Where will the Phillies select in the Rule 5 Draft?
The MLB Winter Meetings are officially underway, with rumors galore. Speculation is rampant regarding where top players such as Shohei Ohtani, Josh Hader, Juan Soto, Dylan Cease, and Corbin Burnes, to name a few, will either sign or possibly be traded.
The Philadelphia Phillies have given the impression that they will not be making any blockbuster signings or trades following the re-signing of Aaron Nola on Nov. 19. They have a core consisting of Bryce Harper, Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber, J.T. Realmuto, Nick Castellanos, Zack Wheeler, and Aaron Nola that is experienced and aiming to win a World Series.
During the Winter Meetings, the Rule 5 Draft is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, Dec. 6 in Nashville, Tennessee at 1:00 p.m. CT. The Phillies have plenty of options in determining what position player to select, if any.
The Rule 5 Draft order is determined by the reverse order of the previous season’s standings. This year, the Phillies have the 24th selection in the Rule 5 Draft.
There are a lot of pitching options available in this year’s draft, and the Phillies may select a player from this position.
According to MLB.com, some possible pitching options include Angel Bastardo (Boston Red Sox, No. 16), Matt Sauer (New York Yankees, No. 25), Tanner Burns (Cleveland Guardians, No. 19), Tyler Owens (Atlanta Braves, No. 26), and Ian Bedell (St. Louis Cardinals, No. 16).
Philadelphia previously opted not to protect any players by adding them to their 40-man roster at the deadline on Nov. 14.
One of their notable prospects they didn’t protect who is Rule 5-eligible this year is outfielder Carlos De La Cruz, the No. 6 prospect in Philadelphia’s system. The 6-foot-8, 24-year-old played in Double-A for the Reading Fightin Phils during the 2023 season. He had a slash line of .259/.344/.454 and a .798 OPS in 129 contests. The outfielder finished with 25 doubles, 24 home runs, and 67 RBI.
Samuel Aldegheri, the Phillies’ No. 27 prospect, is also Rule 5-eligible. The 22-year-old pitcher spent most of last season in Single-A with the Clearwater Threshers. In 16 games and 15 starts, he compiled 67 2/3 innings and finished with a 3.86 ERA.
He had 79 strikeouts, limited hitters to a .234 average, and had a 1.32 WHIP. The left-handed Aldegheri also pitched four games in High-A for the Jersey Shore BlueClaws. He finished with 16 innings pitched, a 5.63 ERA, 20 strikeouts, a .288 average against, and a 1.50 WHIP.
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The Cardinals have placed a former Phillies target on the trading block
One area of concern that was completely flipped on its head during the 2023 season for the Philadelphia Phillies was their outfield issues.
They had one of the worst defenses in the MLB with Kyle Schwarber in left field and Nick Castellanos in right due to Bryce Harper’s recovery from elbow surgery.
Much of that went away when Harper moved to first base, allowing Schwarber to the be the full-time designated hitter and they called-up Johan Rojas from the minors who became an elite defender.
Before those internal moves, the Phillies were targeting outfield help ahead of the trade deadline. A player that they were reportedly interested in was Tyler O’Neill of the St. Louis Cardinals.
Ultimately, no deal got done as Dave Dombrowski became comfortable with the new alignment and how that projected for the remainder of the season.
However, after Rojas’ struggles at the plate during the playoffs, the president of baseball operations has hinted at them targeting some outfield depth to supplement their current roster in case the young center fielder continues to struggle hitting.
Well, if Philadelphia is interested in making a deal for O’Neill, he is available in trade conversations according to Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak.
“In the outfield, right now, if we were to play tomorrow it’d likely be [Lars Nootbaar], Tommy Edman and [Jordan Walker]. Our fourth outfielder would be Dylan Carlson. … Tyler O’Neill is somebody that we are listening to on trades,” he said on MLB Network’s Sirius XM channel.
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