For a couple years, the Rule 5 was more an opportunity for the Pirates to add more players to the roster. Now, it's more of a threat of losing some of the depth they've acquired.
On Tuesday, teams will have to select the contract of Rule 5 eligible players or leave them exposed to the draft. Not everyone is Rule 5 eligible. The general rule of thumb is players who were drafted out of college need to be added within four years, and players drafted out of high school or signed as international free agents need to be added within five years.