Why the Athletics Might Steer Clear of the Rule 5 Draft — and the Logic Actually Runs Deep .MH
The A’s have had success in the Rule 5 Draft in recent years, but may take a pass this offseason
The 40-man deadline passed last week and the A’s added three prospects to the roster while designating JJ Bleday for assignment. With those moves, their 40-man roster is now filled, which is the first reason that the club may stay out of the upcoming Rule 5 Draft. In order to make a selection, the team has to have room on their roster to add the selected player.
The A’s currently do not have the space for a flier prospect from another organization. However, if there happens to be an unprotected prospect that catches their eye, there could be moves made ahead of time to make the necessary room.
The other reason they may stay out of the Rule 5 Draft this winter is because of right-hander Luis Medina.
Acquired from the New York Yankees as part of the Frankie Montas deal a few years back, Medina missed the entirety of the 2025 campaign after undergoing Tommy John surgery in late 2024. During the final weekend of the season, he was facing hitters in the cage, including manager Mark Kotsay, who said, “Medina looked great.
“For a young man that’s grinding through the rehab, I thought today was awesome for him to be able to get out on that mound, to face two hitters, throw 25 plus pitches, and come off that mound with a smile. Says a lot about the work he put in. Really proud of real proud of him today.
“He’ll go into the off-season now, get some rest, and be ready to come to spring training, and, you know, there’s definitely an opportunity for him to be a part of this thing.”
How Medina Fits on the Roster in 2026
We followed up at that time and asked if his role would likely be more centered as a bullpen piece, being that he’s out of options heading into 2026, and the A’s skipper said that’s something they’d have to dig into during the offseason.
Given that he’s going to be entering his first season coming off of TJ and he’ll have a little bit of an innings limit, along with him still trying to find him footing in the big leagues, the most likely scenario here is that he’s gearing up for a bullpen role next year.
The rotation has plenty of candidates that are likely further along than Medina at this point in time, and would be able to provide more innings over the course of a season. The bullpen is the path of least resistance foe Medina finding a role on the club next season.
With him being out of options, that means that he has to stay on the big-league roster for the entirety of the season (really forever at this point), or be subject to waivers where any team can claim him. Essentially, it’s like having a Rule 5 guy on the roster already, only if the A’s decide not to roster him there’s a chance they’ll be able to keep him if he passes through waivers.
Of course, it’s not unheard of for teams to grab two Rule 5 picks, and the A’s could certainly end up making a pick this winter, but what makes that unlikely is that they would have to lose another player to clear that spot in the first place, and there’s no guarantee that Medina or the Rule 5 pick would stick on the roster. In that scenario, they’d be out three players instead of just the one (Medina).
As the roster improves overall, there will be more risk involved in adding Rule 5 players since the players on the roster are just generally better players than when the team was losing 100+ games a season. At the same time, there can be some hidden gems to be found in the Rule 5 Draft, so you never want to just completely overlook it, either.
