Six Former Patriots On the Move in MLB Rule 5 Draft

What is the Rule 5 Draft?

At Major League Baseball's 2023 Winter Meetings in Nashville, the league's annual Rule 5 Draft took place on Wednesday, December 6th, providing an opportunity for teams to fill out their 40-man rosters with players from different organizations.

Which Players are eligible for the Rule 5 Draft?

Players in a given organization become Rule 5 eligible after a given amount of years following when they signed. Players signed at age 18 or younger are Rule 5 Draft eligible after spending five seasons with the organization they signed with. This group is typically comprised of amateur (high school) drafted players and international free agent signings.

Players signed at age 19 or older are Rule 5 Draft eligible after spending four seasons with the organization they signed with. This group is typically made up of college draft picks and older international free agents.

Once players become Rule 5 Draft eligible, their Major League club has the opportunity to protect them by adding them to their 40-man roster by MLB's deadline.

Who did the Yankees protect?

This year, MLB's 40-man roster protection deadline was on November 14, 2023. On the day of the deadline, the Yankees protected RHP Clayton Beeter (SOM, 2022-23) and C Agustin Ramirez (SOM, 2023). On November 6, they protected C Carlos Narvaez (SOM, 2023).

The @Yankees have added RHP Clayton Beeter and C Agustin Ramírez to the 40-man roster. pic.twitter.com/cpwJnWRq4R

— Somerset Patriots (@SOMPatriots) November 14, 2023

How does the Rule 5 Draft work?

The Rule 5 Draft consists of two phases: a Major League phase, which contains one round, and a minor league phase, which consists of five rounds. All clubs have the option to pass on their selection in every given round.

In the Major League phase, each club has the opportunity to select a Rule 5 Draft eligible player from a different team to its 40-man roster. Any team that selects a player must pay $100,000 to the club they are selecting the player from. Players who are selected in the Major League phase of the Rule 5 Draft must stay on the active Major League roster of the team who selected them for the entire following season. If they do not, the player must be offered back to his former team for $50,000.

In the Minor League phase, eligible players include those who are not protected on a team's 38-man Triple-A roster. The payment for selecting players in the Minor League phase of the Rule 5 Draft is $24,000, compared to the $100,000 fee in the Major League phase. Players selected in this phase can be assigned to any level of the organization that chooses them and there is no stipulation on how long they must stay on a given team's roster.

Somerset Patriots Rule 5 Draft History

Since the Patriots became the Yankees' Double-A affiliate in 2021, the Yankees have participated in two Rule 5 Drafts (2022, 2023). In 2022, there were no former Patriots selected in the MLB phase of the Rule 5 Draft. However in the Minor League phase, INF Oliver Dunn became the first Patriot to ever be selected in the event. He was selected by the Phillies with the final pick of the draft. Dunn, who played in Somerset in 2021-22, was assigned by the Phillies to Double-A Reading and played against the Patriots throughout the 2023 season.

Matt Sauer is the only minor league pitcher since 2019 to have struck out 17 batters in a game🤢pic.twitter.com/TjcaaLdYVD

— Somerset Patriots (@SOMPatriots) December 6, 2023

Patriots Headed to the Major Leagues

In the 2023 MLB Rule 5 Draft, seven Yankees prospects were selected by other Major League clubs, including six former Patriots and three in the Major League phase. Former Patriots were selected with each of the top two picks in this year's draft and three of the 10 selections in the Major League phase were made up of former Patriots pitchers.

1st Pick: Mitch Spence (SOM, 2022) - Oakland A's

Spence, who spent the bulk of 2022 in Somerset prior to a Triple-A promotion, led all Yankees minor leaguers in innings pitched in 2023. He becomes the first Patriot to ever be selected in the MLB Rule 5 Draft, and consequently the first to be taken with the No. 1 overall pick.

2nd Pick: Matt Sauer (SOM, 2022-23) - Kansas City Royals

Sauer, who spent parts of each of the last two seasons in Somerset, famously struck out a franchise-record 17 batters in game for the Patriots on August 24, 2022--the most by any affiliated pitcher dating back to 2019. Sauer also started Somerset's 2023 First Half-clinching victory on June 23, 2023.

23rd Pick (10th and final player selected): Carson Coleman (SOM, 2022) - Texas Rangers

Coleman missed all of the 2023 season with an injury, but in 2022 he led all Yankees minor leaguers with 17 saves, in addition to recording the final out in Somerset's Eastern League Championship-clinching no-hitter on September 28, 2022.

