Blue Jays: Top 10 Rule 5 Selections in Team History

Was there someone great at seven or eight?

#8. Aquilino Lopez – 2002

Originally signed as an international free agent by the Seattle Mariners in 1997, the Toronto Blue Jays selected Aquilino Lopez in the 2002 draft.  Lopez would crack the 25-man roster and by August had become the Blue Jays’ closer. Lopez would pick up 12 saves over the last two months of the season and finished the year with 14. He ended up pitching in 72 games and held a 3.42 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP.

However, in 2004 he struggled to start the season. By mid-June he had an ERA of 6.00 and was sent to the minors.  In AAA Lopez continued to struggle and was unable to get recalled after posting a 1-6 record out of the bullpen with a 7.17 ERA.  He was granted free agency going into the next off-season and signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

#7. Jim Gott  – 1981

After a handful of years of the Blue Jays organization they had a new manager in Bobby Cox, some pieces in the starting rotation, but still needed to fill out the back end of that rotation.  In the 1981 Rule 5 Draft, they selected Jim Gott from the St. Louis Cardinals, who had taken him in the fourth round a few seasons prior.

Gott would pitch three seasons for the Blue Jays from 1982-1984 collecting 21 wins, pitching in 99 games, starting 65 of them. In his final season with the Blue Jays he would start 12 games and come out of the bullpen for 23 where he would pick up seven wins, which included a complete game shutout, and two saves.  During his tenure he finished with a 21-30 record, 4.45 ERA, threw eight complete games, three of which were shutouts.  After the 1984 season he would be packaged to the San Francisco Giants for Gary Lavelle.

A couple of solid pitchers added to the stables

#6. Jim Acker – 1982

During the 1982 Rule 5 Draft, the Toronto Blue Jays were able to acquire Jim Acker from the Atlanta Braves who had drafted him three years prior in the first round.  There is a tale of two Ackers with the Blue Jays as he was traded away, but brought back later in his career.  For the sake of this list, I will be referring to his first stint in Toronto.

In his first term with the Blue Jays he was used primarily out of the bullpen from 1983 until the middle of 1986 when he was traded away.  Acker would pitch in 154 games, with 141 of them coming out of the bullpen.  In 1985, which was the Blue Jays first playoff appearance, Acker was part of a three-man closer role.  He, Bill Caudill and Tom Henke would share the duties and they combined for 37 saves.  Acker finished his first round in Toronto with a 17-14 record with a 4.04 ERA and 10 saves.  He was traded in the middle of 1986 back to the Atlanta Braves for Joe Johnson.  Three years later, the Braves would trade him back to Toronto for their second playoff run.

#5. Joe Biagini – 2015

Coming off the 2015 season the Blue Jays made their first playoff appearance in 22 years and filled the bullpen up with veteran arms.  However with so many veteran relievers they had retirements and others leaving in free agency, so they had holes to fill.  When it was time for the Rule 5 draft they selected 25-year old Joe Biagini who was coming off a very impressive season in AA that saw him pitch over 130 innings with a 2.42 ERA.

To start the season, Biagini was originally used in games that they were losing. After his first 12 appearances, he had allowed just one earned run and had a 0.54 ERA, so manager John Gibbons started using him in tighter games. The charismatic Biagini would become an integral part of the bullpen that got back to the post-season.  He ended up pitching in 60 games during that season and finished with a 3.06 ERA, also appearing in six post-season games that year where he allowed only four base runners and no runs.

Over the next few seasons Biagini saw some ups and downs as management seemed keen on putting him into the starting rotation, but it looked like putting a square peg in a round hole.  Biagini would pitch in another 157 games over the next 2 ½ years before being packaged with Aaron Sanchez and Cal Stevenson to the Houston Astros last season for Derek Fisher.

Valuable contributors to the infield

#4. Manuel “Manny” Lee – 1984

Originally signed as a 16-year old by the New York Mets, Manny Lee was traded midway through the 1984 season to the Houston Astros and then selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in the Rule 5 Draft later that year.  The Blue Jays got plenty of use out of Lee as he played on four different post-season teams for the Blue Jays and was the starting shortstop for the 1992 World Series Championship club.

When Lee first joined the team he was used primarily as a back-up infielder that could play both shortstop and second base.  He remained in that spot for his first three years until 1988 came along, and then he became the everyday second basemen, also filling in for Tony Fernandez at shortstop for his off days, and while Fernandez was hurt down the stretch. That season in over 400 plate appearances, Lee finished with a .291 batting average and .333 on base percentage.

