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Will Yankees Make Rare Rule 5 Selection?

Originally posted on New York Yankees on SI
By Matthew Postins | Last updated Dec 2, 2023 7:30 AM ET

One of the more intriguing questions at next week’s Winter Meetings in Nashville is what the New York Yankees might do in the Rule 5 Draft?

The New York Yankees know they’ll be selecting No. 16 overall. But will they use their pick or save the room on their roster for potential free agents or trades?

The Yankees have been poached in the Major League portion of the draft in recent years, including 2022 in which they lost pitchers Wilking Rodriguez and Zach Greene in the final two picks. The Yankees got Greene back from the team that selected him, the New York Mets, in March.

The Yankees also lost three players in the 2020 Rule 5 Draft.

It’s one of the more interesting parts of this draft. It’s usually filled with prospects that have some talent, haven’t caught on to a team’s 40-man roster and weren’t moved to the 40-man roster at last month’s tender deadline.

For the Yankees, one player in that position is pitcher Matt Sauer. He’s been in minor league baseball since 2017. He was drafted by the Yankees in 2017 out of Righetti High School in Santa Maria, Calif. The Yankees had to put him on the shelf for some time after Tommy John surgery.

Because he started pro baseball at age 18 and has been in the pros for at least five years, the Yankees either had to move him to the 40-man roster or expose him to the draft.

There is no guarantee a team will take Sauer either. But, if he is selected, that team must move him to their 26-man roster and pay the Yankees $100,000. If that team decides to release Sauer at any point in 2024, he must go through outright waivers and be offered back to the Yankees for $50,000.

The same holds true for the Yankees if they pick a player.

The last time the Yankees drafted a player was in 2011, when they drafted pitcher Brad Meyers. The last time the Yankees drafted and kept a player, per MLB.com, was in 1973, when it selected outfielder Billy Parker. He never played in New York, but he eventually made it to the Majors and is the last Negro Leagues player to play in the Majors.

If the Yankees take a player, it’s one they feel can help them in 2024. New York also has the room to do it. Entering the Winter Meetings, the Yankees have just 37 players on their 40-man roster, space that is required to make a selection.

Rule 5 Draft Order

1. Oakland

2. Kansas City

3. Colorado

4. Chicago White Sox

5. Washington

6. St. Louis

7. Los Angeles Angels

8. New York Mets

9. Pittsburgh

10. Cleveland

11. Detroit