The largely uneventful winter meetings are about to come to a close, but before everyone disperses, teams will engage in the Rule 5 Draft.
For those who don't know, those who are eligible to be selected in this year's draft include international prospects or high school players signed or drafted in 2014, or college players taken in 2015. Only players who are not on their team's 40-man rosters can be selected.
Teams pay $100,000 to select a player, and they have to keep him on their 25-man roster throughout the entirety of the 2019 season, otherwise, he will be returned to his former team for $50,000.
MORE: MLB winter meetings tracker — Follow completed deals, rumors and more here
Teams can pass on a pick in a round, but if they do so they cannot select for the remainder of the draft. Teams also can't pick unless they have open spots on their 40-man roster.
Recent notable Rule 5 Draft selections include Brad Keller, Odubel Herrera, and Marwin Gonzalez, while Josh Hamilton and Johan Santana are known to be two of the best picks of all-time.
Sporting News provided live updates of the 2018 Rule 5 Draft below.
When is the Rule 5 Draft?
The draft was at 12 p.m. ET on Thursday, Dec. 13. By virtue of having the league's worst record, the Orioles will be on the clock first.
Rule 5 Draft: Live updates
Round 1:
Orioles: Richie Martin (SS, Oakland). Martin hit .300 with 25 stolen bases last season in AA. He was a first-round pick of the Athletics in 2015.
I'm so disappointed to not hear Roy Krasik's voice on the Rule 5. Roy is a gentleman and a scholar! One of my favorite people in baseball over the years. Thanks Roy.
— John Manuel (@johnmanuelNC) December 13, 2018
Royals: Sam McWilliams (P, Tampa Bay). 4.38 ERA over three levels last season, with most of his time spent in AA, where he made 15 starts.
White Sox: Jordan Romano (P, Toronto). Romano had a 4.11 ERA and 1.201 WHIP in 26 starts, with 25 of those coming in AA and the other in AAA. (Traded to Rangers)
Marlins: Riley Ferrell (P, Houston). A third-round pick of the Astros, Ferrell has closer potential, finishing 28 games last season and saving nine of them.
Tigers: Reed Garrett (P, Texas). Garrett pitched in 51 games, all out of the bullpen, and posted a 2.84 ERA (1.632 WHIP) in 16 AAA appearances.
Reds: Connor Joe (1B, Dodgers). Hit 17 home runs with a .935 OPS across two levels for the Dodgers while serving primarily as a corner infielder and designated hitter.
Rangers: Chris Ellis (P, St. Louis). Ellis had a 1.177 WHIP over 79 innings in AAA in the Cardinals organization last season. (Traded to Royals)
Giants: Travis Bergen (P, Toronto). A seventh-round pick out of Kennesaw State in 2015, Bergen was lights out in high-A and AA in 2018, posting a 0.95 ERA with an 11.8 K/9.
Blue Jays: Elvis Luciano (P, Kansas City). Luciano is one of the more intriguing picks. He is 18, hasn't pitched above rookie league, and is only eligible due to a renegotiated contract, but was ranked as the No. 23 prospect in the Royals farm system according to MLB Pipeline. Will be interesting to see what the Blue Jays opt to do with him.
Phillies: Drew Jackson (SS, Dodgers). Jackson can play both middle infield positions and had a .356 OPS in AA last season. (Traded to Orioles)
Diamondbacks: Nick Green (P, Yankees). A starting pitcher than hasn't spent much time above high-A, Green had a 3.32 ERA but posted just 6.9 K/9 and 4/3 BB/9 in 2018.
Mariners: Brandon Brennan (P, Colorado). Brennan had a 9.5 K/9 and 1.085 WHIP over 44 appearances in AA and AAA.
Round 2:
Giants: Drew Ferguson (OF, Houston). Ferguson, who played most of last season in AAA, hit .305 and had 61 strikeouts to 46 walks.
That concludes the MLB portion of the Rule 5 Draft.
Now the real fun begins. MINOR LEAGUE RULE 5 FEVER!!!!!!!!!
— JJ Cooper (@jjcoop36) December 13, 2018
And both phases of the Rule 5 draft are done. Relevant statistics ...
— Ryan Fagan (@ryanfagan) December 13, 2018
- 56 players drafted
- 35 minutes long
AAA phase
Round 1:
Orioles: Taylor Grover (P, Cincinnati)
Royals: Chris Rabago (C, Yankees)
White Sox: Jordan George (1B, Pittsburgh)
Tigers: Tyler Hill (CF, Boston)
Padres: Cristofer Melendez (P, White Sox)
Rangers: Jeffeson Medina (P, Baltimore)
Giants: Peter Maris (3B, Tampa Bay)
Blue Jays: David Garner (P, Cubs)
Mets: Braxton Lee (LF, Miami)
Twins: Dusten Knight (P, San Francisco)
Phillies: Gilmael Troya (P, Yankees)
Angels: Matt Esparza (P, Cleveland)
Diamondbacks: Jeffrey Baez (OF, San Francisco)
Nationals: Chuck Taylor (CF, Seattle)
Pirates: Randolph Gassaway (OF, Baltimore)
Cardinals: John Fasola (P, Texas)
Braves: Jason Creasy (P, Arizona)
Rays: Ryan Thompson (P, Houston)
Indians: Yapson Gomez (P, Cubs)
Cubs: Luis Lugo (P, Kansas City)
Brewers: Julio Garcia (SS, Angels)
A's: Corban Joseph (2B, Baltimore)
Yankees: Adonis De La Cruz (P, Seattle)
Astros: Alejandro Flores (C, Washington)
Red Sox: Anyelo Gomez (P, Yankees)
Round 2:
Giants: Sam Moll (P, Toronto)
Mets: Chris Mazza (P, Seattle)
Pirates: Winston Nicacio (P, St. Louis)
Cardinals: Alberto Triunfel (SS, Angels)
Braves: Rafael De Paula (P, Cincinnati)
Rays: Ian Gardeck (P, San Francisco)
Indians: Wilson Garcia (1B, Baltimore)
Cubs: Rafelin Lorenzo (C, Pittsburgh)
Brewers: Alexander Alvarez (C, Tampa Bay)
A's: Mark Payton (CF, Yankees)
Red Sox: Andrew Schwaab (P, Detroit)
Round 3:
Mets: Mitch Ghelfi (C, Angels)
Braves: Riley Unroe (SS, Angels)
Rays: Cristofer Ogando (P, Arizona)
Cubs: Alexander Vargas (P, Yankees)
A's: Anthony Miller (P, Cleveland)
Round 4:
Rays: Hector Figueroa (P, Cleveland)