brian Doyle and Blake Doyle have also had roles in MLB. Brian played in parts of four seasons with the Yankees and A’s from 1978-81, while Blake served as hitting coach of the Rockies during the mid-2010’s. MLBTR sends our condolences to them and the entire Doyle family, as well as Denny Doyle’s friends, former teammates and loved ones.

Angels Sign Jake Lamb, Jhonathan Diaz To Minor League Deals

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The Angels are signing infielder Jake Lamb to a minor league contract, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post (Twitter link). Lamb’s deal would come with a $1.25MM base salary if he cracks the major league roster, reports Sam Blum of the Athletic (on Twitter). Blum adds that Lamb would be able to opt out of the deal if he’s not in the majors by July 1.

Lamb is hoping to reach the MLB level for a tenth straight year in 2023. The left-handed hitter was an everyday third baseman with the Diamondbacks for a few seasons, combining for 59 home runs between 2016-17. Things went downhill after he sustained a shoulder injury that required surgery, however, and he’s worked more as a journeyman in recent years.

Over the past three seasons, Lamb has appeared at the major league level with six different clubs (Arizona, Oakland, White Sox, Toronto, Dodgers and Seattle). He split the 2022 campaign between Los Angeles and Seattle, going to the Mariners in a deadline trade. Lamb combined for a .216/.315/.392 line in 111 MLB plate appearances between the two clubs. He struck out in a massive 34.2% of plate appearances but walked at a quality 9.9% clip while picking up three homers and six doubles.

Lamb had started well in Los Angeles but tailed off upon landing in the Pacific Northwest, and the Mariners designated him for assignment in September. He cleared waivers, reached minor league free agency and finished the season unsigned. Now 32, he’ll look to get back to the highest level as a lefty bench bat in Orange County. Lamb broke into the majors as a third baseman but has seen increasing action at first base and in the corner outfield in recent years. He’s a bat-first depth option, one who had an impressive .290/.395/.537 showing in 61 Triple-A games in the Dodgers organization this year.

The Halos also recently inked left-hander Jhonathan Diaz to a minor league contract, according to Chris Hilburn-Trenkle of Baseball America. The 26-year-old returns to the organization where he’s spent the past two years. Signed to a non-roster deal over the 2020-21 offseason, Diaz made the majors late in the ’21 campaign. He pitched three times for the Halos that year and logged four more appearances this past season. At year’s end, the Angels opted not to tender him a contract. That sent him directly to free agency without first exposing him to waivers, and the Halos quickly circled back to ink him to a new minor league pact that didn’t require a 40-man spot.

Diaz has a 3.49 ERA in 28 1/3 MLB innings to date. He’s started five of seven outings, inducing grounders at a solid 47.1% clip but not managing impressive strikeout or walk rates. Diaz has only fanned 16% of opponents while averaging 91.4 MPH on his fastball. He’d succeeded more on the strength of his control in the minors, though he’s walked 13.6% of MLB batters faced. He’ll presumably return to Salt Lake, where he has a 4.76 ERA over the last two years, as rotation depth.

Angels Sign Justin Garza, Designate Kenny Rosenberg

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December 19: The Angels announced that Rosenberg has been outrighted to Triple-A Salt Lake. He’ll stick with the organization but without occupying a roster spot.

December 12: The Angels announced that they have signed right-hander Justin Garza to a one-year, non-guaranteed split contract. To make room on the 40-man roster, left-hander Kenny Rosenberg has been designated for assignment.

Garza, 29 in March, has spent his entire career in the Cleveland organization up until now, having been drafted by them in the eighth round back in 2015. He made it up to the big leagues in 2021, tossing 28 2/3 innings in 21 games. He posted a 4.71 ERA in that time along with a 22.7% strikeout rate, 14.1% walk rate and 36.7% ground ball rate.

Garza was outrighted at the end of that season but cleared waivers and stuck with the club for 2022. He spent all of this year in Triple-A, logging 42 2/3 innings with 4.64 ERA. That mark isn’t especially impressive, but he did strike out 28.7% of batters faced. His 10.9% walk rate was a tad high but was actually a step in the right direction relative to his 14.1% rate in the big leagues and 15.1% rate in the minors in 2021. Whether that control was a factor or not, the Angels liked what they saw in Garza enough to give him a spot on the 40-man.

As for Rosenberg, he was drafted by the Rays but came to the Angels a year ago in the minor league portion of the Rule 5 draft. He was selected to the club’s roster in April and spent the season getting shuttled between the majors and minors. In 10 2/3 big league innings, he posted a 4.22 ERA, getting strikeouts on 17% of batters faced while walking 12.8%. He fared much better on the farm, tossing 68 2/3 frames with a 3.54 ERA, 23.3% strikeout rate and 9.6% walk rate. The Angels will now have one week to trade Rosenberg or else put him on waivers.

