Rule 5 Recap

The Rule 5 draft is a staple of the baseball Winter Meetings and signals a fresh start and a big league debut for many MiLB veterans. For those unfamiliar with the Rule 5 Draft, here are some guidelines as provided by MLB.com:

In addition to the MLB portion of the Rule 5, a Minor League (or Triple-A phase) portion allows organizations to select any unprotected MiLB player and add them to their system. Each pick costs the MLB team $24k, and there are no restrictions on where that player can be assigned once they’re selected.

Now that we’ve covered the basics, let’s review the 2025 Rule 5 Draft and highlight the players switching teams.

MLB Portion

There were 13 players selected in this year’s Draft, each of whom will now be required to stay on the active MLB roster for the duration of the season or else forfeit back to their original team. Some notable Rule 5 picks in recent years included Anthony Santander, Garrett Whitlock, Shane Smith, Tyler Wells, and Justin Slaten. Most often, you’ll see pitchers taken in the Rule 5 draft, and 2025 was no exception. Of the 13 players selected, 12 were pitchers. Here are some of the top names chosen in this year’s edition of the Rule 5 Draft.

Rockies- RJ Petit (DET)

The Rockies went big, real big. With the first pick, Colorado went with 6’8”, 300lb right-hander RJ Petit, formerly of the Tigers. Obviously, Petit is anything but petite (dad joke) and is an opposing figure on the mound. His stuff is just as big. His four-seam fastball averaged 95 mph in 2025 and had a 13.4% swinging strike rate. He also throws a 94 mph sinker and a slider that averaged just over 83 mph. The slider is his lone outpitch, and he’s had success with it. In 2025, it produced a swinging strike rate of nearly 19% with a 37.1% CSW. That’s an elite offering in the Minors. His fastball control can get a little wonky at times, but he posted a walk rate under 9% primarily thanks to his sinker, which he commands very well. Petit had made at least 40 appearances in each of the past four seasons and has averaged over 59 innings. His role in the Rockies’ bullpen will likely be high-leverage with the potential to close out games throughout the season.

White Sox- Jedixson Paez (BOS)

This one hurts. Paez was on an outstanding trajectory at the end of the 2024 season, but a calf injury limited him to just 19 innings last season. The Red Sox opted not to protect him and got bit. In his last full season in 2024, Paez tossed 96 2/3 innings across two levels of A-ball. He had an ERA of 3.17 with a 29% strikeout rate and a miniscule 3.1% walk rate. Paez is a very skinny right-hander, standing 6’1” and barely 170 lbs. There is a lot of buzz around this pick because he’s just 21 years old and has never pitched above High-A. Now, he’s a big leaguer. Given his inexperience, I’d project Paez as a bulk-reliever early on in the season with the ability to finish 2026 in the rotation.

Nationals- Griff McGarry (PHI)

The Nationals struck in their own division, plucking 26-year-old righty Griff McGarry from the Phillies. McGarry was a fifth-rounder in 2021 after starring at the University of Virginia. In four seasons as a pro, McGarry has flashed front-of-the-rotation-caliber stuff, but his inability to consistently harness it has been problematic. At no point in his MiLB career has McGarry posted a walk rate under 13%, and he has posted 18% in 2023 and 24% in 2024. His 2024 performance was in the bullpen as the Phillies took a leap of faith to see if they could fix him. Instead, it backfired. McGarry returned to the rotation in 2025. He posted a 3.44 ERA with a 35.1% strikeout rate to go along with a 13.9% walk rate. Based on how the bullpen experiment went in Philly, McGarry will likely start the season in the Nationals’ rotation. Unfortunately, his command-and-control woes will likely send him back to Philadelphia by season’s end.

