Rule 5 of the Professional Baseball Agreement provides for a draft involving players already under contract to a Major League affiliate. (This is in contrast to the Rule 4 Draft for players who have not previously signed a Major or Minor League Contract.)
ESPN Standard Leagues: Each team receives 25 players during the draft, For example, in a 10-team league, a total of 250 players will be drafted. In ESPN Standard leagues there are two draft options available: Live Snake draft. Live Salary Cap draft.
Held each December, the Rule 5 Draft allows clubs without a full 40-man roster to select certain non-40-man roster players from other clubs. Clubs draft in reverse order of the standings from the previous season.
Who Is Eligible For The Rule 5 Draft? Any player not added to a team's 40-man roster is eligible if they meet the following criteria: They signed at 18 years or younger and have played five professional seasons. They signed at 19 years or older and have played four professional seasons.
To be eligible for the MLB Draft, players must have graduated from high school and be at least 17 years old. College players are eligible after completing their junior or senior years, or if they are 21 years old. Junior college players can be drafted at any time.
Definition. Held each December, the Rule 5 Draft allows clubs without a full 40-man roster to select certain non-40-man roster players from other clubs. Clubs draft in reverse order of the standings from the previous season.
The draft order is determined by a lottery system, starting in 2023, where teams that did not make the postseason in the previous year participate in a state-lottery style process to determine the first six picks. The team with the worst record has the best odds of receiving the first pick.
If chosen in the Rule 5 draft, a player must be kept on the selecting team's major league active roster for the entire season that follows the draft—the player may not be optioned or designated to the minors. The selecting team may, at any time, waive the Rule 5 draftee.