All the attention at the MLB Winter Meetings this week is on which big-name free agents will sign where and which All-Stars might get traded, but that's not the only way that teams can add to their rosters during their time in Orlando. The Rule 5 Draft brings the Meetings to a close every year, giving all 30 front offices a chance to potentially find their next diamond in the rough.
This year's edition is set for 2 p.m. ET on Wednesday afternoon, the last item on the docket before executives head back home for the holidays. But while you may have heard the term thrown around before, exactly what is all the fuss about? How does the Rule 5 Draft actually work? And why is any of this worth paying attention to?
Why is it called the Rule 5 Draft?
The Rule 5 Draft is actually older than the World Series itself. It dates all the way back to the late 19th century, when Minor League teams were independent feeders to the Majors. At first, it was most commonly referred to as the "selection of players", with each MLB team allowed to draft players between Oct. 1 and Feb. 1 each offseason.
With the advent of affiliated Minor League teams in 1931, the rules around player acquisition changed several times, and eventually "Rule 5" came to govern the process by which teams were allowed to select players from other organizations.
Which players are eligible for the Rule 5 Draft?
This isn't a free-for-all; the Red Sox can't just decide to snatch Aaron Judge from the Yankees' roster. Unlike the amateur draft (the Rule 4 Draft, technically), the Rule 5 Draft governs players already in big-league organizations who have yet to be added to their teams' 40-man rosters.
Here's how it works. Players signed at 18 years old must be added to their team's 40-man roster within five seasons, or else they are eligible for the Rule 5 Draft. Players who are signed at 19 or older need to be on the roster within four seasons. Essentially, this means any high school player who was drafted in 2021, but has yet to be added to the 40-man roster needs to be protected by the Nov. 18 deadline. The same can be said for any college player drafted in 2022.
What happens to players taken in the Rule 5 Draft?
Any team that selects a player in the Rule 5 Draft must pay $100,000 to the player's original organization. If, for some reason, the player selected doesn't stay on his new team's 40-man roster for the entirety of the next season, he can be offered back to his original team for half that price.
What is the Rule 5 Draft order?
Unlike the amateur draft, which requires a lottery and a master's degree to determine its order, the Rule 5 draft is simple: It's dictated by the reverse order of last year’s standings. Which means that the Rockies will have have the first pick, followed by the White Sox, Nationals, Twins and Pirates. (Teams that finished with identical records in 2025 will have their spot determined by win-loss records from the 2024 season.)
And because any player selected must be placed on his new team's 40-man roster, only teams with room on the 40-man roster by the Nov. 18 deadline are eligible to make a selection. This year, that rules out the Twins, Orioles, Braves, Rays and D-backs, all of whom already have 40 players on their roster. Here's how the 2025 order shakes out.
Pick | Team (No. of players on 40-man roster) |
|---|---|
1 | Colorado Rockies (37) |
2 | Chicago White Sox (35) |
3 | Washington Nationals (37) |
4 | Pittsburgh Pirates (39) |
5 | Los Angeles Angels (35) |
6 | Athletics (39) |
7 | St. Louis Cardinals (39) |
8 | Miami Marlins (39) |
9 | Texas Rangers (34) |
10 | San Francisco Giants (39) |
11 | Kansas City Royals (38) |
12 | Cincinnati Reds (39) |
13 | New York Mets (39) |
14 | Detroit Tigers (39) |
15 | Houston Astros (39) |
16 | Cleveland Guardians (38) |
17 | Boston Red Sox (39) |
18 | Seattle Mariners (38) |
19 | San Diego Padres (36) |
20 | Chicago Cubs (31) |
21 | Los Angeles Dodgers (38) |
22 | Toronto Blue Jays (37) |
23 | New York Yankees (35) |
24 | Philadelphia Phillies (33) |
25 | Milwaukee Brewers (39) |
Who are the best players available in the 2025 Rule 5 Draft?
Only six of MLB Pipeline's top 100 prospects were potentially eligible for the Rule 5 Draft: Phillies righty, Andrew Painter, Guardians infielder Angel Genao, Marlins catcher Joe Mack, Cardinals catcher Leonard Bernal and Yankees righty Elmer Rodriguez. But all of them were predictably protected by their respective teams, added to the 40-man roster by the November deadline.
Still, there are plenty of intriguing names left vulnerable, like Blue Jays outfielder Yohendrick Pinango (Toronto's No. 7 prospect, per MLB Pipeline), Braves right-hander Blake Burkhalter (Atlanta's No. 11) and Red Sox righty Yordanny Monegro (Boston's No. 26).
Are there any recent Rule 5 Draft success stories?
Of course, because every team has the ability to make their best players ineligible for selection, the Rule 5 Draft doesn't have a particularly high hit rate when it comes to MLB success. Still, this is far more art than science, and big-league history is littered with players who changed teams in the Rule 5 Draft and went on to long and productive careers — guys like Johan Santana, Josh Hamilton, Shane Victorino and Dan Uggla.
And this isn't simply a matter of history. Anthony Santander was a Rule 5 pick of the Orioles, and parlayed that opportunity into a $92 million contract with the Blue Jays last offseason after showcasing 40-homer pop in Baltimore. The Red Sox stole Garrett Whitlock from the Yankees back in 2020, while Ryan Pressly turned into one of the best closers in the sport for a number of years in Houston after being selected by the Twins in 2012.