Blue Jays lost two players but select an 18-year-old in the Rule 5 Draft

Finally, something interesting! With the Winter Meetings coming to a close, everybody’s favourite time of year is finally here — The Rule 5 Draft. Teams can draft players from other organizations who aren’t on the 40-man roster and then they have to keep them on their 25-man rosters all year. As you’ll remember, the Jays found themselves a gem in Joe Biagini back in 2016.

First things first, the Jays had two players snagged in the draft. The White Sox, with the third pick, took Canadian pitcher Jordan Romano who had a pretty solid season in Double-A New Hampshire. Then the Giants, with the eighth pick, took Travis Bergen, the reliever who had the 0.95 ERA between Dunedin and New Hampshire last year.

So that’s pretty much the worst-case scenario for the Jays. I won’t lie, it’s a little odd to me that players like Dalton Pompey and Oliver Drake who have no future with the organization remained on the 40-man while a prospect like Bergen didn’t. Then again, the logic here is hoping these players slide through the Rule 5 so that they don’t have to be DFA’d later on if the Jays need open room for trades or free agent signings. It’s a hell of a lot easier for a team to keep a payer they selected off waivers than it is for them to keep a Rule 5 player.

Given the fact the White Sox and Giants suck ass, we could easily see both Bergen and Romano stick with each club all year. Hopefully the return, but, both are mid-20s fringe prospects and this isn’t the end of the world. The reality of having a deep farm means you’re going to lose players in the Rule 5 draft.

And then there’s this!

The Jays grabbed this guy who is *checks notes* 18 years old from the Kansas City Royals. So, uhhhh, they know he has to be on the 25-man all year, right? Right?! Of course they do! Keegan Matheson hypothesizes that the Jays and Royals will work out some kind of deal to keep Luciano in the organization.

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