What is a rule 5 player in professional baseball?

Answer 1

The Rule 5 draft occurs every MLB offseason. Players eligible to be drafted must meet two selection criteria:

1) They are not on their parent team's 40 man roster.
2) They were signed by the parent team at 18 years of age or younger and have been with the organization for 5 years OR were signed by the parent team at 19 years of age or older and have been with the organization for 4 years.

The Rule 5 draft is like any other draft with the draft order going from the team with the worst won/loss record to the team with the best won/loss record. Any player selected in the Rule 5 draft must stay on the selecting team's 25 man roster for the entire season after the draft and costs the selecting team $50,000. If the selecting team decides it does not want the player to stay on their 25 man roster for the full season, they must offer the player back to the original team for $25,000.

Once the player stays on the selecting team's 25 man roster for the full season, the Rule 5 designation goes away and the selecting team has the right to send the player to the minors or to trade the player.