Reds steal Yankees pitching prospect, A's infielder in Rule 5 Draft

The Rule 5 Draft is always entertaining. When teams leave top prospects unprotected, there are bound to be other other clubs who come along and grab them up. The Athletics and New York Yankees found that out firsthand after the Cincinnati Reds collected two new players during the 2024 Rule 5 Draft.

For those unfamiliar, if a player who has four (or sometimes five) years of professional experience is left off a team's 40-man roster, he's eligible to selected in the Rule 5 Draft. That's why the Reds added Tyler Callihan and Luis Mey to the 40-man roster earlier this offseason. Pitcher Jose Acuña was left unprotected, but thankfully no team picked him up.

Reds steal Yankees pitching prospect, A's infielder in Rule 5 Draft

The Rule 5 Draft is broken down into two parts. There's the major league portion and the minor league portion. During Round 1 of the major league portion, the Reds selected Cooper Bowman from the (soon to be Sacramento) Athletics. The Reds did not make a selection in Round 2, but did add New York Yankees prospect Joel Valdez during the minor league portion of the Rule 5 Draft.

Bowman was a former Yankees prospect himself. Selected in the fourth-round back in 2021, Bowman played his college ball at the University of Louisville. The ex-Cardinal has plus-speed, but hit just .262/.351/.419 splitting time Double and Triple-A. In order to remain with the Reds, Bowman must be part of the team's active (26-man) roster throughout the entire season or will be offered back to the A's.

Valdez was once part of the Philadelphia Phillies organization, but found his way to the Yankees in 2022. Valdez made 36 appearances last season and posted a 28.6% strikeout rate, but walked 11.5% of the batters he faced. Both Valdez and Bowman will be competing for a roster when the team arrives in Goodyear early next spring.

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