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Notable Cleveland Indians Winter Meeting moves since 2010

By Aaron Gershon

CLEVELAND, OH - JULY 30: Owner and CEO of the Cleveland Indians Paul Dolan prior to the Hall of Fame induction before the game between the Cleveland Indians and the Oakland Athletics at Progressive Field on July 30, 2016 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OH - JULY 30: Owner and CEO of the Cleveland Indians Paul Dolan prior to the Hall of Fame induction before the game between the Cleveland Indians and the Oakland Athletics at Progressive Field on July 30, 2016 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images) /
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BALTIMORE, MD – JUNE 29: Anthony Santander #25 of the Baltimore Orioles rounds the bases after hitting a home run against the Cleveland Indians at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on June 29, 2019 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images)
BALTIMORE, MD – JUNE 29: Anthony Santander #25 of the Baltimore Orioles rounds the bases after hitting a home run against the Cleveland Indians at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on June 29, 2019 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images) /

The Rule 5 Draft hasn’t exactly gone well for the Indians in the last 10 years. Virtually none of the players they opted to draft have amounted to anything worthy of the selection, while a handful of players the team lost to other clubs have panned out to be solid MLB players.

In the 2012 Rule 5 Draft, the Baltimore Orioles selected left-handed reliever T.J. McFarland away from the Indians. Since then, McFarland has put together a solid career as in 2014 he made 37 relief appearances and one start posted a 2.76 ERA to help the O’s clinch their first AL East title since 1997.

He would remain a key member of the Orioles bullpen through the 2016 season before landing with the Arizona Diamondbacks, where in 2018, he posted a 2.00 ERA in 47 relief appearances.

In 2020, McFarland pitched in 23 games for the Oakland A’s in which he posted a 4.35 ERA for the eventual AL West champions.

McFarland wasn’t the only valuable asset the team lost in the 2012 Rule 5 Draft as right-handed reliever Hector Rondon was also drafted away. Rondon, who was drafted by the Chicago Cubs, emerged as one of the best late-inning men in baseball for a handful of seasons on the Northside of Chicago.

In 2015, Rondon pitched in 72 games for the Cubs posting a 1.67 ERA to help the team reach the postseason for the first time since 2007 and the NLCS for the first time since 2003. The following year, he posted a 3.53 ERA in 54 outings and helped Chicago defeat the Indians in the World Series.

He went on to join the Houston Astros after the 2017 season and posted a 3.20 ERA over the course of 63 outings in 2018. Rondon spent 2020 with the Diamondbacks, where he struggled in 23 appearances posting an ERA north of seven.

Perhaps the most painful Rule 5 Draft loss for the Indians came in 2016 when Baltimore drafted away outfielder Anthony Santander.

Santander burst onto the scene for the Orioles in 2018 when he slashed .261/.297/.476 with 20 home runs and 59 RBI’s. He followed that up by slashing .261/.315/.575 with 11 home runs and 32 RBI’s in just 37 games in 2020 before losing his season to injury.

With the Indians’ need for help in the outfield, losing Santander has become more painful than ever imagined.

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