The delicate prospect decisions Yankees face before Rule 5 draft

The Rule 5 draft is a joy to prospect watchers and a burden to the Yankees.

The Yankees’ minor league system is deep, and the annual minor league draft penalizes depth. Each winter, prospects who have reached certain professional-experience thresholds and who have not yet received a shot — who are not yet on a 40-man roster — can be selected and added to another team’s major league roster immediately.

If that player survives the entire following season in the majors with his new team, he becomes a full-fledged member of the new organization. If the drafting team decides it no longer has space for him on its 26-man roster (likely because he does not perform), he would have to be offered back to his prior organization.

The Rule 5 draft is a special time for prospects who are desperate for their chance. Mitch Spence logged 426 ⅓ minor league innings with the Yankees before he was grabbed first overall by the A’s in last December’s Rule 5 draft.