Yankees Lose Five Players In The Rule 5 Draft

For a Yankees farm system that so many think are terrible the Yankees lost five players in this years Rule 5 Draft. Pitcher Tommy Kahnle is going to the Colorado Rockies, Ravel Santana is heading to the Houston Astros, Mikey O'Brien is heading to the Cincinnati Reds, Kelvin Castro is headed to the Miami Marlins, and Felipe Gonzalez is headed to the Pittsburgh Pirates. Surprisingly the names not on the board were Chase Whitely and Danny Burawa. How many of them actually stick is another thing.

I can see Tommy Kahnle sticking in Colorado on the roster all season so I cannot see him being given back and is essentially gone.

One thing I did not know is players cannot be given back on the minor league phases of the Rule 5 draft.So Santana, Mikey O'Brien, Kelvin Castro, and Felipe Gonzalez are all but gone for good. I had originally written that I thought O'Brien and Gonzalez would be returned but now that point is moot. O'Brien was a AA pitcher for us, Castro was a infielder turned pitcher, and Gonzalez never made it out of the Dominican Summer League so they are not huge losses in the Yankees system. Santana used to be considered a pretty good prospect but injuries has all but derailed his career. Losing five players is never good but it could have been a lot worse.