Texas Rangers Hope For High Return From Rule 5

The Texas Rangers have had recent success finding talent in the Winter Meetings' Rule 5 Draft.

The last time the Texas Rangers tapped into the Rule 5 Draft and kept the player was in 2017, when it selected Carlos Tocci from the Philadelphia Phillies.

Tocci batted .225/.271/.283 in 120 at-bats with the Rangers in 2018 and hasn't played in the Majors since.

Should the Rangers use their No. 23 selection in Wednesday’s Rule 5 Draft on Wednesday in Nashville, they’re hoping for a better return, such as the one they got on Delino DeShields Jr.

Carlos Tocci batted .225/.271/.283 with the the Rangers in 2018 after being selected in the Rule 5 Draft / © Shanna Lockwood-USA TODAY Sports

The Rangers selected DeShields in 2014 from the Houston Astros and he played for the Rangers for six years.

For the Rangers to make a selection, they need room on their 40-man roster, which they have. The Rangers have 35 players going into the Winter Meetings. But they must also move that player to their 26-man roster immediately after selection and send that team $100,000.

In many cases, the player doesn’t stick and ends up being released. In that case, the player must go through outright waivers and be offered back to his former club for $50,000.

The last player the Rangers took in the Major League portion of the Rule 5 Draft was pitcher Brett de Gues of the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2020. de Gues made the Rangers’ Opening Day Roster in 2021, but was designated for assignment in June, was passed up by the Dodgers and was eventually claimed by the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The Rangers will also have their eye on their own prospects. At the tender deadline, the Rangers had to make decisions about players signed at age 18 or younger who had been in their system for five seasons and players who signed at age 19 and had been in the system for four seasons.

The Rangers moved some of them to their 40-man roster, which was required for protection, including pitchers Marc Church, Jose Corniell and Antoine Kelly, along with infielder Justin Foscue.

Left unprotected were players such as pitcher Anthony Hoopii-Tuionetoa, Justin Slaten, Daniel Robert, Grant Wolfram and Dane Acker, along with infielder Davis Wendzel.

Rule 5 Draft Order

1. Oakland Athletics
2. Kansas City Royals
3. Colorado Rockies
4. Chicago White Sox
5. Washington Nationals
6. St. Louis Cardinals
7. Los Angeles Angels
8. New York Mets
9. Pittsburgh Pirates
10. Cleveland Guardians
11. Detroit Tigers
12. Boston Red Sox
13. San Francisco Giants
14. Cincinnati Reds
15. San Diego Padres
16. New York Yankees
17. Chicago Cubs
18. Miami Marlins
19. Arizona Diamondbacks
20. Minnesota Twins
21. Seattle Mariners
22. Toronto Blue Jays
23. Texas Rangers
24. Philadelphia Phillies
25. Houston Astros
26. Milwaukee Brewers
27. Tampa Bay Rays
28. Los Angeles Dodgers
29. Baltimore Orioles
30. Atlanta Braves

Rangers Make Decision on Ohtani

You can find Matthew Postins on X @PostinsPostcard.

Catch up with Inside the Rangers on Facebook and X.