Blue Jays pitcher Spencer Miles is proving that impact players can still be found through the MLB Rule 5 Draft. More importantly for Toronto, he is beginning to revive a franchise tradition that once helped shape the club’s identity.
As a young franchise, way back in the 1970’s and early 1980’s, Jays GM Pat Gillick used the Rule 5 as a primary building tool, often finding future All-Stars among a long list of players who seemed to be overlooked by the remaining teams in MLB. The expression “lightning never strikes the same place twice” definitely didn’t apply to the Blue Jays as an MLB franchise in the early 1980’s.
A look back at who was acquired by Gillick, Paul Beeston, and the early front-office innovators with the Toronto Blue Jays reveals a who’s who of the team’s competitive foundation. First baseman Willie Upshaw (Rule 5, 1977) was a cornerstone presence in the Jays’ infield for the first half of the 80s, helping to lead the team to its first American League East title in 1985. He was the first, in what became a yearly addition of a player, having legitimate shot of landing on the Jays active roster through the Rule 5 draft.
Rule 5 Draft Leading To Blue Jays’ Division Title and MVP
Other mainstays included 1987 American League MVP George Bell, originally signed by Philly but taken by Gillick and the Jays in the 1980 Rule 5. Then came reliable long relief men Jim Gott (1981), Jim Acker (1982), and fan-favorite future All-Star third baseman Kelly Gruber (1985). The last of the string of Rule 5 picks to find success as a Toronto Blue Jay was in 1985, when shortstop Manuel (Manny) Lee was scooped from the Houston Astros.
Then, by most measures, radio silence, that is, the Rule 5 picks were made, but with little to no star, or even star(ter) power to speak of. Perhaps Gillick and co. had felt tapped out with the rule 5 and turned their attention elsewhere, like building a 2x World Championship Blue Jays team in 1992 and 1993, both solidified through crafty trades and free-agent signings. Those were the golden years, and the foundation, much of it anyway, was constructed through players added through the Rule 5. At that point, though, there wasn’t a hefty need to find any lost gems in the Rule 5 pile.
Years of Rule 5 Silence
The Jays tried, each and every year, to at least acquire someone at the Rule 5 deadline, but the names read more like a trivia category of MLB journeymen than anyone who might have donned the cover of Sports Illustrated.
So what exactly is the Rule 5? Well, as it functions now, as of last December, every club without a full 40-man roster is allowed to select, or draft, certain non-40-man roster players from other clubs. The draft takes place in reverse order from how the standings panned out the previous season.
The key piece is that players drafted/signed at age 18, or younger, International or otherwise, need to be added to the club’s 40-man roster within five seasons, or they become eligible for Rule 5 draft selection. Those who signed at age 19 or older must be protected for 4 seasons. The drafting club is expected to pay $100k to the original club for the rights to the Rule 5-drafted player.
