What was already suspicious, has now been reported by The Athletic's Zach Buchanan and confirmed by Baseball America's JJ Cooper: The rest of the 2021 Rule 5 draft will not take place. Lengthy MLB lockout and compressed spring training combined to create too many complications. And the Marlins should be totally fine with that.
In each of the last four seasons, the Marlins selected players during the major league phase of Rule 5. For example, in December 2020, he snatched Paul Campbell from the Rays and traded the Diamondbacks for Zach Pop (previously with the Orioles).
It is possible that the Marlins would have survived their selection "streak" under normal circumstances, but my guess is not. For an organization with a new urgency to contend for a postseason berth that has a deep group of controllable major leaguers and many of the earliest impact players in need of 40-man roster spots—like JJ Bledsey and Max Meyer— Miami has limited flexibility. The Marlins were active during the minor league phase, which was originally scheduled for December 8. The main difference is that those players can be assigned to the Triple-A roster and do not affect the 40-man.
On the other side of the equation, the Marlins' unsuspecting prospects certainly remain. It was a mild surprise in November when the team refused to add any Rule 5-characters to their 40-man, notably Bryson Brigman and Griffin Konin. Fish took a calculated risk and can now breathe a sigh of relief.
Here are individual figures, position summaries and competition levels for 2021 for some of these prospects:
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| Notable Rule 5 Draft-Eligible Batsmen in Marlins Organization Baseball-Reference 2021 Stats |
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| Notable Rule 5 Draft-eligible pitchers in Marlins organization baseball-context 2021 stats |
These guys are still expected to make major league contributions in 2022 and beyond. Even if the Marlins doubt him, they will probably have enough value to engage in future trades to other clubs that either consolidate the 40-man with the more skilled Giants or Farms add depth to the lower levels of the system.