The Milwaukee Brewers aren’t coming away from the Rule 5 Draft without losing any prospects.
On Wednesday afternoon, Ari Alexander of 7News Boston WHDH shared that the Brewers were losing 22-year-old pitching prospect Caden Vire to the Boston Red Sox.
“The Red Sox selected Caden Vire from the Brewers Double-A team in the Triple-A portion of the Rule 5 Draft,” Alexander wrote on X.
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The Rule 5 Draft is an opportunity for clubs to poach prospects out of other teams’ farm systems, but with stipulations.
The Brewers lost a hurler with upside
Apr 5, 2025; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; General view of a Milwaukee Brewers logo on seating within American Family Field prior to the game between the Cincinnati Reds and Milwaukee Brewers. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images | Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images
“These are the Rule 5 player qualifications: Players who turned pro at age 18 or younger in 2021 or at age 19 or older in 2022 are eligible for selection in the Major League phase of the Rule 5 Draft if he isn’t on a 40-man roster,” MLB.com’s Joe Trezza wrote. “Clubs which take a player in that phase must pay his former team $100,000 and keep him on their active big league roster throughout the following season. The player can’t be sent to the Minors without first clearing waivers and then getting offered back to his original organization for half his Draft price.”
So, any player selected in the Rule 5 Draft does at least have an outside shot at returning to the original organization, but it is all in the selecting teams’ hands.
Vire is a 22-year-old hurler who was selected in the 12th round of the 2021 MLB Draft by Milwaukee. The lefty has been working his way up through the Brewers’ farm system, although he did miss the 2023 season. For Milwaukee, the loss arguably isn’t huge right now.
Vire has upside, don’t get me wrong. This is a guy with good size at 6’6” and who can throw gas. But since 2021, he has made just 22 professional appearances in five years with the organization. Availability arguably is as important as ability. He also hasn’t made it past Class-A, so being selected in the Rule 5 Draft in which there are big league stipulations, is somewhat surprising.
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