NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The White Sox selected left-hander Shane Drohan from the Boston Red Sox in the Rule 5 Draft.
In the last item of business at the Winter Meetings, the draft allows teams to pluck players from opposing teams not protected on the 40-man roster. Drohan, 24, went 10-7 with a 5.06 ERA and 129 strikeouts over 123 innings between Double-A Portland and Triple-A Worcester in the Red Sox farm system in 2023.
“We had some early spring training looks on him this year, and we liked what we saw, and during the season, as well,” general manager Chris Getz said. “In further evaluation analytically, there were some indications of some upside here. So it’s an opportunity to take a shot on an arm that we feel has the potential to have some survival skills at the major league level, to begin with and long term, with a little bit of upside that could potentially be a rotation piece or a reliever of some sort.”
A fifth round draft pick out of Florida State in 2021, Drohan, 24-19 owns a 4.32 ERA over three career minor-league seasons. He won his first five starts with a 0.62 ERA in 2023 at Double-A. At Triple-A, his ERA was 6.47.
“Obviously these things are bets, but there’s enough support and indicators to think that there’s potential here,” Getz said.
Rule 5 selections must stick on the 26-man roster for the full season or get offered back to their former team.