Phillies Have Massive Decisions To Make Regarding Rule 5 Draft Eligible Prospects

With tight roster decisions that need to be made, the Philadelphia Phillies will have their hands full ahead of the Rule 5 Draft.

Feb 25, 2024; Clearwater, Florida, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Mick Abel (74) throws a pitch against the New York Yankees in the sixth inning at BayCare Ballpark / Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

With roster decisions already going to be difficult to be made for the Philadelphia Phillies this offseason, that will only get more complicated when factoring in the upcoming Rule 5 Draft that takes place in December.

After years where the Phillies didn't focus on developing young players in their pipeline, they have done an excellent job of building their farm system to feature plenty of coveted prospects.

Some of the players the organization has to make decisions on features their sixth-ranked minor leaguer Mick Abel, 22nd-ranked Christian McGowan, 26th-ranked Moises Chace, Minor League Pitcher of the Year Eiberson Castellano, and Tristan Garnett.

What makes things even more interesting is all these players are pitchers.

Abel has long been looked at as someone who could be part of this Major League rotation going forward, but after immense struggles in Triple-A this past season, his future has become a lot more murky when factoring in Andrew Painter's imminent return in 2025 and the emergence of Ranger Suarez and Cristopher Sanchez.

Chace was acquired from the Baltimore Orioles in the Gregory Soto deal, and while it was the other part of that package, Seth Johnson, who was the headliner, Chace projects to be a solid pitcher in his own right.

McGowan, Castellano and Garnett could all be options for Philadelphia coming out of the bullpen, but on a contending team who is trying to win a World Series, using three inexperienced players doesn't seem likely.

If the Phillies don't add any of these five players to their 40-man roster, though, they will then be eligible to be selected by another team in the Rule 5 Draft this December.

There is no word regarding who Philadelphia is leaning towards protecting, but it seems likely that Abel will be part of the mix in 2025.

Beyond that, there are other options the front office could take with these young players.

The Phillies could add all five to their roster and then search for trades this winter, adding some win now pieces at positions of need by packaging a group, or all, to upgrade the outfield and bullpen.

It will be interesting to see how Dave Dombrowski chooses to operate with this championship window open and so many talented prospects sitting in their pipeline who don't have a direct pathway to playing time right now.

One of the first major decisions he has to make revolves around the Rule 5-eligible players.