ORLANDO, Fla. — The New York Yankees entered these Winter Meetings not having made a Rule 5 draft pick since 2011, when they selected Cesar Cabral and Brad Meyers. That changed Wednesday in the 2025 Rule 5 draft.

The Yankees picked hard-throwing right-hander Cade Winquest, adding a potential relief arm from the St. Louis Cardinals organization in the MLB portion of the Rule 5 draft.

The Cardinals will receive $100,000 from the Yankees after losing Winquest. Because he was selected in the MLB portion, Winquest was automatically added to the Yankees’ 26-man roster. He must remain on the 26-man roster all season; otherwise, the Yankees must place him on outright waivers. If he clears waivers, the Yankees must offer him back to St. Louis for $50,000. If the Cardinals do not want Winquest back, only then could the Yankees outright him to the minor leagues.

Winquest, 25, had a 3.99 ERA (25 appearances, 23 starts) last season between High A and Double A. Although he has primarily been a starter in the minors, Winquest is viewed as a reliever by the Yankees, assistant general manager Mike Fishman said.

The Yankees originally had their eye on Winquest in the 2022 MLB Draft, when he was taken in the eighth round by the Cardinals out of the University of Texas. Winquest was selected four picks before the Yankees drafted shortstop Brett Barrera, who is no longer in the organization. If Winquest had remained on the board, the Yankees would have selected him.

“He’s got big velocity and has the characteristics that our pitching group is good at working with,” Fishman said. “We felt like he was the right guy who could help us. (We’ll) get him with our pitching department and make a few tweaks.”

I can’t wait to see a healthy Cade Winquest pitch in 2025.

Winquest has been up to 100 mph w/ elite extension, spins the ball well and shows feel for multiple secondaries, including a quality firm changeup. pic.twitter.com/K1gHCNPFTU

— Kareem Haq (@KareemSSN) January 23, 2025

Winquest has eclipsed 100 mph with his fastball, but his curveball is his best pitch. Last season, he had a 46.2 percent whiff rate on his curveball. Yankees general manager Brian Cashman told reporters earlier this week that he prefers to have high-velocity arms in the bullpen, and Winquest fits that profile if he sticks with the team.

As a group, the Yankees’ average fastball velocity from their bullpen last season was 21st in the majors. Acquiring relievers David Bednar and Camilo Doval helped that ranking. From the trade deadline until the end of the season, the Yankees had the 15th-hardest average fastball velocity.

If Winquest does stick with the Yankees for the entire season, he’ll become the club’s first Rule 5 draft pick to remain with the organization since 1973, when utilityman Billy Parker, the last Negro Leaguer to play in MLB, was selected.

“We identify candidates every year, and in the past, it hasn’t really lined up to the right player at the right time,” Fishman said. “We felt that the combination of the available player who fit a particular target of ours, as well as having openings on our pitching staff and open 40-man space, those three things lining up together allowed us to make a move this year.”

The addition of Winquest won’t preclude the Yankees from continuing to bolster their bullpen. They still have a glaring need for another high-leverage in the bullpen, a group that was a weakness for the club in 2025.

“I feel like we’ll probably add something along the way for that to fortify it even more,” manager Aaron Boone said. “But the bullpen is always one of those things that comes together organically and normally has been a strength for us. That’s my expectation again.”