Unlike other years, there is a chance the Rule 5 Draft won't even happen this year. A prolonged lockout when the Collective Bargaining Agreement ends on December 1 would mean that any player moved to the 40-Man Roster would not be able to play minor league ball in the Spring of 2027. In the meantime, in case the Rule 5 Draft does happen, the full list of Mets 2026 Rule 5 eligibles are below.
INF Jefferson Rojas. Acquired from the Cubs for for RHP Clay Holmes and OF Tyrone Taylor, Rojas hit 12 homers in 35 Mets minor league games with 37 RBIs with a 19.5 K rate. He played 3B (16 games), SS (9 games) and 2B (6 games). As soon as the trade was made, he was named the #1 Mets Prospect. He is a lock to be added to the 40-man.
Catcher Chris Suero. After helping Binghamton win the 2025 Eastern League Championship, Chris struggled in 2026 with a hard time staying above the Mendoza Line. Still as a catcher that can also play the outfield and first base, can steal bases and hit homer runs, Chris could be a worthwhile Rule 5 gamble for some team.
Pitcher Jack Wenninger. After going 12-6 for Double-A Binghamton with a 2.92 ERA and 147 Ks in 135.2 innings, Jack did not fair as well in Triple-A Syracuse, 5-8, 4.54 ERA, 123 Ks in 115 innings. He is still the Mets 10th ranked prospect on the Mets News and Links Composite Prospect List. Teams always need pitching. It would not be a surprised if he was protected on the 40-man roster.
Pitcher Gary Gill Hill. Another player obtained at the 2026 trade deadline, Gill Hill is the 20th ranked Mets Prospect. He had 4.05 ERA for Binghamton and Syracuse after coming over in the Freddy Peralta trade with 32 Ks in 31.1 innings, 6 starts.
Infielders: Randy Guzman. When able to stay healthy, Randy has shown good power numbers like his 12 homers and 41 RBIs for St. Lucie in the first half of 2026. Unfortunately, he was limited to 7 games for Brooklyn and 5 games for the FCL Mets in the second half. He might be someone that a team may claim in the minor league portion.
In addition, players not added to the 38-Man AAA Roster will be eligible for the minor league portion of the draft.
Here is the full list of eligible Rule 5 players:
Pitchers: Ryan Ammons; Eli Ankeney; Justin Armbruester; Juan Arnaud; Brett Banks; Jose Chirinos; Irving Cota; Candido Cuevas; Felipe De La Cruz; Jorge De Leon; Joel DÃaz; Zach Franklin; Saul Garcia; Gary Gill Hill; Cristofer Gomez; Noah Hall; Dakota Hawkins; Wyatt Hudepohl; Bryce Jenkins; Jonathan Jimenez; Gregori Louis ; Miguel Mejias; Ernesto Mercedes; Edgar Moreta; Douglas Orellana; Cesar Rivera; Christian Rodriguez ; Luis R. Rodriguez; Ben Simon; Austin Troesser; Jack Wenninger; Calvin Ziegler;
Catchers: Ronald Hernandez
Infielders: Ryan Clifford; Randy Guzman; Nick Lorusso; Jacob Reimer; Jefferson Rojas; D'Andre Smith
Outfielders: Yohairo Cuevas; Estarling Mercado; Yonatan Henriquez;
In addition, any veteran minor league free agents signed will also be eligible for the Draft.
Rule 5 Draft details:
Per MLB.com: "Players first signed at age 18 must be added to 40-man rosters within five seasons or they become eligible to be drafted by other organizations through the Rule 5 process. Players signed at 19 years or older have to be protected within four seasons. Clubs pay $100,000 to select a player in the Major League phase of the Rule 5 Draft. If that player doesn't stay on the 25-man roster for the full season, he must be offered back to his former team for $50,000."
There are two portions, the Major League portion and the Minor League portion. Teams can place players on their AAA Roster to exempt them from the Minor League portion. Once selected, those players do not need to be retained on a team's MLB roster.
Dodger Blue: "Teams with a full 38-man Triple-A roster are not permitted to make any picks. Each player taken in the Minor league portion of the Rule 5 Draft requires a $24,500 payment to be made to the original team."
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