A's select Yankees' Spence with 1st pick of Rule 5 Draft

The Oakland Athletics selected New York Yankees right-hander Mitch Spence with the first pick of the Rule 5 Draft on Wednesday.

Spence, 25, posted an 8-8 record with a 4.47 ERA and 153 strikeouts across 163 innings for the Yankees' Triple-A affiliate last season.

The draft order is determined by reverse order of the 2023 standings. To make a selection, teams must have space on their 40-man roster. Teams that make a selection must pay the player's previous club $100,000. The player must also remain on the active major-league roster for the 2024 season or else be offered back to his original team for $50,000.

Note: Teams with blank space opted to pass on selecting a player.

The Baltimore Orioles didn't select anyone in the draft for the first time since 2005, according to MASN's Roch Kubatko.