The main point of the Rule 5 draft is so that teams can’t hoard their top talent in perpetuity. The challenges in stepping in and drafting a Rule 5 player is that there is a cost ($100,000) and it comes with several roster requirements. Then again, if it doesn’t work out, the selecting team can either return the player before the season starts and recoup $50,000 or trade the player.
Coming into today’s annual selection — always held on the last day of the Winter Meetings — it was thought that the Cubs would not partake in the major league portion of the draft.