3 NY Mets prospects fighting for a 40-man roster spot by the next Rule 5 Draft

The Rule 5 draft allows teams to essentially take a prospect from another team for next to nothing. Players eligible are those who signed at 18 years old or younger with at least five minor league seasons under their belt or 19 or older with at least four seasons played. However, teams can protect Rule 5 eligible prospects by adding them to their 40-man roster.

During last year’s Rule 5 draft, the New York Mets lost left-handed pitcher Nate Lavender to the Tampa Bay Rays and Mike Vasil to the Philadelphia Phillies (who was traded to the Rays soon after and then claimed off waivers by the Chicago White Sox earlier this week). They also lost Hobie Harris to the Boston Red Sox and Landon Marcreaux to the Kansas City Royals during the minor league phase of the draft.

Heading into the 2025 season, the Mets have some noteworthy prospects who are going to be Rule 5 eligible come December. These three will attempt to make their case this year for a 40-man roster spot to avoid potentially getting selected.

1) Kevin Parada

The Mets’ 2022 first-round pick was Kevin Parada. MLB Pipeline and Baseball America ranked Parada as the 6th best prospect in the draft, and the Mets took him 11th overall. At the time, he was seen as a backstop who could hit for both average and power. After all, he was coming off a college season with Georgia Tech, where he slashed .361/.453/.709 with 26 homers and nearly as many walks (30) as strikeouts (32).

Parada entered 2023 as a top 50 prospect by BA and Pipeline, and while he didn’t do horrible at High-A Brooklyn (where he spent most of his season), his .787 OPS, .357 wOBA, and 114 wRC+ were disappointing, especially for a bat-first catcher. He ended the year on a low note, as he struggled in 14 games at Double-A Binghamton. However, 2024 would be even more of a letdown.

Parada spent all of 2024 at Binghamton where he batted just .214/.304/.359 with a .307 wOBA, and 93 wRC+ across 454 plate appearances. Parada did not hit for much power with 13 home runs and an isolated slugging percentage of just .146. The backstop walked in 9.9% of his plate appearances, but more worryingly, struck out at a 33.7% rate. His strikeout rate was the seventh highest among all Double-A batters, with at least 400 plate appearances last season.

So, is there any hope for Padada in 2025? He would definitely benefit from moving out from behind the dish. He never projected as a strong defensive catcher but now projects as a below-average backstop. Last season, he allowed 15 passed balls in just 600 innings and 73 games (70 starts). His arm can play behind the plate, but 15 passed balls in well under 1000 innings is troubling, and that’s putting it lightly. Also, for what it’s worth, catchers usually take longer to develop compared to other positions, given the physical demands of playing behind the dish.

If Parada wants to earn a 40-man roster spot, he needs to show some life in 2025, which will still only be his age-23 season. However, even if the Mets leave Parada off their 40-man roster, it’s unlikely he gets selected. Backstops rarely get selected in the Rule 5 draft, with only four being taken in the Major League phase dating back to 2010, so Parada might be safe. But it would be nice if he could turn things around this season.