Minor MLB Transactions: 12/14/22

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Teams have been quite active over the past couple of weeks and a few minor league deals slipped through the cracks. Here’s a quick roundup.

  • The Giants signed infielder Donovan Walton to a minor league deal, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. Walton, 29 in May, began 2022 with the Mariners but was traded to the Giants in May. He spent the year as a frequently-optioned depth piece for the Giants, getting into 25 MLB games and hitting .158/.179/.303, wRC+ of 31. In the minors this year, he hit .248/.353/.403, wRC+ of 94. He was non-tendered at the end of the season but has now re-joined the organization in a non-roster capacity. He has some experience at all four infield positions and left field, giving the club a versatile depth option. If he makes it back onto the 40-man, he’s now out of options and will have to stick on the active roster or else be designated for assignment.
  • The Braves signed catcher Joe Hudson to a minor league deal, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. Hudson, 32 in May, has 18 games of MLB experience stretched across three seasons from 2018 to 2020. He spent 2022 in the Rays’ system, getting into 49 games for the Triple-A Durham Bulls. He hit .226/.345/.489 in that time for a wRC+ of 119. The Braves recently acquired Sean Murphy to be their primary catcher, but sent William Contreras and Manny Piña packing as part of the deal. The club does still have Chadwick Tromp and the oft-injured Travis d’Arnaud but Hudson will give them a depth option with major league experience.
  • The Twins signed first baseman Tyler White to a minor league deal, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. White, 32, played for the Astros from 2016 to 2019, and a brief stint with the Dodgers, but played in Korea in 2020. He came back to North America for the past two years but has been stuck in Triple-A. Though he generally hits well, his defense is essentially limited to first base at this point, aside from brief stints at third. With the Blue Jays’ system in 2021, he hit .292/.424/.476 for a wRC+ of 141. He split 2022 between the Triple-A teams of the Braves and Brewers, hitting .230/.357/.412, 108 wRC+.
  • The Marlins signed infielder Alex De Goti to a minor league deal, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. De Goti, 28, has spent his entire career with the Astros thus far, getting into two big league games in 2021. He spent all of 2022 in Triple-A, hitting .253/.352/.377 for a wRC+ of 87. He’s played every position on the diamond in his minor league career except for catcher, even taking the mound for the occasional mop-up stint. He should serve as a versatile depth piece for the Fish.
  • The Nationals have signed right-hander Ronald Herrera to a minor league deal, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. Herrera, 28 in May, has three innings of MLB experience, which came as a 22-year-old back in 2017 with the Yankees. He spent most of 2022 with the Double-A affiliate of the Nats, making 24 starts and throwing 129 innings. He posted a 4.40 ERA in that time with a 21.4% strikeout rate, 6.4% walk rate and 39.8% ground ball rate. The Nats had the worst rotation ERA in the majors in 2022, coming in at 5.97. They’ve signed Trevor Williams to help out but there’s a still a good chance they might have to rely on some depth options throughout the year.
  • The Angels signed right-hander Nash Walters to a minor league contract, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. Walters, 26 in May, spent his entire career in the Brewers’ organization until getting sent to the Angels in a September 2022 trade. He made his major league debut with the Halos on the last day of the season, facing three batters, retiring one while surrendering one hit and one walk. His minor league work for 2022 amounted to 53 2/3 innings with a 4.70 ERA, 30.2% strikeout rate and 8.2% walk rate. He was non-tendered at the end of the year but has returned to the organization without taking up a spot on the 40-man.
  • The Mariners signed right-hander Jose Rodriguez to a minor league deal, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. Rodriguez, 27, tossed 21 1/3 innings with the Angels over 2019 and 2020, posting a 2.53 ERA in that time. That number looks impressive but came with an unsustainable 100% strand rate and .226 batting average on balls in play. His 14.1% strikeout rate and 13% walk rate suggest he was lucky to allow so few earned runs. He spent 2022 in the Mets’ system, tossing 76 1/3 innings in Triple-A with a 4.95 ERA, 20.5% strikeout rate, 10.9% walk rate and 42.2% ground ball rate. If he’s able to crack Seattle’s 40-man roster, he still has two option years remaining and can be moved between the majors and minors with regularity.

Curt Simmons Passes Away

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The Phillies announced that former big leaguer Curt Simmons has passed away. He was 93 years old.

Born and raised in Pennsylvania, Simmons got his big break when pitching in an exhibition match between the Phillies and local high school players. Simmons struck out 11 Phils and then signed with the club on a $65K bonus. He went on to make his MLB debut in 1947 and stick around in the majors through the 1967 season, getting into 20 different campaigns. Most of that came with the Phillies, though he also pitched for the Cardinals, Cubs and Angels.

