The primary purpose of the Rule 5 Draft is to discourage teams from hoarding prospects in the minor leagues when they are ready to serve as Major League contributors. The draft happens the final day of MLB’s Winter Meetings in December.

Who Can Be Drafted?

A player can be selected in the draft if he is not on his team’s 40-man roster and also meets these time criteria:

• If a player signs his first pro contract at age-18 or younger, which is all high school draft picks and most international free agents, he is eligible to be selected after his fifth pro season. This year, these guys would be from the class of 2021.
• If a player signs his first pro contract at age-19 or older, which is all college draft picks, he is eligible to be selected after his fourth pro season. This year, these guys would be from the class of 2022.

The only way to protect a player from being drafted away from your team is by adding him to the 40-man roster by the deadline, which is in November, generally one month prior to the draft.

Selecting a player in the draft costs $100,000 and the team needs to have an open 40-man roster spot.

After Being Drafted

The drafted player has to stay on the Major League roster for the entirety of the season. If they are injured, they can be placed on the IL. The player has to spend at least 90 days on the active roster to fulfill the MLB roster requirements. If he does not spend at least 90 days on the roster due to injuries, the rostering requirements carry over to the following year. This becomes especially relevant for pitchers already expected to miss the entire or large portion of the season due to Tommy John surgery.

Rostering requirements are transferable — if he gets traded from Team A to Team B, he must also remain on the Major League roster of Team B.

If a team no longer wants to keep the player on the Major League roster, he is placed on waivers where the 28 other teams can claim him and assume the rostering responsibilities. If he goes unclaimed, then he is no longer on the 40-man roster or subject to MLB rostering rules and his original team gets the option to buy him back for $50,000 to send him to the minors. If the original team doesn’t want to pay the $50,000, then he remains with the organization that selected him in the Rule 5 Draft and is sent to the minor leagues without any further restrictions.

Who To Watch

Teams most likely to select a player in the Major League phase are rebuilding, have significant 40-man roster flexibility, or a large number of optionable players. Pitchers are far more likely to be selected than position players.

In 2024, 15 players were selected in the Rule 5 Draft: eleven pitchers and four position players.

A minor league phase of the Rule 5 Draft also exists. Much like the Major League 40-man roster, a minor league 38-man protection list exists. Any player not included on the 38-man protection list can be selected in the minor league phase of the draft at a cost of $24,500. There are no rostering restrictions — the player drafted simply becomes a part of the new organization and can be assigned to any level.

This phase is often used to fill out rosters, most frequently at the Double-A level. In 2024, 68 players were selected in the minor league phase, with 42 being selected off Double-A rosters.

Check here for a full list of Cubs players eligible for the Rule 5 Draft.