On Wednesday morning the Colorado Rockies released right-handed pitcher Connor “Socks” Seabold to clear a spot on their previously full 40-man roster. The message was clear: the Rockies would be participating in this year’s Rule 5 draft.
The gem of the Winter Meetings, the Major League phase of the Rule 5 draft allows organizations with space on their 40-man roster to take unprotected players from another club for a relatively small fee. The tradeoff is that said player must be placed on the Opening Day 26-man roster and cannot be removed without being subjected to waivers.