The Rule 5 Draft commenced at 11 AM PST during Winter Meetings on Wednesday, and the Dodgers had just one top prospect — No. 24 Austin Gauthier — at risk to be taken. They protected pitcher Jack Dreyer ahead of the November deadline but otherwise left a slew of prospects on the table to be grabbed by other teams.
The Dodgers had the last pick in the draft as a direct result of their World Series win, but they declined to take anyone and passed when it came around to them. They did, however, lose one prospect within the first three picks: Double-A lefty pitcher Garrett McDaniels was taken by the Angels with the third pick.
Dodgers lose Double-A pitcher Garrett McDaniels to Angels in 2024 Rule 5 Draft
McDaniels was a 30th-round pick for the Marlins back in 2018 but never made his professional debut before he signed a minor league free agent deal with the Dodgers in 2022. He pitched just one inning that year at the Rookie level, and his work was limited through 2023 due to injury.
In 2024, he pitched 73 1/3 innings (with seven starts in 32 games) from Single-A to Double-A for a 3.19 ERA. He couldn't totally avoid injury and was on the shelf for a few weeks in June.
The Angels will pay the Dodgers $100,000 for McDaniels and will now have to keep him on their 40-man roster throughout the 2025 season. If they don't, he'll be offered back to the Dodgers at $50,000.
The Dodgers haven't taken a prospect in the Rule 5 Draft since 2021, when they selected catcher Kekai Rios from the Brewers. Rios has since been released by the Dodgers, then picked up by the Blue Jays and was released in August of this season.
The then-Brooklyn Dodgers notably let go of Roberto Clemente in the 1954 Rule 5 Draft, but luckily, they haven't suffered such an incredible whiff since then. It's unlikely that McDaniels will go down as a horrifyingly bad loss for them this year.