They had to pay $25,000 to the Braves to get him back when the Braves didn't keep him on the 25 man roster.
You have to get through waivers first (which if you thought they would make it, why protect them in the first place?). And teams pay $50K to the other team, so in theory it wouldn't have cost them anything, but apparently did. You'd think there'd be more information out there on such an oddity.
I don't think he went through waivers. This is how I think it went down. Braves accidentally left him unprotected. Braves selected him in Rule 5 and paid Braves $50,000 Braves cut him from 25 man Roster. His former team, the Braves, had right to pay Braves $25,000 to reclaim him or he would be placed on waiver wire. Since former team, the Braves, paid the Braves $25,000 they got him back, he never had to placed on waiver wire.
I think they paid MLB $50K to settle the screwup. He'd have to pass through waivers before being offered back to his old team.
They may have had MLB fix it, but I was under the understanding that teams losing a player have first crack at reclaiming him at the cost of $25K before player is placed on waiver wire. Here is an excerpt from http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/minorleagues/rule_5.jsp?mc=faq "If the player does not remain on the Major League roster, he is offered back to the team from which he was selected for $25,000. If his original team declines, the receiving team may waive the player." Assuming MLB.com is right and the Braves didn't work out a resolution with MLB, the assumption of events in my previous post seems to fit what could have happened without him hitting waiver wire.
Baseball America: Rule 5 preview: 20 players to watch Here are the Rule 5-eligible players by organization. Or, at least the organizations that have a list compiled, whether by a blogger or a beat writer. Indians Red Sox (also includes those eligible from 2014-17) Pirates Cubs Mets Rangers Giants Orioles Twins Tigers (click the "2013 Rule 5 Eligible" tab) Blue Jays Phillies (2nd-to-last post on page 1)
Baseball America: Surprise player available in Rule 5 draft The Yankees signed Cuban lefthander Omar Luis last year for a $4 million bonus, with an official contract date of July 1, 2012, the day before the inaugural $2.9 million international bonus pools went into effect. However, Luis and several other Cuban players also represented by Praver Shapiro Sports Management who were claiming permanent residency in Haiti ran into visa issues and were unable to get into the United States. When Luis arrived in the U.S. this year after spending eight months in Haiti, an unknown issue popped up in his physical, which led the Yankees to void the contract. Luis signed a new contract with the Yankees for a reduced bonus—$2.5 million—on April 9, 2013. Since Luis signed his second contract with his original team and the Yankees did not place him on their 40-man roster, he is available in the Rule 5 draft, which is Dec. 12. It may be a long shot that any team will draft Luis, however, given how far away he is from contributing. Luis, who turned 21 last month, struck out 43 batters in 31 2/3 innings in the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League, but walked nearly a batter per inning with 29 walks and a 5.68 ERA. This has happened before. Luis’ case is not unprecedented. When the Brewers drafted righthander Cody Scarpetta out of high school with their 11th-round pick in 2007, Scarpetta initially signed for $325,000, but the Brewers voided that contract and re-signed him a few weeks later for $125,000 when he needed to have surgery on a pre-existing injury to his right index finger. Scarpetta became eligible for the Rule 5 draft the following year, and after he spent the 2009 season in low Class A Wisconsin, the Brewers placed him on their 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 draft. The Reds went through a similar situation with lefthander Ismael Guillon when they signed him out of Venezuela in Oct. 2008, voided his contract due to a torn elbow ligament that required Tommy John surgery, and then signed him to a new contract for a reduced amount in January 2009. After Guillon spent most of the 2012 season in the Rookie-level Pioneer League and made four starts in the low Class A Midwest League, the Reds placed him on their 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 draft. Mariners infielder Martin Esteilon Peguero is another example, as he initially signed with the Mariners out of the Dominican Republic for $2.9 million in Dec. 2010, then a few weeks later signed a new contract with the Mariners for $1.1 million. The reason for Peguero’s reduced bonus has never become public, but he is not on their 40-man roster and is subject to the Rule 5 draft, though he has descended into non-prospect status and won’t be selected.
This is not correct. MLB.com isn't helping here with a confusing way of explaining it and leaving out a step. First of all, teams don't "waive" players. Waivers are best thought of as permission. Teams request waivers from other teams to complete a transaction. The other teams waive (or don't waive) their right to prevent the transaction. For example, take Nate Freiman. Last spring we requested waivers to outright Freiman. In other words, we asked permission from the other 29 teams to send Freiman outright (i.e., off the 40-man roster) to the minor leagues. The Oakland A's placed a waiver claim, i.e., they did not give their permission for us to outright him to the minors. Therefore, Oakland was assigned Freiman. Had Oakland and all the other clubs granted waivers, only then would Freiman have been offered back to San Diego.
