The Rule 5 Draft is part of MLB's collective bargaining agreement that occurs once a year at the Winter Meetings. Basically, teams get to choose minor league players from other organizations who are not on that team's 40-man roster. A team that makes a selection must add that selection to their 40-man roster; meaning if there is no room, they may not select a player. When the season starts, the selection must remain on the 25-man roster for the entire season in order for the team to have the power to option him to the minors or designate him for assignment. If he does not remain on the 25-man roster for the entire season, he must be offered back to the team from which he was selected from.
R.A. Dickey (from Minnesota): Robert Alan Dickey is a 33-year old, righthanded knuckleballer from Nashville, Tennessee. He started out his career in Texas after being drafted by the Rangers in 1996. Dickey made his major league debut in 2001 with Texas but never proved to be consistently good enough to remain in the majors. The Rangers gave him another chance in 2006 as their fifth starter after he became a knuckleball pitcher in the minor leagues in an attempt to find more success. His stay in the rotation was short-lived as he was demoted to the minors after giving up a record tying six homeruns in his first start. Last January, Dickey signed a minor league contract with the Milwaukee Brewers and spent 2007 with their triple-A affiliate; the Nashville Sounds of the Pacific Coast League. There, he compiled an impressive 12-6 record with a 3.80 era leading him to be named Pacific Coast League Pitcher of the Year. Some of his success in the minor leagues may be attributed to the fact that he faced younger hitters that are yet to develop the plate discipline of players in the major leagues making his knuckleball seem more effective than it actually is. On November 28th, he became a minor league free agent and signed with the Minnesota Twins with an invite to Spring Training only to be selected by the M's in the Rule 5 Draft about a week later.
As far as the impact that Dickey could have on the Mariners, it is assumed that he will be invited to Spring Training and given a shot at the fifth spot in the rotation should that spot still be open. In the end, this pick may not be that bad. At the least, he is a guy with some big-league experience that could step in to make some emergency starts if needed.
AAA Phase
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AA Phase
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Note: The Mariners did lose right-handed relief pitcher Juan Sandoval to the Milwaukee Brewers organization in the triple-A phase of the draft. Last year, he recorded a 5.75 era with a 2-6 record between West Tennessee (AA) and Tacoma (AAA).
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