The Los Angeles Dodgers selected five players in the 2015 Rule 5 Draft, which was held on Thursday to conclude this year’s annual Major League Baseball Winter Meetings.
All five selections came during the Triple-A phase of the draft. The Dodgers did not participate in the Major League or Double-A portion.
Added to the organization were right-handed pitcher Logan Bawcom and outfielder Julio Morban from the Seattle Mariners, left-hander Alex Burgos and right-hander Felipe Gonzalez from the Miami Marlins, and catcher Micah Gibbs from the Kansas City Royals.
The fee to draft a player in the Triple-A phase is $12,000 per player. That’s significantly lower than the $50,000 fee to select a player in the Major League phase.
Moreover, a player taken during the Major League portion of the draft must spend the entire season on the new team’s active roster or be offered back to their previous club for $25,000. Minor League players can be moved without restriction throughout an organization’s farm system.
Bawcom is a familiar face, as the 27 year old was drafted by the Dodgers in the 17th round in 2010. He was traded to Seattle in July 2012 in exchange for Brandon League. Bawcom had a 4.64 ERA with 62 strikeouts and 31 walks in 45 games for Triple-A Tacoma last season.
Burgos, 25, had a 2.12 ERA with 33 strikeouts and 16 walks in 32 games between Class-A Jupiter and Double-A Jacksonville last season.
Gibbs, 27, is a switch-hitting catcher who batted .236/.327/.382 in 31 games between Double-A Northwest Arkansas and Triple-A Omaha. He hit .291/.381/.455 in 18 games with Northwest Arkansas.
Gonzalez, 24, was 8-6 with a 3.28 ERA while striking out 80 and walking 30 in 38 games (14 starts) in 2015 with High-A Bradenton.
Morban, 23, hit .206/.295/.313 between Double-A Jackson and Triple-A Tacoma. Once an intriguing prospect in the Mariners’ system, Morban has been slowed by injuries over the past two seasons.
All five prospects the Dodgers selected on Thursday are now on the Triple-A Oklahoma City roster. The Dodgers did not lose any players in the draft.
Los Angeles placed Jharel Cotton and Ross Stripling on the 40-man roster prior to the deadline last month to protect the pair of right-handers from being eligible to be selected by other clubs.
