The Red Sox don’t have a big history in the Rule 5 draft. They’ve made a handful of selections over the last 15-20 years, but most of them were either traded or returned. In fact, the only player they’ve drafted and kept was Miguel Gonzalez in 2008. He had a knee injury when he was selected and eventually received Tommy John surgery before playing a game for Boston. He was released in 2011, still having never played for the team. This past winter, they picked Josh Rutledge in one of the strangest Rule 5 picks in recent memory. Generally speaking, these picks are usually career Triple-A or even Double-A players who have some talent but not enough to ever get their chance. Rutledge not only has a few years of major-league experience, but he was also with the Red Sox for the past couple of seasons before hitting minor-league free agency this season. As strange as it was, he’s here now and will have to stay on the 25-man roster to stay with the organization. To do so, he’ll have to bring something to the table. I’m just not entirely sure what that is. Read more http://www.overthemonster.com/2017/2/27/14739736/josh-rutledge-red-sox-bench
