Red Sox prospect lost in Rule 5 draft has shoulder surgery, will miss time
A former Red Sox prospect who was lost in December’s Rule 5 draft had surgery Wednesday, potentially impacting his status going forward.
Left-hander Shane Drohan, who the White Sox nabbed from Boston with the fourth pick in the Rule 5 draft, underwent shoulder surgery, White Sox manager Pedro Grifol told reporters (including MLB.com’s Scott Merkin). The procedure is thought to have been a nerve decompression.
Drohan’s start to the season will be significantly delayed.
“He had successful surgery this morning. Left shoulder and he’s looking to start probably a throwing program right after the end of spring,” Grifol told reporters.
Drohan, 25, was Boston’s fifth-round pick in the shortened 2020 draft and became one of the organization’s top pitching prospects in the first half of last season before struggling immensely after a promotion to Triple-A. When the Red Sox (in a surprise) left Drohan off their 40-man roster in November and left him eligible to be taken in the Rule 5 draft, he was ranked as the third-best pitching prospect in the system after righties Wikelman Gonzalez and Luis Perales. Drohan entered the year with a chance to make Chicago’s bullpen as a long man.
Rule 5 stipulations dictate that a player must spend a full season (barring IL stints) on the active roster to be kept past a certain season. With Drohan opening the year on the injured list, the goalposts have moved a little bit. As MLBTradeRumors points out: “Drohan will need to spend the entire season on the White Sox’ big league roster and/or injured list — with 90 days on the
active roster — in order to shed his Rule 5 status for the 2025 season. If the White Sox want to drop him from the roster at any point, he’d need to be placed on waivers and, if he clears, offered back to the Red Sox for a nominal sum of $50,000.”
