The Minor-League phase of the 2022 Rule 5 Draft was an active one for the Yankees, who made one selection but lost five right-handed pitchers and one infielder over seven rounds.
The Yankees’ lone selection was LHP Pablo Mujica, who had a 3.13 ERA in 31 2/3 innings with the Arizona Complex League Royals last season. The 21-year-old was originally an international free agent signing of the Royals in July 2018 and spent 2019 in the Dominican Summer League before missing 2020 due to the pandemic canceling the MiLB season and not pitching in 2021.
As for the losses, the Yankees saw Baltimore select RHP Alfred Vega and the Dodgers take RHP Yon Castro in the first round), Arizona select RHP Denny Larrondo and Boston choose RHP Ryan Miller in the second round), and Tampa Bay grab RHP Nelson Alvarez in the third round.
Also, Philadelphia selected infielder Oliver Dunn in the seventh round.
Vega, 21, signed as an international free agent in 2018 and made 40 of his 41 appearances in the system in either the FCL/GCL or DSL, with one four-inning spot start for Low-A Tampa in 2021. He has a career 3.10 ERA in 139 1/3 innings.
Castro, 23, was also a 2018 international signee, and he spent 2018-21 in rookie ball before moving up to Tampa for 2022, where he was 2-6 with a 3.59 ERA, one save, and 103 strikeouts in 87 2/3 innings over 22 games (20 starts).
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Larrondo, 20, was signed in 2018 and didn’t pitch in 2022. His entire career (in 2019 and 2021) was spent in the GCL/FCL, and he has a 4.81 ERA in 58 career innings.
Miller signed a minor-league deal with the Yankees mid-season and was 2-3 with a 5.75 ERA in 25 games at High-A Hudson Valley, striking out 50 in 36 innings. The 26-year-old was originally a sixth-round pick of Arizona back in 2018 out of Clemson, but he was released in 2020 and pitched in the independent Frontier League in 2021.
Alvarez, 24, was originally a 13th-round pick in 2019 out of the University of South Florida. He spent the last two seasons at High-A Hudson Valley, posting a 5.28 ERA in 93 2/3 innings, and he had an 8.10 ERA in 10 innings in the Arizona Fall League.
Dunn, 25, was an 11th-round pick in 2019 out of Utah. He played 36 games between Double-A Somerset and Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre last season, hitting .288 with three home runs and 18 RBI, and he is a career .223 hitter in 159 games.
The minor-league phase of the Rule 5 Draft was modified this season, as instead of a Triple-A and Double-A phase, the process was streamlined into one phase, with teams paying $24,000 each to make selections – and unlike the
And, this year, it concluded a day where the Yankees also saw RHPs Wilking Rodriguez (Cardinals) and Zach Greene (Mets) selected in the Major-League phase.
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