The MLB winter meetings continued yesterday in Nashville, and among the activities was the annual “Rule 5” draft, which allows MLB teams to poach an unprotected player from another organization for a fee with the qualification that the selected player remains on their roster for the full season. There are several intricacies with the Rule 5 draft which were explained in an earlier article.
The Rule 5 draft saw quite a bit of activity today. Unlike the convoluted MLB draft lottery that has many rules moving teams up and down based on compensation or penalty from other events (such as the competitive balance tax or the QO compensation), the Rule 5 draft is ordered in the inverse of the teams’ final finishing order in the 2023 season. If a team has room on its 40-man roster and it is their turn, they can pick a player from any other organization that is not protected. In the MLB phase of the R5 draft, there is one round. In the minor league phase, there can be several rounds depending on a team’s appetite.
This year’s MLB phase saw the following ten picks:
Oakland A's chose: RHP Mitch Spence (NYY)
Kansas City Royals chose: RHP Matt Sauer – he was the Yankees’ No. 25 prospect
Rockies chose: RHP Anthony Molina (Tampa Bay)
White Sox chose: LHP Shane Drohan – he was Boston’s No. 19 prospect
Washington Nationals chose: SS Nasim Nuñez – he was Miami’s No. 16 prospect
St. Louis Cardinals chose: RHP Ryan Fernandez (Boston)
New York Mets chose: RHP Justin Slaten (Texas), then traded to Boston for LHP Ryan Ammons
Cleveland Guardians chose: 3B Deyvison De Los Santos – he was Arizona’s No. 5 prospect
San Diego Padres chose: RHP Stephen Kolek (Seattle)
Texas Rangers chose: RHP Carson Coleman (NYY)
No other MLB picks were made, as other teams either chose not to pick or did not have room on their 40-man roster.
The Mets’ choice was made more interesting by the “pick & trade” process. When a player who was selected in the Rule 5 draft is traded, the receiving team is subject to the same conditions – if they do not maintain the player on their MLB 40-man roster for the full season, they must offer the player back to the original team. In this case, Boston either keeps Slaten or sends him back to Texas, but the Mets keep Ammons regardless of the Red Sox decision.
Ammons was a 10th round draft pick (#283) in the July 2023 MLB draft out of Clemson. He was assigned to the Red Sox affiliate in the Florida Coast League, but did not play due to an injury. He was 3-2 with a 4.35 ERA for Clemson over 47 appearances in a four year career that also saw time down due to injury. When he was healthy, his 13 strikeouts per nine made him stand out. Not a bad flier on a talented but oft-injured player for what was essentially a “free” pick. Justin Slaten has spent four years in the Texas minor league organization after being drafted in 2019 with the 86th overall pick. Slaten has accumulated a 5.31 ERA and a 1.49 WHIP over his minors career.
The Mets lost no players in the MLB Rule 5 draft, but there were several gains and losses in the MiLB Rule 5 draft. Pitchers Brendan Hardy and Tyler Thomas, both of whom played in the Arizona Fall League this year after finishing the regular season in AA with the Rumble Ponies were chosen by other teams. So were St. Lucie outfielder Yeral Martinez and right-handed pitchers Daison Acosta and Benito Garcia.
In the MiLB Rule 5 draft, the Mets chose catcher Donovan Antonia from Cincinnati’s A-level team and righty pitcher Alan Perdomo from Colorado’s rookie league team.
The whole exchange in the Rule 5 draft for the Mets turned out to be a very minor impact event. They gained a few long-shot opportunities in three pitchers who have seen no action above A-ball and they lost a few players that were not rated among their top 30 prospects. When the Mets significantly trimmed their 40-man roster at the deadline I was prepared for them to pick up some intriguing players in this draft. It was quite to the contrary, which either implies that they have several free agency moves to come or they were unable to land the players they targeted.
9 comments:
The Mets were not first in this draft, sadly.
As went first, grabbed Mitch Spence, whom they hope will be in their 2024 rotation.
Meh
Disappointing. But so has. The whole off-season been.
The realty is the Mets need to step back this year and begin the process of downsizing their payroll. The loss of draft slots and International money is costing them big time
Forget Moto and his 10 year contract demands.
Lots of good intermediary starters available both this and next FA season
They seem to have brought on the right draft and talent evaluators.
Now let them do their job.
Also
They need to take care of their own
Try to work out a contract for the services of Alonso up and ending when he hits 35
Do everything you can to get Alvarez under a team friendly contract through his 28 yr old year
Mack,
I think we all want to see the Mets active this winter,
but I think you are right. We need to get that payroll back to a level that we do not continue to be penalized in the draft and international signings.
I think that once the Yankees traded for Soto, their chances of getting Moto have increased as he will see them as a much better team which they are.
The scary part for the Yankees will be what the combined salaries of Stanton, Judge, Cole, Soto and Moto will be. Lets not forget that Soto turned down 440M already.
Mets should not go all in unless they get Moto. Otherwise sign a pitcher like Montgomery and fix the BP. Maybe that Korean slugger too?
Did I miss the part about the Wilpons buying back the team or does it just feel that way. So they got Soto and their deep into talks for Yama!!! David this is where you do something that doesn't rip our hearts out. Going back to Japan with Steve and Senga and yourself to get this deal done and leave him the jet because you guys can fly back in coach.
Saw this about the new guy Ammons on a Red Sox prospect site:
Physical Description: Medium frame. Minimal remaining projection.
Mechanics: Throws from a high three-quarters arm slot. High leg kick. Effort in delivery. Coils up then explodes toward the plate. Long arm action with stab behind.
Fastball: Low-90s. Tops out at 94 mph. Control is ahead of command. Has shown bat-missing ability in college.
Slider: Primary secondary offering.
Splitter: Show-me splitter, throws to both sides of the plate.
Career Notes: Opened 2023 season as a starter but suffered a forearm strain and returned as a reliever. Was also an all-state basketball player in high school. Three-time ACC Academic Honor Roll.
Summation: Intriguing fastball/slider combination from the left side. Has some effort in delivery, but showed bat-missing ability against high-level competition in college. Unclear if he will be developed as a starter or reliever.
Ammons opened the 2023 season as Clemson's Friday night starter and made two starts for the Tigers before missing nearly two months with a left forearm strain. Upon returning to action in late April, the 22-year-old southpaw was used strictly out of the bullpen, pitching to a 5.40 ERA with seven strikeouts to five walks across 10 innings of relief.
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