Twins- Daniel Susac (A’s)

Susac was the lone positional player selected in the Rule 5 Draft as the 24-year-old backstop went to the Twins with the fourth pick. He was then shipped back to the Bay Area to join the Giants. Susac comes from a family of catchers, including his brother Andrew, who played in the Giants’ system. Daniel has proven to be a productive bat in the Minors and finished off a career year in 2025, hitting .275 with 18 homers and seven steals. Plate discipline is a concern as Susac has routinely posted overall swing rates of over 50% and frequently chases out of the zone. Despite this, his contact rates are still league-average, which has helped keep his strikeout rate in the lower 20s until this year. With Susac in the fold, popular addition Jesus Rodriguez is on the outside looking in.

A’s- Ryan Watson (SFG)

Watson is the oldest player taken in this year’s class, having turned 28 last month. The 6’5” righty was selected by the A’s but then immediately traded to the Red Sox. It’s been quite a journey for Watson, who was a 2016 draft pick of the Dodgers out of high school. He instead honored his commitment to Auburn, where he spent four years in their bullpen. He spent four seasons with the Baltimore org, reaching Triple-A. The Orioles traded him to the Giants in 2024, and he’s been with them since. In 2025, Watson made 46 appearances, tossing 50 2/3 innings with a 4.26 ERA and nine saves. He’s always shown an ability to miss bats, and control has never really been an issue. Watson has a three-pitch mix of fastball, curve, and slider, which produced a 12.5% SwStr and 28.1% strikeout rate last season. With the current structure of the Sox bullpen, Watson will predominantly pitch in low-leverage situations until he can prove himself.

Guardians- Peyton Pallette (CHW)

Pallette was a second-round pick in 2022, taking a lesser bonus after undergoing Tommy John surgery at Arkansas. After working as a starter in 2022 and 2023, he transitioned to the bullpen, where he’s started racking up more strikeouts and has been highly effective. In 52 games between Double and Triple-A in 2025, Pallette pitched 64 1/3 innings, posting a 4.06 ERA with 11 saves and a 32.5% strikeout rate. His walk rate did tick up a bit last season, particularly once he reached Triple-A. Pallette has a traditional four-pitch mix with fastball, slider, curve, and changeup. His two best pitches are his slider and changeup, each with a swinging-strike rate over 23% last season, though the changeup had an absurd 30%. He’s got the arsenal to be used in any role, but with the way his stuff has played up in the pen, he’ll slot right in as a mid-to-high leverage piece for the Guardians.

Phillies- Zach McCambley (MIA)

It’s odd that McCambley fell as far as he did, as his name was one of the most talked about entering the day. The 26-year-old from Coastal Carolina was a third-rounder in the shortened 2020 MLB Draft. He opened his pro career in the rotation, but injuries pushed him to the bullpen beginning in 2023, and he’s thrived there. In 2025, McCambley made 47 appearances across two levels, posting a 2.90 ERA with 83 strikeouts in 62 innings, for a 33.1% K-rate. He’s got a power arsenal that he commands well, but his slider and cutter were both highly effective last season. Those two offerings helped him reach a 16% swinging strike rate for the first time in his career. McCambley was particularly dominant in August, tossing 11 2/3 innings, allowing one earned run with 18 strikeouts against four walks for Triple-A Jacksonville. The Phillies love to mix-and-match their relief core, so McCambley could be in for quite a bit of work in 2026.

MiLB Portion

Cole Phillips to MIL

There wasn’t a ton of notable action in the Minor League portion of the Rule 5 Draft, but one name caught my eye. The Brewers snagged RHP Cole Phillips from the Mariners, a very talented 22-year-old who has yet to pitch in pro ball. Phillips had Tommy John surgery in 2022 as a high schooler, but still went in the second round to Atlanta. After going to Seattle in a trade for Jarred Kelenic, he had a UCL injury in 2024 and underwent a second operation. A former Top 50 national prospect as a prep, Phillips was one of the top arms in his draft class. Pre-injury, his fastball was electric, sitting in the mid-90s and routinely touching 98mph. He also had a nasty curve and changeup. Phillips is now the ultimate wild card, and going to the Brewers organization is an excellent fit. Keep your eyes on him early this season.