In 1989, Lee moved back to being the utility-man for a season before becoming an everyday player again from 1990-1992.  In the 1992 ALCS, Lee batted .278 going 5-18 with a double and triple. Lee wound up playing eight years in Toronto and 753 games.  While he was known more for his defense, he did bat .254 with 100 extra base hits during his time with the Blue Jays.

After the 1992 World Series, Lee would depart in free agency.  Picking up your starting shortstop on your World Series team through the Rule 5 Draft has to be known as a huge success.

#3. Willie Upshaw – 1977

Coming off their first baseball season, the Blue Jays had a lot of holes to fill and they were able to get active in the Rule 5 Draft and claimed Willie Upshaw from the New York Yankees.  Upshaw was a fifth round pick a few seasons before and was coming off a season split between A and AA baseball where he hit .283.

The Blue Jays kept Upshaw on their active roster for the season to make sure they could retain his rights.  Over the next few years they kept him on the 40-man roster and he developed in AAA.  It wasn’t until 1982 when things started to really take off for Upshaw.  From 1982 until 1987, Upshaw would be the starting Blue Jays first basemen and appeared in at least 148 games in every season, playing 160 games in two of those seasons.

During his time in Toronto he twice received votes for the AL-MVP, the first being in 1983 when he batted .306 with 27 home runs and 104 RBI.  Upshaw finished his Blue Jays career appearing in 1,115 games, hitting 112 home runs and batting .265.  Upshaw is currently 18th all-time in franchise home runs. After the 1987 season the Blue Jays had youngster Fred McGriff progressing at first base so the team sold Upshaw to the Cleveland Indians.  He would play one year in Cleveland before retiring.

Hitting the jackpot: A pair of All-Stars

#2. Kelly Gruber – 1983

During the 1983 Rule 5 Draft the Toronto Blue Jays stole a former 10th overall pick from the Cleveland Indians.  Kelly Gruber wasn’t quite progressing through Cleveland’s farm system at the rate they thought he should and they weren’t ready to put him on their 40-man roster.  The Blue Jays selected Gruber and what they got was a Gold Glove, Silver Slugging third basemen that finished fourth in AL-MVP votes in 1990, and one who played in two All-Star Games.

Fans around the league started to take notice of Gruber in 1989 when he was selected to the All-Star Game after hitting .308 by mid-season, and he came out hot after the break hitting home runs in three consecutive games.  Gruber’s game went to the next level in 1990 when he batting .274 on the season with 31 home runs, 118 RBI and went 14 for 16 in stolen bases.  That season he won both the Silver Slugger and Gold Glove at third base.

Gruber was part of three post-season teams in Toronto and did well in the first two trips.  Although he struggled offensively in the 1992 post-season, he made several great plays at third base.  Like Manny Lee, the Blue Jays would move on from Gruber after the first World Series.  Gruber would be traded to the California Angels for Luis Sojo.

Gruber would play parts of nine seasons in Toronto playing in 921 games and collecting 114 home runs, good for 16th in franchise history, just two behind Josh Donaldson for third basemen.

#1. George Bell – 1980

George Bell should go down as one of the greatest Rule 5 selections in MLB history.  Bell was signed as an 18-year old out of the Dominican Republic by the Philadelphia Phillies.  He had done very well through the Phillies minor league system, however was coming off an injury-filled 1980 season that saw him get just 58 plate appearances.  He did have eight extra base hits in those limited at-bats, but it wasn’t enough to crack the 40-man roster and he was exposed for the Blue Jays to snap up.

While he remained on the active roster in Toronto for 1981, the 1982 season was lost almost entirely to injury.  Bell would play the majority of 1983 in AAA, but would get called up in July and in his first game of the season he hit a double and home run. He wouldn’t return to the minor leagues for the next decade or for the remainder of his time in Toronto.

In Bell’s first full season in Toronto he would hit .292 with 39 doubles and 26 home runs that got him votes for the AL-MVP.  The next three seasons he would win the Silver Slugger trophy, be named an All-Star, and in 1987 he would become the first Blue Jay to win the AL-MVP.  That 1987 season, Bell batted .308 with 32 doubles, 47 home runs and a league leading 134 RBI.

Over his time in Toronto he would hit at least 20 home runs five times, 100+ RBI three times and finished with a .286 average over nine seasons and 1,181 games. One of the great video clips in Toronto history is George Bell making the game ending catch in left field for the team’s first AL East Pennant win in 1985.

Other notable players: Tony Johnson, Dewayne Wise and Corey Thurman.

Do you agree with the list? Would you change players around?  Was there someone you thought was more deserving?