Rule 5 Eligibility

[Dodger1]

According to the manual, a player isn't eligible for the rule 5 draft until he has at least three years of professional service time. But on my Short Season A team I have two guys who are age 20 with 1 year and 106 days service time who are marked as eligible for the rule 5 draft. Also another guy who is 22 with 2 years and 106 days who is marked as eligible. This doesn't seem to match the manual. Any thoughts?

[pgjocki]

Is it years of service when the draft takes place? If so I can see the second guy being eligible but I am not sure about the first. I will go back through some logs in between innings as I watch the Cardinals try and blow the series.

[RchW]

Can you post a screenshot like this.

[bwburke94]

Rule 5 rules are fairly complex, but I'm sure that 2 years or less = not eligible for rule 5.

[RchW]

Originally Posted by bwburke94

Rule 5 rules are fairly complex, but I'm sure that 2 years or less = not eligible for rule 5.

Agreed, except for the complex part.

Rule 5 Draft Eligibility
A player is eligible for the Rule 5 draft if he meets the conditions listed below. Follow the links to learn more about some of the terms used below:

The player has at least three but fewer than six years of professional service time, and the player was age 19 or older when he first signed a contract.
The player is not on the team's secondary roster.

Note: Players who were age 18 or younger when they entered the league are eligible if they have at least four, but fewer than seven years of professional service time. In other words, young players get an extra year before they become eligible for the Rule 5 draft.

Another way of looking at this rule is this:

A player not on a team's secondary roster is eligible for the Rule 5 draft if the player was age 18 or younger when he first signed a contract and this is the fourth Rule 5 draft since he signed, OR if he was age 19 or older when he first signed a contract and this is the third Rule 5 draft since he signed.