MLB Rule 5 Draft: 17 names to know

The draft is at noon ET today.

Major League Baseball’s Rule 5 Draft is a tradition unlike any other in professional sports. Every December, teams close out the Winter Meetings by evaluating and sometimes selecting players who meet certain criteria and who haven’t been granted a spot on a 40-man roster.  This year’s Rule 5 Draft (to be held on Thursday, Dec. 10) will stray from convention in two notable ways. For one, it’ll be held virtually; for another, it’ll proceed despite there being no minor-league season.

Both of those aspects are, obviously, in response to the global pandemic.

For those who are unfamiliar with the process, here’s more information concerning eligibility and how everything works:

Players who signed at 18 or younger and have played at least five professional seasons are eligible, as are players who signed at 19 or older and have played at least four professional seasons. All players who are on a 40-man roster are ineligible for the draft—hence top prospects being added well ahead of their debuts.

Teams pay $100,000 per selection to the player’s old team, and then must keep that player on the 25-man roster for the duration of the season. If the team decides against keeping the player on the active roster all year, then the player must be sent to the waiver-wire. Should they pass through unclaimed, they then must be offered back to their old team for $50,000. (There’s also a minor-league portion of the Rule 5 Draft, but we’re not going to concern ourselves with that.)