The Rule 5 Draft has officially arrived and it is an arena where the Atlanta Braves have historically done pretty well. While the Braves haven't made any all-time Rule 5 steals, they generally do their due diligence and have made some impactful moves in the past including snagging reliever Dan Winkler who put together a decent stretch with Atlanta especially in 2017 and 2018.
In anticipation of the Rule 5, the Braves needed to figure out who they were going to protect from it by adding them to the 40-man and they ultimately landed on just protecting pitcher Rolddy Munoz. That leaves a number of potential prospects exposed including ranked pitching prospect Luis De Avila who happens to be a Rule 5 selection (in the minor league phase) himself from 2021.
With their picks in the Rule 5, the Braves added righthander Anderson Pilar from the Marlins' minor league ranks as well as shortstop Christian Cairo from Cleveland's prospect hoard.
#Braves Select Two Players in Rule Five Draft: pic.twitter.com/FPRanTZhid
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) December 11, 2024
Rule 5 Draft sees the Braves add reliever Anderson Pilar and shortstop Christian Cairo
Pilar is the type of guy that typically gets picked in Rule 5 Drafts. He is a bit long in the tooth as a prospect, but has shown an increased ability to miss bats down in the minors as a bullpen arm which Atlanta will happily take with Joe Jimenez out and AJ Minter potentially moving on. In 58 innings in 2024 across three levels, Pilar posted a 2.64 ERA and struck out 71 batters against just 13 walks.
Cairo comes by way of the Guardians organization and is a bit less typical a Rule 5 pick, but highlights how much Atlanta wants to build out their minor league depth. His .680 OPS last season isn't anything to write home about, but he is an extremely versatile infield defender and has experience at Triple-A, so he could be in the conversation for a bench spot or injury call-up if the need arises.
Atlanta did not lose any players in the major league portion of the Rule 5 draft, so Luis De Avila remains in the Braves farm system.
In the minor league portion of the Rule 5 where eligible players who are not even on a Triple-A roster can be selected, Atlanta picked RHP Samuel Mejia from the Rays, shortstop Lizandro Espinoza from the Cardinals, and catcher Dylan Shockley from the Pirates. For the moment. all of those guys are just interesting depth pieces, although that could easily change based on the Braves' Rule 5 history.