Rule 5 Draft 2024 live discussion thread

Who will the Guardians lose and keep?

At the conclusion of the annual winter meetings, Major League Baseball holds its Rule 5 Draft. The draft is held to prevent teams from hording prospects in their minor league systems without giving them a legitimate opportunity to play at the top level.

The 2024 Rule 5 Draft begins at 2 p.m. EST today.

Every player starts a clock when they enter a team’s farm system. For international players and high school draftees, the clock is a bit longer. For college players, it’s a bit shorter. But when that clock expires, the player is eligible to be “drafted” by another team in the Rule 5 draft if that player hasn’t been added to the team’s 40-man roster.

Earlier this year, Cleveland protected players RHP Nic Enright, LHP Doug Nikhazy, RHP Franco Aleman and OF Petey Halpin by adding them to the 40-man roster.

Top players exposed to the Rule 5 draft this year from Cleveland’s system include LHP Ryan Webb, RHP Tommy Mace, RHP Aaron Davenport, RHP Trenton Denholm and possibly RHP Tanner Burns.

If a team selects someone in the Major League portion of the Rule 5 Draft, they must keep them on the 26-man roster for the full season. If that player cannot stay on the roster, they can either be traded or returned to their original team.

Top Rule 5 Draft selections by Cleveland in recent memory were bullpen arm Trevor Stephan, who hopefully will contribute to the team’s success this year after recovering from Tommy John surgery.

Following the MLB portion of the Rule 5 Draft, a minor league version is held where teams must protect players by adding them to an additional roster at the MiLB level. A top Cleveland success story from this level was LHP Erik Sabrowski, who had a strong impact in Cleveland’s bullpen late last season and in the playoffs.