Phillies nab Jackson, lose no one in Rule 5 draft

As the 2018 Winter Meetings come to a close, the last order of business in Las Vegas for the Phillies front office was the Rule 5 draft.

The Phillies luckily did not lose any prospects that were left off their 40-man roster and were able to add the Dodgers No. 19 prospect Drew Jackson.

Jackson, a shortstop, is 25 and slashed .251/.356/.447 with 15 home runs for the Dodgers double-A affiliate in 2018. Jackson will most likely be traded for cash sometime this week as the Phillies do not have a spot on their 40-man roster to spare as they continue to wheel and deal players this offseason.

To become eligible for the Rule 5 draft, a player must have spent five seasons with a team starting at their age 18 season or spent four seasons with a team starting at age 19, and were not added to their team’s 40-man roster. The player must remain on his new team’s 25-man roster for the entire year- unless he get injured- or he will be sent back to his original team.

The process pften affects international signees and players drafted out of high school who are in the upper levels of the minors. The Phillies No. 3 prospect RHP Adonis Medina

was eligible for the draft, but he was wisely added to the Phillies 40-man roster ahead of the draft.

The Phillies have had success with the Rule 5 draft in the past. In 2004 they selected Shane Victorino from the Dodgers. Victorino became a main-stay in center field for the Phillies during their dominance of the National League East from 2007-2011.

Ironically, the Phillies traded him back to the Dodgers at the deadline in 2012. The Phillies current center fielder, Odubel Herrera was also selected in this draft in 2014 from the Rangers. In four season with the Phillies, Herrera has slashed .279/.336/.428 with 59 home runs and 112 doubles. He was an all star in 2016.