After a few decent seasons, he broke out in 1952, posting a 2.82 ERA in 201 1/3 innings of work. He made the All-Star team that year, the first of three such appearances in his career, also getting selected in 1953 and 1957. With the Cardinals in 1964, Simmons threw 244 innings with a 3.43 ERA, followed by another two starts in the World Series. He posted a 2.51 ERA in 14 1/3 innings as the Cardinals defeated the Yankees 4-3.

He would go on to pitch in the next three seasons, with 1967 being his last. He finished his career with 3,348 1/3 innings over 569 games. His win-loss record was 193-183, with 163 complete games, 36 shutouts and 1,697 strikeouts. He made three All-Star teams and won a World Series. MLBTR sends our condolences to his family, friends, loved ones, former teammates and all those mourning him today.

Angels Pursued Willson Contreras Prior To Cardinals Deal

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In recent days, it was reported that the Cardinals and Astros had each given multi-year offers to catcher Willson Contreras, with the Cardinals eventually winning the bidding by giving him five-year, $87.5MM deal. However, there was one other team apparently at the table, as Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the Angels were one of the teams outbid by the Cards.

The Angels have been fairly active so far this offseason, adding to their pitching staff by signing Tyler Anderson for their rotation and Carlos Estévez for their bullpen, while adding Gio Urshela to their infield and Hunter Renfroe to their outfield. It seems they are still hoping to make further moves, but the fact that they pursued a catcher like Contreras is at least mildly surprising since that doesn’t stand out as the club’s most obvious weak spot.

Max Stassi had a nice breakout for the Halos over 2020 and 2021, getting into 118 games and hitting .250/.333/.452 for a wRC+ of 113, indicating he was 13% better than league average. When combined with his strong glovework, he produced 3.6 wins above replacement over that time, according to FanGraphs. With Stassi set to reach free agency after 2022, the club signed him to an extension that went through 2024 with an club option for 2025. Unfortunately, he had a dismal campaign in 2022, hitting just .180/.267/.303. He probably deserved better than that, however, as his .239 batting average on balls in play was below his .276 career mark and well below his .325 from 2021. With another two guaranteed seasons on his deal, he’s sure to be in the mix somehow with a chance to bounce back.

Then there’s also Logan O’Hoppe, who came over from the Phillies in the deadline deal that sent Brandon Marsh to Philadelphia. Between the two clubs, he annihilated Double-A pitching last year, leading to a batting line of .283/.416/.544 and a wRC+ of 159. He skipped Triple-A to get a five-game cup of coffee in the big leagues as the season was winding down.

Neither Stassi or O’Hoppe are a sure thing, but it would have been reasonable enough to go into the season with the two of them each jockeying for playing time and letting it get sorted as the season went along. However, it seems the club has at least some openness to upgrade, based on their pursuit of Contreras. It’s possible they want to give O’Hoppe more time in the minors or maybe that they would have pursued trades with Stassi if they landed Contreras.

General manager Perry Minasian recently told members of the media that the club could push pay the competitive balance tax in 2023 with no ownership mandate against it. Roster Resource currently pegs their 2023 payroll at $198MM with a CBT figure of $213MM. The first threshold of the luxury tax will be $233MM next year, giving the Angels about $20MM to work with before they have to think about whether they are willing to cross the line or not.

Contreras ended up signing a five-year, $87.5MM deal, with comes to an average annual value of $17.5MM. We don’t know exactly how much the Angels were willing to spend on Contreras, but something in this vicinity would have gotten them close to luxury tax territory. Assuming the Angels still have that money to spend on other players, it’s a good sign for Angel fans. The club could look for another backstop but have also been connected to shortstops and bullpen help. Since Contreras was clearly on a different tier to the other available free agent backstops, it’s possible that the Angels were willing to make an exception for him and won’t necessarily circle down to the other options. However, if they are interested in pursuing help behind the plate, the free agent market has options like Christian Vázquez and Gary Sánchez. The trade market is highlighted by Oakland’s Sean Murphy and Toronto’s Danny Jansen, though the asking prices on from both the A’s and the Jays are reportedly quite high.

Manfred: Angels Hoping To Complete Sales Process By Opening Day

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The Angels have been in a period of some uncertainty since this past summer, when owner Arte Moreno announced he was exploring a sale of the franchise. There haven’t been many substantive updates on the process since then, and the timing of the potential sale has remained unclear.

At a press conference at this week’s Winter Meetings, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred stated the Halos are hopeful of having a sale finalized by Opening Day. “The point at which people actually see financial information is an important step forward in the process. My understanding is that the club would like to have the sale resolved before Opening Day,” Manfred told reporters (link via Evan Drellich of the Athletic). “Whether that happens I think depends in part on the bidding process and how quickly you can get documents done.”

