Major League Baseball’s Rule 5 draft, usually one of the first active days of the offseason, was held earlier Thursday. Eligible players include prospects not on their parent club’s 40-man roster who have been playing professionally for four or five years, depending on their age at signing. Stronger clubs tend to get hit hardest in the Rule 5 as they have less room for prospects on the 40-man, but occasionally rebuilding and middle-of-the-pack teams can get caught in roster crunch as well, as we saw today with the Tigers and Orioles losing players.
The Marlins, despite being a playoff team, had ample room to protect eligible players and were able to escape the proceedings unscathed, while also selecting a player.