R5 Draft possibly axed for 2022, per report

Jayson Stark and Ken Rosenthal have a story up at the Athletic discussing the sentiment among some MLB executives that there should be no major league Rule 5 Draft in 2022.

It would not be that surprising for MLB to decide to axe the draft this year. While it is a pretty minor thing in the overall landscape of how things are being affected by the lockout, how the Rule 5 Draft would happen has been something of an open question, especially once the lockout dragged into February.

As Stark and Rosenthal note, the draft usually occurs in early December. It would appear that, once a deal is made, the regular season would start about a month later, which leaves very little to get the Rule 5 Draft scheduled, and then, once selections are made, leave little time in spring training for clubs to evaluate the players they picked.

Bubba Thompson, Jake Latz, and Cole Ragans are probably the most notable Rangers who would be Rule 5 eligible, should the draft end up taking place.