Yankees Could Lose This Intriguing Prospect In Rule 5 Draft
Matt Sauer has been in the minor leagues for a long time. Is there a team interested in taking him away from the New York Yankees in next week’s Rule 5 Draft?
On Wednesday, during the MLB Winter Meetings, each team will determine if they want to acquire other prospects as part of the draft.
Sauer is in the Rule 5 Draft because he’s been in minor league baseball since 2017. He was drafted by the Yankees in 2017 out of Righetti High School in Santa Maria, Calif. The Yankees had to put him on the shelf for some time after Tommy John surgery.
But, because he started his career before age 19 and has been in the Yankees’ system for at least five years, he must either be put on the 40-man roster or be exposed to the Rule 5 Draft.
The Yankees exposed him after not moving him to the 40-man at the tender deadline two weeks ago.
Despite the injury and his long tenure in the minors, MLB.com writes that Sauer could be the Yankees prospect that intrigue teams the most:
When healthy, he logged a 3.42 ERA, .196 opponent average and 83 strikeouts in 68 1/3 Double-A innings thanks to a riding 93-95 mph fastball and a tight mid-80s slider.
Sauer missed some time in 2023 due to an injury, but he still pitched for three different minor-league affiliates as he went 6-5 with a 3.41 ERA, with 93 strikeouts and 34 walks in 74 innings.
If a team selects Sauer, it’s because they believe there’s a chance he could help them in 2024. By selecting him, that team would have to put Sauer on their 26-man roster immediately and pay the Yankees $100,000.
If at any time he’s released by that team in 2024, he must go through outright waivers and be offered back the Yankees for $50,000.
The Yankees would rather not lose him.
