On Tuesday the event taking place during the Winter Meetings was the Major League Baseball Draft Lottery. Despite owning the second-highest odds at the first overall pick, the Minnesota Twins fell back a spot and will draft third in 2026. The event on Wednesday was MLB’s Rule 5 Draft.

Earlier this offseason the MN Twins had to protect a few Rule 5 Draft eligible prospects in order to remove them from the pool. Going into the Rule 5 Draft they had a full 40 man roster and no clear path to add a player.

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That changed just before the event kicked off, and they wound up making a selection, only to immediately send him packing in a trade.

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Catching depth continues to be a focus for MN Twins

Minnesota needed an open spot on the 40-man roster if they were going to take a player in the Rule 5 Draft. They created one by placing outfielder Carson McCusker on release waivers. They then used the opening to grab more catching depth.

McCusker got just 30 plate appearances in 16 games for the Minnesota Twins last season. His prolific minor league power (55 homers in 275 games) never translated to the big leagues. The Athletic’s Dan Hayes has reported it is expected McCusker will play in Asia next season.

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The Twins used a Rule 5 pick on Daniel Susac. The former 19th overall pick in 2022 was acquired from the Athletics organization. He has a .280/.341/.444 slash line in 324 minor league games. Rather than keep him after adding Alex Jackson to back up Ryan Jeffers, Minnesota flipped him to the Giants.

In exchange, the Twins picked up 17-year-old catcher Miguel Caraballo. He made his professional debut last year in the Dominican Summer League. Across 41 games he batted .264/.432/.442 with four doubles, two triples, and five home runs.

Only one loss for Minnesota in Rule 5 Draft

Minnesota left a few key players unprotected. Of them, outfielder Kyler Fedko and pitcher C.J. Culpepper seemed like the most likely to be scooped up. Fedko went unselected though, as did Culpepper, and the Twins didn’t lose any prospects during the major league portion of the Rule 5 Draft. That outcomes means they assessed their talent correctly.

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During the minor league portion of the Rule 5 Draft, the Minnesota Twins lost hometown pitcher Aaron Rozek.

The Burnsville native and Minnesota State Mankato product pitched between Double and Triple-A last season. He now joins the New York Mets organization.

Rozek had a 4.46 ERA in 109 innings this season. He had a 3.53 ERA at Double-A, and owned a 2.19 ERA across 70 innings with Wichita in 2024. It’s likely that the 30-year-old is welcoming of the fresh start and a chance to break through with a new organization.

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