Rule 5 Draft Drops The Double-A Phase

WASHINGTON, D.C.–The Double-A phase of the Rule 5 draft is no more.

When Thursday’s Rule 5 draft begins, it will have a major league phase and a minor league phase, but for the first time that minor league phase will not be divided between Triple-A and Double-A.

That division dates back to the beginning of the Rule 5 draft, back to 1903 when it was logically just known as the draft. After all, the first first-year player draft was still 62 years away. Back then, with major league teams prohibited from “farming out” players to the minors, the draft was established to create an orderly flow of talented players from the lower minors to the high minors and eventually to the big leagues. Class B league teams could draft players from Class C and below. Class A league teams could draft players from B and below and so forth.

But that distinction between the Triple-A phase and the Double-A phase has been archaic for years. The biggest difference between the two phases was that teams were allowed to protect a limited number of players on Double-A rosters, so the talent pool for the Double-A phase usually was extremely sparse. While Justin Bour and Ariel Hernandez are among notable names picked in the Triple-A phase of the Rule 5 draft, there have been very few names of note picked in the Double-A phase. Also while Triple-A Rule 5 picks cost the selecting team $12,000, Double-A picks cost $4,000.

Now, major league Rule 5 picks will cost the selecting team $100,000, double the $50,000 that had been the amount for years. Minor league Rule 5 picks will cost the selecting team $24,000, also double the previous amount.