The return of the Rule 5 Draft at the Winter Meetings for the first time since 2019 brought a packed house and plenty of activity in the Major League phase.
A total of 15 players were taken in that portion of the Rule 5, starting with the Nationals selecting right-hander Thad Ward from the Red Sox and finishing with the Mets taking right-hander Zach Greene from the Yankees. It’s shy of the 18 players that were taken the last time the Major League phase took place, remotely in 2020 (It didn’t happen at all in 2021 because of the lockout.). That had been the most since 2010, when 19 players were taken.
There was also a flurry of activity in the Minor League phase, with 67 selections, bringing the total number of players taken to 82, topping the 74 taken in 2020 and tied for the most of any Rule 5 Draft since 1983 (82 players were also taken in 2002).