Moreno has owned the franchise since 2003, when he purchased it from the Disney corporation on the heels of a World Series win. They’ve not won a pennant in the Moreno era, only making the ALCS once in 2009. Moreno has consistently signed off on payrolls that place the team within the top ten, but he’s drawn a fair bit of criticism among the fanbase for taking an active role in baseball operations decisions.

Precisely how much payroll room Moreno would allot the front office this offseason as he explores sale options was an open question. To his credit, he’s allowed general manager Perry Minasian and company to strike for upgrades to each area of the roster in the early going. The Halos brought in Tyler Anderson and Carlos Estévez via free agency while acquiring Hunter Renfroe and Gio Urshela in trade. None of those acquisitions was over an especially long term, with Anderson’s three-year deal the only commitment beyond 2024. Yet they did add an estimated $40MM to the 2023 payroll on those four players.

The acquisitions bring Anaheim’s 2023 payroll projection up to $198MM, in the estimation of Roster Resource. They’re just above $212MM in projected luxury tax obligations, leaving them around $20MM shy of the $233MM base tax threshold. Minasian told reporters this morning the Halos could conceivably push spending into luxury tax territory, saying there’s no ownership mandate to stay under the threshold (via Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register).

Anaheim hasn’t gotten into CBT territory since 2004. Pushing into that realm in 2023 would be unfamiliar for the franchise, but they’re headed into their final season of club control over Shohei Ohtani and amidst an eight-year playoff drought. The Halos still have some uncertainty in the middle infield and behind the plate, and they could look into bullpen upgrades even after inking Estévez to a two-year contract.

2022 Rule 5 Draft Results

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The 2022 Rule 5 draft will begin at 4pm Central time today at the Winter Meetings in San Diego. This will be the first time since 2019 that the meetings will be held in person, as the 2020 edition was virtual because of the pandemic and the 2021 draft was cancelled entirely due to the lockout.

As a refresher, the Rule 5 draft is a way for players potentially talented enough for the big leagues but blocked by their current clubs to find opportunities elsewhere. Any players that were 18 and under at the time of their original signing and were signed in 2018 or earlier, and any players 19 or older and signed in 2019 or earlier, who are not on a club’s 40-man roster are eligible to be selected in the Rule 5 draft.

The clubs will draft in reverse order of the 2022 standings, with no club obligated to make a selection when it’s their turn. If they do make a pick, they will have to pay $100K to the team they select from. The selected players must stay on the active roster (or injured list) for the entire 2023 season or else be placed on waivers. If they clear waivers, they must be offered back to their original team. They cannot be optioned to the minors. The most recent edition in 2020 saw some notable names move around, such as Akil Baddoo going from the Twins to the Tigers while Garrett Whitlock went from the Yankees to the Red Sox.

This post will be updated with the results as they come in…

First Round

1. Nationals: RHP Thad Ward (Red Sox) (hat tip to Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com)
2. A’s: 1B Ryan Noda (Dodgers)
3. Pirates: LHP Jose Hernandez (Dodgers)
4. Reds: OF Blake Sabol (Pirates); Reds later traded Sabol to Giants for cash or a player to be named later
5. Royals: pass
6. Tigers: RHP Mason Englert (Rangers)
7. Rangers: pass
8. Rockies: RHP Kevin Kelly (Guardians); Rockies later traded Kelly to Rays for cash considerations
9. Marlins: RHP Nic Enright (Guardians)
10. Angels: pass
11. D-backs: pass
12. Cubs: pass
13. Twins: pass
14. Red Sox: pass
15. White Sox: RHP Nick Avila (Giants)
16. Giants: pass
17. Orioles: RHP Andrew Politi (Red Sox)
18. Brewers: RHP Gus Varland (Dodgers)
19. Rays: pass
20. Phillies: RHP Noah Song (Red Sox)
21. Padres: LHP Jose Lopez (Rays)
22. Mariners: RHP Chris Clarke (Cubs)
23. Guardians: pass
24. Blue Jays: pass
25. Cardinals:RHP Wilking Rodriguez (Yankees)
26. Yankees: pass
27. Mets: RHP Zach Greene (Yankees)
27. Braves: pass
29. Astros: pass
30. Dodgers: pass

Second Round

  • All teams passed

The minor league phase of the Rule 5 draft also occurred this afternoon. Those players will not go onto the selecting teams’ 40-man roster. A few former major leaguers changed uniforms. They include Hector Perez from Baltimore to the Rays, Josh Palacios from the Nationals to the Pirates, Jared Oliva from the Pirates to the Angels, Nick Burdi from the Padres to the Cubs, Peter Solomon from the Pirates to the D-Backs and Jonathan Arauz from the Orioles to the Mets.

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