The Angels added one pitching prospect, but five arms were swiftly plucked away by rival organizations.
The Los Angeles Angels saw no changes to their roster during the major league phase of Wednesday’s Rule-5 Draft, neither selecting a player nor losing a player. The club did, however, see a significant shakeup lower in its organization during the minor league phase of the draft.
The minor league phase differs from the major league phase because teams are not required to keep the selected player on the major league roster all season. This means there’s more action in the minor league phase, and that was certainly the case on Wednesday night.
Los Angeles selected one player in the draft and had five of its own players snatched away to other organizations across the league. The one player the Halos selected in the draft was Eybersson Polanco, who was previously in the Boston Red Sox’s organization.
Polanco, 22, is a right-handed pitcher from Venezuela. He joined the Red Sox organization in 2021 on a minor league deal. He reached the Single-A level last season, posting a 5.23 ERA in 62 innings after making a move to the bullpen. He’ll be joining the Angels' farm system and looks to carve out a role with his new club.
Each of the Angels' five players lost during the draft was also a right-handed pitcher: Sandy Gaston, Sam Ryan, Jake Smith, Jorge Marcheco, and Yendy Gomez.
Gaston was selected by the Washington Nationals with the third pick. He recorded a 4.84 ERA in 40 games across High-A and Triple-A last season in the Angels’ organization.
Ryan, 27, will join the Minnesota Twins system after being selected on Wednesday. He was in the Angels’ organization for one season, in which he posted a 4.20 ERA in 44 appearances.
Smith’s 3.92 ERA in 2025 across High-A and Double-A earned him a selection in the draft by the Miami Marlins. He was selected in the sixth round of the MLB Amateur draft by the Halos back in 2021.
The Athletics jumped in on another Angels pitching prospect in 23-year-old Marcheco. He joined the Angels out of Cuba in 2021 and managed a 4.36 ERA in 27 games last season, 12 of which he started.
Finally, the Detroit Tigers selected Gomez with the 53rd pick in the minor league phase. At 21 years old, Gomez posted a 4.15 ERA across High-A and rookie ball last season in the Angels’ system.
It wasn’t a night full of big splashes for the Angels, but losing several right-handed arms in their organization is important to keep an eye on. Hopefully, for Angels fans, some bigger roster moves are coming in the coming months to finally take the team back to a winning record for the first time since 2015.