Paul Articulates – The 2024 Rule 5 draft

The MLB Winter Meetings usually conclude with the Rule 5 draft – a unique opportunity for teams to “poach” players from other teams that are left unprotected.  That “poaching” does not come without a cost – first you have to pay the team $100k for the player and second (for MLB Rule 5) you have to put the player on your MLB roster and keep him there or else you have to give him back.  

Risks are taken on both sides of the Rule 5 draft for those that choose to participate in this optional event.  For the MLB rule 5 draft, teams are allowed to “protect” players by placing them on their 40-man roster so they cannot be selected.  If a team leaves a player unprotected, they risk losing that player from their system.  On the other hand, you risk not only the $100k to select a player but also give up some roster flexibility by keeping that player when the performance is not quite what you expected.

There are plenty more rules for eligibility, so don’t assume that it is just open season on MLB teams’ development systems.  Players eligible need to have been in the system for awhile.  If you want the full set of rules, you can reference the MLB Rule 5 glossary.  Otherwise, let’s dive in to the results.

The Mets went into the Rule 5 draft with quite a bit of risk, as they left seven open spots on their 40-man roster.  This means that they could have protected more players but chose not to.  One could speculate that they felt there was enough depth to afford losing a couple of players or that they didn’t have enough depth so allow some to clear out to make room for other promotions.  Either way, the team protected players like Ronny Mauricio, LuisAngel Acuna, Christian Scott, and … but left unprotected several other players like Mike Vasil, Nate Lavender, and Dominic Hamel.  Note that prospects like Jett Williams, Drew Gilbert, and Ryan Clifford are not on the MLB 40-man roster but were ineligible for the Rule 5 draft because they remain within the five season restriction.

During the MLB rule 5 draft, the Mets lost two very noteworthy players that were not protected:

LHP Nate Lavender (AAA Syracuse) was taken by Tampa Bay with the 8th selection.  Ouch!  Lavender was well thought of, especially by the writers on Mack’s team.  Lavender was a lefty reliever credited with a very deceptive delivery who had fanned 174 batters in 115.2 innings across the minor league system from the Florida Coast League all the way to AAA Syracuse.  Lavender was injured in April this year and spent the season on the injured list after having pitched in just 5 games.  He had surgery in May to add an internal brace added to his elbow ligament which is a variant of the famous Tommy John surgery.  He may not have been back for spring training 2025, but now he will not be back at all.

Mike Vasil (AAA Syracuse) was taken by Philadelphia with the 14th selection.  This one stings a bit, but does not get a full “ouch”.  Vasil was very highly touted early after being taken by the Mets in the 8th round of the 2021 draft.  He excelled in the front end of his career and was very effective through the AA level but stalled this year in AAA.  He pitched to a 6.04 ERA and 1.54 WHIP in 2024 with Syracuse.  One could blame the robo-umps in the international league for last year’s performance but now we will never know what he “could have been”.

Another noteworthy item from the draft is who was not protected but also not selected.  Dominic Hamel was exposed during the draft and had even been cited as one of the players of interest that were not selected among MLB teams.  No one grabbed him, so he remains in the Mets' organization with hopefully a promising career in front of him.

Mets took a chance on one player yesterday.

RHP Michael Hobbs was selected by the Mets with the 20th pick from the Dodgers’ AA farm club.  Hobbs was selected in the 10th round of the 2021 draft by the Dodgers, who have a very respected scouting system.  Hobbs has spent four years in the Dodgers’ system, and performed well in 2024 at their AA affiliate in Tulsa, going 2-1 with a 2.97 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP in 58.2 innings.  Per the requirements of the Rule 5 draft, Hobbs will be placed directly on the Mets’ MLB 26-man roster and start the season there.  He can only be removed from that roster by being placed on waivers and offered back to the Dodgers for $50k.

In the subsequent minor league rule 5 draft, the Mets also lost six other players – four pitchers and two position players.

RHP Hobie Harris was selected #12 in the MiLB process by the Boston Red Sox.  Harris was a 2015 Yankees draft pick who was just signed in November by the Mets as a minor league free agent after bouncing around among a few teams.  After an inactive month, he is off to another team.

INF Junior Tilien was selected #18 by the Detroit Tigers.  Tilien was an international signee by the Mets in 2021 from the Dominican Republic.  He worked his way up through the Mets minor league system and spent the last year and a half in Brooklyn with the Mets’ high A club.  In 2024 Tilien had a steady, but unspectacular .232/.305/.365 slash line.

C Drake Osborn was selected #21 by the Arizona Diamondbacks.  Drake split last year between the Brooklyn Cyclones and the AA Binghamton Rumble Ponies.  He recorded a .677 OPS over 78 games between the two clubs.  Osborn was primarily the backup to the more well-known Kevin Parada in Binghamton and was left available in this catcher-heavy system.

RHP Nolan Clenney was picked by the Cubs in the #39 slot.  Clenney had spent most of his time with the AA Rumble Ponies over the last two years.  He was a 2023 Arizona Fall League participant but has not been able to get his ERA below the 5.00 level since moving to AA ball.

RHP Landon Marceaux was selected #41 by the Kansas City Royals.  Marceaux was a 2021 third round pick by the Angels that came over to the Mets in the 2023 trade that sent Eduardo Escobar to the Angles.  Marceaux spent quite a bit of the last two years on the injured list after 18 starts and a 5.50 ERA in 2023.

Jawilme Ramierez was selected #51 by the St. Louis Cardinals.  Ramierez was a 2021 international signee out of the Dominican Republic.  He compiled a 3.40 ERA over 81 games in the Mets minor league system and was nominated to play for the Scottsdale Scorpions in the Arizona Fall League in 2024.

In summary, the Rule 5 draft saw much more outflow from the Mets’ organization than inflow.  This may be a positive indication that there is plenty of talent in the organization based upon eight selections by other teams versus only one player being pulled by the Mets.  Time will tell if any or all of these players find their stride and realize the dream.