Let’s nerd it up a little bit and talk about the Rule 5 Draft.
For those of you who have heard of the draft before but have never quite understood what it is (which is just about everyone), the Rule 5 Draft is designed to prevent teams from hoarding minor leaguers who might otherwise have the ability to crack the big league roster in another organization. The foundational rules of the draft are pretty simple. After signing an amateur player (either via the draft or international free agency) a team then has either four or five years (depending on the age of the player when he signed) to assign that player to the 40-man MLB roster.