That is along the lines of what I thought. Thanks for clarifying. No question MLB makes it more confusing than they should to the average fan.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none" lang="en"><p>.<a href="https://twitter.com/jtexlc">@jtexlc</a> Scout told me there's no clear-cut No. 1 guy for Rule 5 Draft, but the Astros will take a flier on someone. Why not?</p>— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) <a href="https://twitter.com/brianmctaggart/statuses/410119389204062209">December 9, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Rule 5 Draft Preview PLAYERS WHO CAN HELP NOW Pitchers Marcos Mateo RHP Cubs Pop-up prospect has big league experience and is pitching great in the Dominican League this winter Zach Thornton RHP Pirates Reliever with a funky delivery gets loads of groundballs and features excellent control Brian Moran LHP Mariners Probably a one-out lefty in that he’s great against lefties but gets ripped by righties Stephen Kohlscheen RHP Mariners Stuff may be a little light, but hard to argue with excellent results at Double-A Marcus Hatley RHP Cubs 6-foot-5 reliever has plus fastball with downhill plane and is pitching well in Mexico Tommy Kahnle RHP Yankees Combines a plus fastball with questionable control Freddy Lewis LHP Yankees Velocity keeps ticking upward, and scouts saw him well in the Arizona Fall League Matt Loosen RHP Cubs A starter in the minors, his stuff may play up with a move to the bullpen as a Rule 5er Kevin Munson RHP Diamondbacks With a plus fastball and tick-above-average slider, he has chance to help a club in relief Boone Whiting RHP Cardinals No. 5-type starter has fringe stuff but survives because of pitchability and competitiveness Alex Sogard LHP Astros Hard-throwing lefty has two plus pitches with fastball and breaking ball, but minus control Jake Buchanan RHP Astros Groundball machine throws strikes with an average assortment Hitters Darrell Ceciliani OF Mets No clear carrying tool, but he has three average tools that could help as extra outfielder Mike Freeman 2B/UTIL Diamondbacks Serious concerns about his bat, but grinder can play many positions reasonably well Jae-Hoon Ha OF Cubs Solid center fielder who draws walks and gets on base who could fit as backup outfielder Brian Fletcher 1B/OF Royals Defensive concerns both at 1B and LF, but he does have some of best power available in draft Carlos Perez C Astros Hard for a catcher to stick as a Rule 5 pick, but Perez could serve as backup catcher right now PLAYERS WHO CAN HELP LATER Pitchers Angel Nesbitt RHP Tigers Think a skinnier Bruce Rondon with similar stuff, but he hasn’t pitched above Class A Tyler Ybarra LHP Blue Jays History of success and 93-95 mph fastball, but has yet to pitch beyond Class A and has iffy control Danny Burawa RHP Yankees Sits at 95 mph most nights, but lacks a second pitch and strike zone jumps around on him Brody Colvin RHP Phillies One-time top prospect has lost luster, and now he may be a reclamation project for a team with good old reports Matt Lollis RHP Padres Fastball may grade as an 80, as he runs it up to 98 mph, but he was hit hard as reliever in 2013 Hector Nelo RHP Dodgers A minor league Rule 5 pick in 2012, could jump to MLB Rule 5 status with a near-100 mph fastball Omar Luis RHP Yankees Renegotiated contract makes $2.5 million man eligible for Rule 5, but he hasn’t pitched above short-season yet Hitters Junior Arias OF Reds Hit tool may grade as a 20, but with 15 HR and 60 SB, he has rare power-speed combo Marco Hernandez SS Cubs Not many better SS prospects have been available in recent years, but he’s not ready to play in big leagues Brett Eibner OF Royals Power-speed center fielder has always had contact problems, but mechanical change got him going in June
I need a quick refresher: (1) Can one team lose an unlimited number of players in the Rule 5 Draft? Or can only so many players be taken from the same farm system? (2) How does the minor league segment of the Rule 5 Draft work? How many players can each team protect for that segment of the draft? Thanks in advance.
Would think taking Thornton would be an easy way to make an addition to bolster our pen. Any rumblings who we may take?
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>The <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23Padres&src=hash">#Padres</a> will have the <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23No&src=hash">#No</a>. 1 pick in the Rule 5 draft today after the Anthony Bass trade and are expected to take LHP</p>— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) <a href="https://twitter.com/BNightengale/statuses/411114412523933696">December 12, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
