NASHVILLE, Tenn. – In addition to having top priority on the waiver wire and owning the first overall pick in the June first-year player draft, general manager Matt Klentak and the Philadelphia Phillies will select first in the annual Rule 5 draft, which will be held Thursday morning at the conclusion of the Dec. 7-10 winter meetings.
With the eighth overall pick during last year’s Dec. 11 draft, the Phillies selected Odubel Herrera from the Texas Rangers. Six selections later, left-hander Andy Oliver was plucked from the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Herrera, 23, went on to hit .297/.344/.418 with 30 doubles, three triples, eight home runs and 41 runs batted in over 147 games and 537 plate appearances. He led the team in batting average, runs scored (64) and doubles.
Oliver, 28, did not make the Phillies’ Opening Day roster despite going 2-0 with a 3.55 ERA and 22 strikeouts over 12 2/3 innings out of the bullpen during spring training. He chose to elect free agency after being outrighted to Triple-A Lehigh Valley on April 4.
If the Phillies are looking to expedite their rebuilding process under the new regime, the Rule 5 draft could be the proper platform to do so, providing the right selection is made.
The Rule 5 draft features players who were not on an organization’s 40-man roster four or five years after signing at either 19 or 18 years of age, respectively. If a player is chosen, the selecting club must pay $50,000 to the team from which they were selected. The player must remain on the selecting team’s Major League roster for the entirety of the upcoming season, otherwise they will be offered back to their former club for $25,000.
Teams draft in reverse order based on standings from the previous season, however selection is not required if there is not room on their respective 40-man rosters.
Perhaps the most well-recognized Rule 5 selection by the Phillies is 2008 World Series champion Shane Victorino. On Dec. 13, 2004, the Phillies drafted Victorino from the Los Angeles Dodgers with the seventh overall pick.
In eight seasons donning red pinstripes, Victorino was a three-time Gold Glove Award recipient and a two-time All-Star, batting .279/.345/.439 with 332 extra-base hits over 987 games.
CSNPhilly.com’s Jim Salisbury believes 23-year-old outfielder Tyler Goeddel could be a possible selection by the Phillies on Thursday. Goeddel had 17 doubles, 10 triples, 12 home runs, 72 runs batted in and 28 stolen bases over 123 games in 2015 with the Montgomery Biscuits, the Double-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays.
If the Phillies’ Rule 5 selection resembles anything close to the production value that Herrera put up last season, it would surely be considered another successful pick by the organization.
Herrera batted 94-277 (.339) over his final 79 games to raise his season average from .243 to .297. This allowed him to become the first Major League player since Ichiro Suzuki in 2001 to hit at least .297 with 30 doubles and 16 stolen bases in a season. Additionally, Herrera was the first Phillies rookie since Scott Rolen in 1997 to have at least 30 doubles and 15 stolen bases.
Herrera was one of 10 players who made their Major League debut last season for the Phillies, which is the club’s most in a single season since 15 debuted in red pinstripes in 1996, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
The Phillies’ 40-man roster currently stands at 38 players.
Matt Rappa (@mattrappasports) is managing editor of Philliedelphia.com.
