2022 Rule 5 Draft Results
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.
Yankees Sign Chi Chi Gonzalez, Jacob Barnes To Minor League Deals
The Yankees have signed a trio of pitchers — Chi Chi González, Jacob Barnes and Wilking Rodríguez — to minor league contracts, tweets Conor Foley of the Scranton Times-Tribune. All three have been assigned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
González and Barnes were recently together in the Tigers system, but both were each granted their release from non-roster pacts with Detroit. González has now joined four organizations this year. He began the season with the Twins, bouncing on and off the major league roster twice. Claimed off waivers by the Brewers, he combined to work 18 1/3 innings over six appearances (four starts). González posted a 6.87 ERA — his third consecutive season with an ERA north of 6.00 — between the two clubs, and he was eventually outrighted off Milwaukee’s roster.
The 30-year-old righty signed a minor league deal with Detroit in late July. He spent a month in the system but didn’t get a big league call, and he triggered an opt-out clause last week. Between the Twins and Tigers top minor league affiliates, González has worked to a 4.19 ERA through 58 Triple-A innings this season. He has plenty of starting experience in both the majors and upper minors, giving the Yankees a multi-inning depth arm.
Barnes is on his third organization of the season. The right-hander broke camp with Detroit after signing an offseason minor league deal. He appeared in 22 games but was tagged for a 6.10 ERA over 20 2/3 innings. He racked up grounders on over half the batted balls against him, but he only struck out 11.2% of batters faced. The lack of swing-and-miss was bizarre, as Barnes posted above-average strikeout rates in 2020 and ’21 and was still averaging a robust 95.5 MPH on his fastball.
Detroit took Barnes off their big league roster in mid-June. The 32-year-old signed a minor league deal with the Mariners and was briefly called up, but he didn’t appear in an MLB game with Seattle before being designated for assignment. Barnes again cleared waivers, elected free agency, and returned to Detroit on a minor league deal in late July. He spent a month in Triple-A before being granted his release. While his MLB production this year has been lackluster, Barnes has an excellent 17:3 strikeout-to-walk ratio while allowing just two runs in ten Triple-A innings.
Rodríguez, 32, makes a long-awaited return to the affiliated ranks. The right-hander has the briefest of major league experience, having come out of the bullpen twice for the 2014 Royals. He hasn’t played for an MLB organization since a seven-game Triple-A stint with the Yankees in 2015, as he’d primarily played winter ball over the past six years. Rodríguez has spent 2022 in the Mexican League, posting a 2.01 ERA over 44 2/3 innings and apparently impressing Yankees evaluators with his arsenal.
All three pitchers would be eligible for New York’s postseason roster if they impress enough to warrant a spot in October. Players need to be within an organization by September 1 to suit up for that club in the playoffs. Any player on a 40-man roster or MLB injured list by the end of August is automatically postseason-eligible (unless they’d been suspended for a performance-enchancing drug violation that season). Those within the organization but not on the 40-man at the start of September can still be added to the postseason roster to replace a player on the injured list via petition to the commissioner’s office.
Jon Heyman of the New York Post first reported González was signing with the Yankees.
Minor Moves: Rodriguez, Marcum, Davies, Freeman
Here are the day’s minor moves:
- Yankees farmhand Wilking Rodriguez, a right-handed pitcher, has been suspended for eighty games after testing positive for a PED (Furosemide). Rodriguez made two appearances last year for the Royals in the only major league action in his career. The 25-year-old has not yet appeared for the club’s Triple-A affiliate, though he did get a few frames in big league camp this spring.
- The Indians outrighted Shaun Marcum to Triple-A, the club announced. Marcum, a veteran righty, had one outing with Cleveland before losing his roster spot. He had a nice run of success in the bigs a few years back, but has dealt with injuries in recent seasons.
- Righty Kyle Davies has been outrighted by the Yankees, the club announced. The veteran returned to the big leagues after a long absence recently, but New York dropped him from the roster after just one outing.
- The Rangers have outrighted lefty Sam Freeman, as Stefan Stevenson of the Fort Worth Star-Tribune tweets. Freeman was designated by Texas not long after he was acquired from the Cardinals. It could be that the Rangers had this scenario in mind all along, as Freeman will now be on stand by to provide cheap and accessible depth if and when the need arises.
Minor Moves: Wilking Rodriguez, Tommy Field
Here are the day’s minor moves:
- Not long after inking him to a minor league deal, the Yankees have released righty Wilking Rodriguez, Baseball America’s Matt Eddy tweets. Rodriguez, 24, had solid minor league numbers with the Royals, but was set loose when the club acquired Josh Willingham and needed a 40-man spot. He did not make an appearance in the New York system.
- Days after being designated for assignment by the Pirates, infielder Tommy Field has been outrighted to Triple-A, according to the International League transactions page. Field was claimed by Pittsburgh from the Angles on August 10. On the year, he owns a .286/.357/.428 slash over 387 Triple-A plate appearances.
Minor Moves: Obispo, Brown, Rodriguez
Here are today’s minor transactions from around the league…
- Pirates right-hander Wirfin Obispo has been outrighted to Triple-A Indianapolis, MLBTR’s Zach Links reports (on Twitter). The 29-year-old was designated for assignment last week when the Bucs claimed catcher Ramon Cabrera off waivers from the Tigers. In 25 2/3 innings with Indianapolis, Obispo has posted a 3.16 ERA with 8.4 K/9, though he’s posted a fairly high 4.6 BB/9 rate as well.
- Red Sox outfielder Corey Brown has been outrighted to Triple-A Pawtucket, according to the team’s transactions page. Brown, 28, was designated for assignment on Aug. 17 to create roster space for right-hander Steven Wright. He has a strong track record at Triple-A as a whole, but he scuffled a bit in 2014, posting a .226/.294/.452 batting line.
- The Yankees have signed right-hander Wilking Rodriguez, per the club’s transactions page. Rodriguez was released by the Royals after the team’s acquisition of Josh Willingham, but the 24-year-old posted solid stats between Double-A and Triple-A this season: a combined 2.36 ERA with 9.1 K/9 and 4.0 BB/9 in 26 2/3 innings. Rodriguez also made his big league debut for the Royals this year, firing two scoreless innings with one hit, one walk and one strikeout.
Royals Place Wilking Rodriguez On Release Waivers
7:08pm: Rodriguez has been placed on unconditional release waivers, tweets McCullough.
6:43pm: To clear a space for the just-acquired Josh Willingham, the Royals have removed Wilking Rodriguez from the 40-man roster, tweets Andy McCullough of the Kansas City Star. It is not yet clear precisely what transaction effected his removal, but presumably Rodriguez was designated for assignment.
The 24-year-old righty saw his first MLB action this year, throwing two scoreless innings of relief for Kansas City. After spending most of his time as a starter with the Rays organization, Rodriguez shifted to a pen role in the upper minors for the Royals after struggling with shoulder issues and joining the club as a minor league free agent. Over 26 2/3 frames at Double-A and Triple-A this year, he owns a 2.36 ERA with 9.1 K/9 against 4.0 BB/9.