New York Yankees Lose 5 Players in 2019 Rule 5 Draft
Every year the Winter Meetings end with by far the fastest draft in sports, in the Rule 5 Draft. There are two portions of the Rule 5 Draft: the MLB and Triple-A (or minor league), of which are very distinct.
If you’re interested, here is an online recorded stream (audio only) of the Rule 5 draft in its entirety. Total time was about 38 minutes.
This year, there were 12 selections in the MLB portion of the draft, and 42 selections in the Triple-A phase. Here are the full results.
The Yankees lost 1 player in the MLB portion of the draft, and another 4 in the Triple-A portion of the draft.
Quick Overview of Rules:
In the MLB portion of the draft a team can only select a player from another team if they have an open spot on their 40-Man roster, and the player they are selecting isn’t on his teams 40-Man roster. This player must stay on the picking teams 26-Man roster throughout the whole of the following championship season or else he must be placed on waivers and sent back to his original team.
In the Triple-A portion of the draft, there are no roster stipulations or rules, and for all intents and purposes when a player is selected they are a part of the picking teams organization.
For more on the rules, click here.
Who the Yankees Lost (MLB Portion):
With the 1st pick of the 2019 Rule 5 Draft, the #Tigers select RHP Rony Garcia from the #Yankees: https://t.co/UPRn9boioY pic.twitter.com/YjwnalZPEd — MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) December 12, 2019
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With the first pick in the Rule 5 draft, the Detroit Tigers selected RHP Rony Garcia from the Yankees.
Rony Garcia (RHP) was signed by the Yankees as an international free agent in 2015. Currently 21 years old, he was with the Tampa Tarpons (Class-A+) and Trenton Thunder (Double-A) during the 2019 season. In 2019, he pitched in 25 games with 24 starts, where he pitched to a 4.01 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, and K/BB of 129/45 over 130.1 innings. He was also a two-time pitcher of the week in 2019 on July 14th and August 25th. He has no injury history since he was signed in 2015, and is know a Major League player with the Detroit Tigers.
The Detroit Tigers now have to pay the Yankees $100,000 to take the right-hander if he sticks with the MLB team for all of 2020, and if returned will cost them $50,000. However, I don’t expect him to come back to the Yankees because of the Tigers full-blown rebuild status.
To read more on Rony Garcia, here is a great piece from Robert M. Pimpster of Pinstriped Prospects.
Who the Yankees Lost (Triple-A Portion):
Today in the 1st round of the Major League phase of the 2019 Rule 5 Draft, DET selected RHP Rony Garcia from the @yankees. In the Triple-A phase, four players were picked from NYY: RHP Hobie Harris (TOR), RHP Will Carter (CWS), RHP Raynel Espinal (BOS) and INF Wendell Rijo (ATL). — Yankees PR Dept. (@YankeesPR) December 12, 2019
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Like always- because the Yankees have a very great system from the Majors to the lowest levels of the minor leagues- they often lose a fair amount of players.
Quickly, we’ll go player-by-player:
Hobie Harris (RHP) was selected by the Yankees in the 31st round from the University of Pittsburgh during the 2015 MLB First Year Player Draft. Currently 26 years old, he was with the Tampa Tarpons (Class-A+) for all of the 2019 season, and had been with the Trenton Thunder (Double-A) for a part of the 2018 season- his highest minor league affiliate. In 2019, he pitched in 29 games to a 4.62 ERA, a 1.32 WHIP, and a K/BB of 59/29 over 48.2 innings. He has very little injury history (1 stint in 2018 from June 21st to August 2nd) and is now with the Toronto Blue Jays’ Buffalo Bisons.
Will Carter (RHP) was selected by the Yankees in the 14th round from the University of Alabama during the 2015 MLB First Year Player Draft. Currently 26 years old, he was last with the Trenton Thunder (Double-A), but also pitched with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Railriders (Triple-A) during the 2019 season. Over 38 games (and 1 start) he pitched to a 5.45 ERA, a 1.63 WHIP, and a K/BB of 43/42 over 67.2 innings. Has a little injury history (3 stints since 2017, two in 2018), but was health for all of 2019. He is now with the Chicago White Sox’s Charlotte Knights.
Raynel Espinal (RHP) was signed by the Milwaukee Brewers in 2010 as an international free agent, and then signed with the Yankees in 2012 as a minor-league free agent. Currently 28 years old, he was last with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Railriders (Triple-A) for all of the 2018 and 2019 seasons, and was also with the Yankees in Spring Training for both 2018 and 2019. He only managed to pitch in 18 games because of injury in 2019, sidelining him from July 13th to September 13th. During his time in Triple-A he has pitched to a 3.74 ERA, a 1.24 WHIP, and a K/BB of 174/48 (!) over 142 innings. Before last seasons injury, he hadn’t been on the IL (at least) since 2012. He is know with the Boston Red Sox’s Pawtucket Red Sox.
Wendell Rijo (2B) was signed by the Boston Red Sox in 2012 as an international free agent, and then was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers in 2016, and again to the Yankees in 2018. Currently 24 years old, he was last with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Railriders (Triple-A), but also spent time with the Tampa Tarpons (Class-A+) and Trenton Thunder (Double-A) in 2019. Over the 2019 season, in 103 games and 349 at-bats, Rijo hit to a slashline of .258/.325/.438 (.763 OPS) alongside 13 Home Runs, 44 RBI’s, 89 Strikeouts, and 39 Walks. He has only been on the injured list once since 2013 (a brief stint in 2015 from May 5th to May 13th). He is know with the Atlanta Braves’ Gwinnett Stripers.
