The Detroit Tigers added a pair of right-handed relievers — Elvis Alvarado and Nick Kuzia — to the organization in Wednesday's minor-league phase of the 2021 Rule 5 draft.
International signees or high school draft picks from 2017 and college draftees from 2018 needed to be protected from this year's Rule 5 draft. Among these groups, players not on the 38-man Triple-A roster were eligible to be selected.
There were five rounds in the MiLB Rule 5 draft, but the Tigers made just two picks. For those two selections, the Tigers made payments of $24,500 each to Alvarado's and Kuzia's original teams.