Cubs add three prospects in Rule 5 Draft |
Dustin Riese
· · 3 hours ago
ORLANDO - For the most part, the 2025 MLB Winter Meetings have been slow to say the least apart from the Edwin Diaz and Kyle Schwarber signings earlier in the week. You also had Pete Alonso land a massive five-year deal with the Orioles on Wednesday, as those have been the big names to come off the board thus far.
Apart from that, things have been moving at what some call a glacial pace, which isn't what anyone expected given the uncertainty of next offseason. Despite the slow, for the most part uneventful time in Orlando, Wednesday marked the Rule 5 draft, which often brings with it a different kind of excitement. While most of the baseball world is focusing on the free-agent market and which players their teams will sign, the Rule 5 draft allows franchises to pluck players from other organizations and add them to their own. Of course, there are some requirements with the selections, which is why they have a three-round MLB portion and a six-round MILB portion. Should a team play its cards right, you could walk out of the Rule 5 draft with nine new players, but that tends never to happen. After whiffing on Gage Workman last season when the Cubs took him in the first round of the Rule 5 draft, a lot of fans were anxious to see what they would do this year, especially with some intriguing arms available. Instead, the Cubs elected to pass on their first-round selection, which would have taken them out of any additional selections in the MLB portion of the draft, as another dull offseason continues for this team. All is not lost, however, as the Cubs did make three selections in the minor league phase of the draft and managed to get through the entire draft without losing a single one of their unprotected players to other teams. That alone is an accomplishment in itself, especially when Brandon Birdsell and Cristian Hernandez were made available for this draft. With all of the Cubs' prospects still around after the draft, Chicago can now piece together their minor league roster with the hopes of it being a successful season across the board.
With the Cubs' first selection in the Rule 5 Minor League draft, they selected Adam Stone (right-hander from the New York Yankees). The 24-year-old has been part of the Yankees organization since 2023 but hasn't appeared in a game since that season, making this solely an upside play for the Cubs. He did see some time with the Mesa Solar Sox this past season during the Arizona Fall League, but with limited stats to go on, he will be a mystery as to where he ends up in 2026. Prior to his injury, Stone had struggled, pitching in 20 games with the Tampa Tarpons in 2023 and posting mixed results. For the season, Stone posted a 1-3 record, but his 7.20 ERA was ugly, ultimately leading to him missing two years of action due to injuries. As bad as the numbers looked, the command was even worse, as he walked 20 batters compared to 18 strikeouts. Hopefully, the Cubs can unlock something with him in 2026.
Any time you can pluck a prospect from your rivals, it tends to raise a smile, even if this is a minor league pickup and nothing more. For Mills, the 25-year-old righty spent all of last season with the Cardinals' AA club after being a fourth-round selection in 2021. Since then, Mills has bounced between relief and starting roles, appearing in 119 games (48 starts) and approaching 400 innings. During that time, he has gone 25-20 on the mound with a respectable 4.43 ERA, showing he can fill a variety of roles within an organization. 2025 brought plenty of ups and downs to the table for Mills, who was once again a busy arm as he saw action in 31 games, throwing 55 innings in those 31 outings. Mills would finish the season 5-5 with a 4.75 ERA, as there is still plenty left to be desired from Mills. His command has been good for the most part, as he nearly has a 3/1 ratio at this stage in his career. With 23 walks and 58 strikeouts last season, he saw a minor slip-up, but not enough to cause concern for 2026.
It has been a long time since the Cubs have drafted a Minor League position player in the Rule 5 draft, but that all changed with their third selection. Coming to Chicago will be former San Diego Padres prospect and third baseman Devin Ortiz, who is coming off a solid overall season in AA. The former Virginia Cavalier, Ortiz, went undrafted in 2022 before ultimately latching on to the Padres organization in August of that season. Since then, the now 26-year-old has grinded away in the minors and has started to move up the ranks, leading many to believe that his best days are about to head his way. Across a career-high 126 games in 2025, Ortiz showed he could be a productive hitter, with a .242 average right in line with his career mark. While the six homers are far less than what you want to see from a third baseman, he now has 13 career bombs, with 12 coming in the past two seasons. He has also added 122 of his 123 RBIs in the past three seasons, with 90 of those coming since 2024. That included 40 in 2025 as Ortiz is starting to round into a more complete player. Seen as a third baseman by trade, look for Ortiz to take on more of a Utility role in the Cubs organization, as they are going to try to maximize his potential early on.Adam Stone
Zane Mills (RHP St. Louis)
Devin Ortiz (3B San Diego)
