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Cubs select Gage Workman from Tigers in Rule 5 draft –

Posted on by Taylor Reeves
Cubs select Gage Workman from Tigers in Rule 5 draft –

The Cubs had the 16th pick in Wednesday’s MLB phase of the Rule 5 Draft and made a pretty interesting choice considering all the rumors. They selected Gage Workman from the Tigers, a 25-year-old third baseman who has spent most of the last three seasons at Double-A. Last season, he hit 18 home runs with a wRC+ of 140 while lowering his strikeout rate to 27.5% after hovering around 40% in the previous two seasons.

As a reminder, this is how it all works:

Not every club will make a selection, but those who select a player must pay $100,000 to the club from which that player was selected. Rule 5 draft picks are assigned directly to the draft club’s 26-man roster and must be placed on full waivers in order to be removed from the 26-man roster the following season. Should the player accept the waivers, he must be returned to his previous team for $50,000 and can only be dealt directly to the minors if his original club does not wish to reacquire him. A Rule 5 draft pick may be placed on the Major League Injured List, but must be active for at least 90 days to avoid being subject to the above roster restrictions next season.

This tracks with the Reports that the Cubs are pushing for a Kyle Tucker trade that could include third baseman Isaac Paredes. Combined with the possibility that Nico Hoerner is expected to miss some time early in the season and could also be traded away, that means the Cubs need more depth at hot corner while Matt Shaw plays second base. I don’t think Workman is anything more than a stopgap or fallback, but this move carries little risk.

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