The Rule-5 draft is, without a doubt, a very interesting gamble for Major League teams to take.

On one hand, you can take a player and mould them into a part of your organisation, but other times it does not work out in your team’s favour. Sometimes you may even have to return the player to the team you selected them from.

In the 50 Years of the Toronto Blue Jays, 24 Rule 5 selections have been made by the team, and of them a lot of them turned into key pieces for the team’s successes over the years. Spencer Miles is the most recent selection the club made this offseason, and with him making the opening day roster, Toronto feels they have something with the 25-year-old right-hander. While there are always hits and misses among the Rule 5 draft, let’s look at some that worked out positively.

Without a doubt, the most recognisable name here, Gruber, was selected from the Cleveland Guardians organisation in 1983 after being drafted 10th overall in the 1980 entry draft. What followed next was the Blue Jays finding one of their most important infielders of the 80s and 90s for the ballclub.

In 9 seasons with Toronto, Gruber hit .259 with 114 home runs, 434 RBIs, and stole 80 bases. He was a two-time All-Star as well as a Silver Slugger and Gold Glove winner in 1990. He also finished fourth in MVP voting in 1990, finishing behind Roger Clemens, Cecil Fielder, and Rickey Henderson.

Gruber was a part of the first World Series in Blue Jays history in 1992 and is forever looked at as one of the best third basemen to ever play for the franchise.

The following year, in 1984, the Blue Jays selected Manny Lee from the Houston Astros. While Lee did not have as many accolades as Kelly Gruber, during Lee’s eight seasons in Toronto, he played in 753 games, hitting 19 home runs and 199 RBIs. Lee posted a career-best 3.2 WAR in 1992, serving as the team’s starting shortstop during the World Series run.

Two seasons after Manny Lee, José Núñez was picked in the Rule 5 draft, originally with the Kansas City Royals.  After signing with the Royals as an international free agent in 1983, he was taken by the Blue Jays and was used as both a reliever and starter for the club for the 1987 season. After a 5.01 ERA in 37 games in 1987, Núñez stayed with the Jays for two more seasons in 1988 and 1989, where he pitched in 19 more games for the organisation. While a 4.40 ERA in 56 games across three seasons is not the most successful stat line, he was an arm who panned out and was a depth pitcher for the Blue Jays as they worked towards winning the American League in 1989.

Over 20 years later, is where we look at our next Rule 5 selection in Aquillino López. Another international free agent signed by the Seattle Mariners, López was brought into Toronto to help an aging and struggling bullpen. In 2003, he was the best reliever out of the bullpen as he put up a 3.42 ERA in 73 and two-thirds innings, and later took the closing duties away from Cliff Politte.

Unfortunately, after a strong rookie season and the Blue Jays retaining his rights in 2004, López was released from the Blue Jays the following season after posting a 6.00 ERA in 18 appearances.

This ones a lot of fun to talk about. The allure of Joe Biagini was something that captivated Blue Jays fans instantly. He became an instant fan-favourite, where he had a great 2016 with a 3.06 ERA in 60 games, pitching the second most of any pitcher on the team that season.

After 2016, Biagini was planned to be stretched out as a starter for the Blue Jays, which did not pan out well, as a 5.34 ERA in 44 games in 2017 was a step downwards. As a starter, Biagini went 2-12 and had a 5.73 ERA and 1.48 WHIP. After a 6.00 ERA in 2018, he bounced back to something more like the Biagini of old with a 3.78 ERA in 50 games in Toronto.

His infectious random humour was something that captivated fans across Canada, and even made some waves down south as he was making a guest appearance on Jimmy Fallon, high-fiving Jimmy in the process after a botched one during the previous week.

Biagini was traded to the Houston Astros in 2019 along with starter Aaron Sanchez and Cal Stevenson for outfielder Derek Fisher, but later re-signed to a minor league deal.