Here’s how the Red Sox were affected by the 2023 Rule 5 Draft
The Red Sox welcomed two players to their organization and lost several minor leaguers on Wednesday.
The Red Sox‘ farm system looks a little different now that the Rule 5 Draft is over.
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First, the Chicago White Sox selected Triple-A lefthander Shane Drohan with the fourth overall pick. Around the time of the Rule 5 Draft deadline, the Red Sox were expected to protect Drohan alongside Luis Perales and Wikelman Gonzalez, but they ultimately did not.
Drohan dominated in Double-A Portland with a 1.38 ERA and a 0.82 WHIP, which earned him a spot in last season’s MLB Futures’ Game that he declined due to injury. But he struggled upon his promotion to Triple-A, and finished his time with the Red Sox as its No. 19 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline.
With the sixth overall selection, the St. Louis Cardinals chose Triple-A righthander Ryan Fernandez. Fernandez had dealt with injuries throughout his career, but still rose from Low-A Salem at the beginning of last season to Triple-A Worcester by the end of it. In that time, he had a 4.14 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP in 54.1 innings while showing very promising stuff.
The Red Sox chose not to select anyone with their pick in the major league portion of the Rule 5 Draft. But once the draft ended, they traded with the New York Mets for Triple-A righthander Justin Slaten, who was selected with the eighth pick from the Texas Rangers.
The Red Sox sent righthander Ryan Ammons, who was their tenth-round pick this year, and cash considerations to the Mets in exchange for Slaten.
Slaten pitched as a reliever in both Double-A and Triple-A during last season and averaged a 2.87 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP across both leagues. He will be on the 40-man roster and cannot be sent down to the minors due to the Rule 5 Draft rules.
The Red Sox also drafted Triple-A Catcher Mickey Gasper from the New York Yankees. Gasper played in both Double-A and Triple-A and has caught for Richard Fitts, one of the players the Red Sox acquired on Tuesday when they traded Alex Verdugo.
Gasper batted .246/.361/.375 with 7 home runs and 28 RBIs in 74 games across both leagues this season. He was the only player the Red Sox selected in the minor league portion of the Rule 5 Draft.
The Red Sox did lose several players in the minor league portion. In the second round, they lost four players from Single-A Salem: righthander Jose Ramirez to the White Sox, catcher Johnfrank Salazar to the Cardinals, outfielder Alexis Hernandez to the Toronto Blue Jays and righthander Railin Perez to the Houston Astros.
The Red Sox lost one player in each of the following three rounds. Double-A righthander Ryan Miller went to the Los Angeles Angels in Round 2, Triple-A infielder Ryan Fitzgerald was chosen by the Kansas City Royals in Round 3 and the Cincinnati Reds selected High-A righthander Brock Bell in Round 4 just five spots before the Draft ended.
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