With a full 40-man roster, the Los Angeles Dodgers were not permitted to make a selection during the Major League portion of the 2018 Rule 5 Draft, and the organization opted to pass on submitting picks during the Minor League phase.
While the Dodgers sat out the Rule 5 Draft, they lost a pair of prospects to other clubs. The Cincinnati Reds selected Connor Joe, while the Philadelphia Phillies drafted Drew Jackson. The picks cost each team $100,000, which the Dodgers received as compensation.
Jackson’s tenure with the Phillies was over before it truly began as he was promptly traded to the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for international signing bonus money.
Jackson and Joe must remain on their team’s 25-man roster for the entirety of the 2019 season, or be offered back to the Dodgers for $50,000 in the event they are removed from the active roster. Los Angeles could choose to re-acquire a Rule 5 Draft selection or allow for the player to remain with their current organization.
Joe was acquired from the Atlanta Braves in September of last year in exchange for international signing bonus pool space. He spent this season with Double-A Tulsa and Triple-A Oklahoma City, hitting a combined .299/.408/.527 with 26 doubles, 17 home runs and 55 RBI.
The Dodgers acquired Jackson in March 2017 in a deal that saw Chase De Jong traded to the Seattle Mariners. He hit .251/.356/.447 with 20 doubles, 15 home runs and 46 RBI for the Drillers this year.
Los Angeles had an opportunity to protect against possibly losing Jackson and Joe in the Rule 5 Draft, but they instead opted to add Yadier Alvarez, Matt Beaty, Edwin Ríos, Keibert Ruiz and Josh Sborz to their 40-man roster.
That coincided with Erik Goeddel, Zac Rosscup and Tim Locastro being designated for assignment, while also giving Tom Koehler his unconditional release.