Spence, Sauer and Coleman must remain on the Major League roster of their new respective teams for the entire 2023 season. If they do not, they will be offered back to the Yankees for $50,000.

Best of luck to former Patriots Mickey Gasper, Eric Wagaman and Michael Gomez, who were selected in the minor league phase of the Rule 5 Draft. Thanks for the memories!🙌🏻 pic.twitter.com/PzLjXG0sX4

— Somerset Patriots (@SOMPatriots) December 6, 2023

Patriots Headed to Different Organizations

Three former Patriots were selected in the Minor League phase of the Rule 5 Draft, all in the first round.

7th Pick (6th player selected): INF Eric Wagaman (SOM, 2022-23) - Los Angeles Angels

12th Pick (13th player selected): C/INF Mickey Gasper (SOM, 2021-23) - Boston Red Sox

27th Pick (23rd player selected): RHP Michael Gomez (SOM, 2021-22) - Tampa Bay Rays

One additional Yankees farm hand, INF Marcos Cabrera was selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the third round.

New Players to the Yankees Organization

In the Minor League phase of the Rule 5 Draft, the Yankees selected RHP Gabriel Barbosa in the first round from the Colorado Rockies and RHP Kervin Castro in the second round from the Houston Astros.

Barbosa, 21, has gone 20-10 with two saves and a 4.23 ERA (217.0IP, 237H, 128R/102ER, 37BB, 183K, 12HR) in 63 career games (32 starts) over four minor league seasons (2019, ’21-23). The right-handed pitcher went 7-6 with one save and a 5.44 ERA (94.1IP, 121H, 68R/57ER, 19BB, 82K, 5HR) in 22 games (13 starts) with Single-A Fresno in 2023. The Bastos, Brazil, native was originally signed by Colorado as a non-drafted free agent on July 2, 2018.

Castro, 24, has made 20 career Major League relief appearances over parts of two seasons with the San Francisco Giants (2021-22) and Chicago Cubs (2022), going 1-2 with a 4.91 ERA (25.2IP, 28H, 15R/14ER, 11BB, 24K, 3HR). The right-handed pitcher made 10 relief appearances for Detroit’s Triple-A Toledo in 2023, posting a 2.30 ERA (15.2IP, 14H, 5R/4ER, 9BB, 19K, 0HR) with one save. He later signed with the Houston Astros as a minor league free agent on November 18, 2023. Over six minor league seasons (2016, ’18-19, ’21-23), Castro has gone 16-9 with a 3.27 ERA (195.1IP, 152H, 80R/71ER, 88BB, 217K, 9HR) in 105 games (14 starts). The Maracay, Venezuela, native was originally signed by San Francisco as a non-drafted free agent on July 2, 2015.

Fittsmas came early in Boston🎄

Best of luck to the reigning Eastern League Pitcher of the Year, Richard Fitts🙌🏼 pic.twitter.com/lHdzGZX5eS

— Somerset Patriots (@SOMPatriots) December 6, 2023

Who else is on the move?

In addition to the six former Patriots selected in the Rule 5 Draft, another five Patriots have been included in trade deals that the Yankees have made during the MLB Winter Meetings.

Most notably, with the Yankees acquiring superstar outfielder Juan Soto, former Patriots pitchers Jhony Brito, Drew Thorpe and Randy Vasquez were included in the five-player package dealt to the San Diego Padres.

When the Yankees made their first major offseason move in acquiring outfielder Alex Verdugo from the Boston Red Sox, they sent RHP Richard Fitts to Boston. Fitts spent the entire 2023 season with Somerset, shattering all of the franchise's single-season pitching records and he was named the 2023 Eastern League Pitcher of the Year.

One of the signature moments of the MLB offseason saw the Los Angeles Dodgers sign international superstar Shohei Ohtani for a record $700 million, in addition to reliever Joe Kelly. The shockwaves of this trade affected one of Somerset's former fan favorite players. As the Dodgers were forced to create two spots on their 40-man roster for their two newly-acquired players, the organization traded LHP Victor González and INF Jorbit Vivas in exchange for Yankees 2021 first round pick INF Trey Sweeney, who was a member of the Patriots' 2022 Eastern League Championship-winning team.

Several former Patriots also elected for free agency and signed with different Major League clubs, including INF Andres Chaparro (Arizona Diamondbacks), INF Jesus Bastidas (Houston Astros), OF Jeisson Rosario (Oakland A's) and INF Oliver Dunn (Milwaukee Brewers).