JFA - The Mets 2025 Rule 5 Draft

Re-printed by permission from MetsNewsLinks.com

The Major League Baseball Rule 5 Draft is scheduled this year for Thursday, December 11th - the last day of the Winter Meetings.  Mets have until November 18th to add players to the 40 Man Roster to protect them from the draft.

The full list of Mets 2025 Rule 5 eligibles are below.  Here are some of the more interesting ones:

OF Nick Morabito.  Coming off a great stint in the Arizona Fall League, Nick has a good chance of being added to the 40-man roster to stay out of the draft.  In Arizona Nick hit .362/.450/.464, 25 hits, 17 runs and 16 stolen bases in 17 games.  It seemed like every time up he was beating out a grounder for an infield single, then stealing 2nd and later scoring.  Beating out ground balls gave Nick an insane .453 Batting Average Balls in Play.  Granted, it is a small sample size but he has had high BABIP numbers in the past - .390 in 119 games for Brooklyn and St. Lucie in 2024.

2022 1st Round Draft pick, Catcher Kevin Parada, is no longer a top ten Mets Prospect.  He slashed .245/.319/.407 with 11 homers and 57 RBIs while splitting time between Syracuse and Binghamton.  On the Syracuse roster, he'd have to be added to a team's 40 man roster if selected.

RHP Saul Garcia went 5-2 with a 1.70 ERA for Brooklyn and Binghamton in 2025,  He had 76 Ks in 47.2 innings.  In September, Baseball America had him on their list of 10 best performing fastballs in 2025. They noted: "Pitching from a lower release height, Garcia sits 94-96 mph with more than 2500 rpm of spin on average."  If he doesn't get added to the 40-Man or the Syracuse Roster to keep him out of the minor league portion, there is a good chance he will be selected.

Calvin Ziegler: Was another former top ten prospect in 2023 but after just two games with Brooklyn in 2024, needed Tommy John surgery.  He missed all of 2025.  

In addition, players not added to the 38-Man AAA Roster will be eligible for the minor league portion of the draft.  

Here is the full list of eligible Rule 5 players:

Pitchers: Luis Alvarez; Eli Ankeney; Juan Arnaud; Felipe De La Cruz; Jorge De Leon; Joel Díaz; Estarlin Escalante; Saul Garcia; Jordan Geber; Cristofer Gomez; Joe Jacques; Wilson Lopez; Gregori Louis; Trey McLoughlin; Estarling Mercado; Nate Lavender, Douglas Orellana; Layonel Ovalles; Luis R. Rodriguez; Jorge Rodriguez; TJ Shook; Dylan Tebrake; Zebulon Vermillion; Calvin Ziegler;

Catchers: José Aular; Ronald Hernandez; Kevin Parada; Vincent Perozo;  

Infielders: Jefrey De Los Santos; Diego Mosquera; JT Schwartz; D'Andre Smith; Kevin Villavicencio; Wyatt Young;

 

Outfielders: Yohairo Cuevas; Nick Morabito; Matt Rudick;

All the recently signed minor league free agents will also be eligible such as Joe Jacques; Jose Rojas, Jackson Cluff, Joander Suarez, Jefry Yan, Carlos Guzman, Brian Metoyer and Onix Vega.  Since they are all currently on the Syracuse Mets Roster, they will need be added to an MLB Roster if drafted.