Guardians’ Rule 5 Draft agenda should be clear this offseason (if the draft actually happens)

Normally the Rule 5 Draft is a staple of the MLB offseason. It may not be the biggest event across the sports calendar, but it’s one of those sneaky avenues that can allow for teams to gamble on young, controllable talent. It also provides front offices with some of their biggest decisions of the offseason since not every young player on a roster can be protected. 

That theme should lead to plenty of hard decisions for Chris Antonetti and Co. given the bevy of young talent in the Guardians system that’s eligible for the draft. But the one decision they won’t have to stay up sweating is with catcher Kody Huff, who is a clear Rule 5 protection and could be a big league contributor in 2027. 

The Guardians need to protect Kody Huff in the Rule 5 Draft

The Guardians first acquired Huff after the 2023 season from the Rockies in return for Cal Quantrill, and it’s starting to look like one of the bigger fleeces in Cleveland trade history. 

He debuted in the Cleveland system at Double-A and made his Triple-A debut in 2025, albeit with a .631 OPS in 101 games. He turned that around in 2026, however, as he recorded an .888 OPS in 120 games with 23 home runs and 81 RBI to go along with 69 walks compared to 97 strikeouts. 

Cooper Ingle may be the Guardians “catcher” in the Guardians system who gets the most hype, but Huff quietly put up a solid season of his own while fully playing catcher. He seems like the true heir apparent to the backup catcher spot now that Austin Hedges could leave in free agency.

He’d be the Guardians clearest protection in the Rule 5 Draft, but they may get saved from having to make the decision by the impending lockout. 

A quick refresher for the uninitiated, the Rule 5 Draft allows clubs without a full 40-man roster to select certain non-40-man roster players from other clubs. It includes players who signed 18 or younger and have been with a team for five seasons without getting added to the 40-man roster  or players 19 or older who have been with a team for four seasons. 

If an eligible player isn’t added to their team’s 40-man roster, they’ll go into the draft pool. The draft goes in reverse order based on records from the previous season, and not every team needs to make a selection. 

But that could change this season thanks to the impending lockout. The Rule 5 Draft is normally held at the Winter Meetings at the start of December, but it’s hard to imagine that’s going to happen this winter since the lockout is set to start on Dec. 1. 

The last time there was a lockout MLB decided to cancel the draft since it would have been jammed into the truncated spring training, and it’s hard to imagine the same thing wouldn’t happen this offseason. 

But regardless of what happens with the Rule 5 Draft, the Guardians need to protect Huff. They jump-started that process in October when they had Huff on their postseason taxi squad, but they’ll have a chance to put their month where their mouth is later this month. 

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