The Rule 5 Draft kicked off with very little fanfare on Wednesday, the last day of Winter Meetings in Orlando. Any of MLB's 30 teams without a full 40-man roster had the opportunity to select Rule 5-eligible minor leaguers — players signed at 18 or younger who weren't on their teams after five years, and players signed 19 or older after five.
The Tigers protected five players from the draft at the Nov. 18 deadline: Prospect Nos. 5, 6, 19 Thayron Liranzo, Hao-Yu Lee, and Jake Miller from their top 30, and unranked players Trei Cruz and Eduardo Valencia.