The busiest time of the Major League Baseball offseason is here. Now that the 2025 Winter Meetings have begun expect to see plenty of major headlines.
One of the events that occurs at the Winter Meetings is the Rule 5 Draft. The Rule 5 Draft allows teams with open spots on their 40-man roster to select players from other organizations who aren’t on the respective team’s 40-man roster.
This year's Rule 5 Draft will take place on Wednesday in Orlando, Florida. The Philadelphia Phillies protected prospects Andrew Painter, Gabriel Rincones Jr. and Alex McFarlane by adding them to the 40-man roster ahead of the draft.
The Phillies have made their fair share of picks in the Rule 5 Draft over the years, but the one that stands out came in 2004. The Phillies selected Shane Victorino from the Los Angeles Dodgers on Dec. 13, 2004, and the rest is history.
Phillies History: 2004 Rule 5 Draft pick Shane Victorino became an unexpected legend thanks to Dodgers
The 2004 draft was Victorino’s second time going through the process. The San Diego Padres had selected him the year before but returned him to the Dodgers.
If a team selects a player in the Rule 5 Draft, that player must remain on the 26-man MLB roster. If a team wants to remove a player from its 26-man roster, the player must pass through waivers. If unclaimed, the player is offered back to their original team or sent to the minors.
The Phillies attempted to return Victorino to the Dodgers, similar to how the Padres did the year before, after he failed to make the big league club out of spring training in 2005. Victorino stayed in the Phillies’ organization and went on to win the 2005 Triple-A International League MVP Award.
Following his success in the minors, Victorino appeared in 21 games with the Phillies in 2005, where he slashed .294/.263/.647 with a .910 OPS. “The Flyin’ Hawaiian” became an important piece for the Phillies and their playoff success from 2007 to 2011, which included a World Series championship in 2008.
Not only was Victorino a starting outfielder on a championship-caliber team for multiple seasons, but he also earned three Gold Gloves with the Phillies and was named to two All-Star Games. He finished top-20 in National League MVP voting twice with the Phillies, including 13th in 2011.
Victorino hit .279 across eight seasons with the Phillies and led the majors twice in triples. He’ll forever be remembered for his electric go-ahead grand slam off former Milwaukee Brewers pitcher C.C. Sabathia in Game 2 of the 2008 NLDS and game-tying two-run home run in the eighth inning of that year’s NLCS in a game that the Phillies went on to beat the Dodgers 7-5 to take a 3-1 series lead.
After an incredible and unexpected run with the Phillies, Victorino was eventually traded back to the Dodgers during the 2012 season, where he hit .245 in 53 games before joining the Boston Red Sox the following year. It’s safe to say that the Phillies lucked out with the Dodgers’ refusal to take Victorino back after the 2004 Rule 5 Draft.