White Sox add two young pitchers but lose promising reliever in Rule 5 draft

Wednesday marked the official end to the 2025 Winter Meetings with the Rule 5 draft serving as the closing event. The Rule 5 draft is a yearly baseball event where teams are given the opportunity to take a player from another organization who was not added to the 40-man roster. To be eligible to be taken in Rule 5, a player must have spent at least five seasons in pro ball if they were signed at age 18 or younger, or four seasons if they were 19 or older and not added to their team’s roster by the deadline in November. Players who were taken must remain on the big league roster of the drafting team for an entire season or they must be offered back to their original team. The draft was installed as a way to prevent teams from keeping talented players in the minor leagues indefinitely. 

The White Sox, with the second overall pick in this year’s Rule 5 draft, took RHP Jedixson Paez from the Boston Red Sox. In addition, RHP Peyton Pallette was taken by the Cleveland Guardians. The White Sox also picked in the second round, taking RHP Alexander Alberto from the Rays organization. 

Paez, 21, originally signed with Boston out of Venezuela and spent two years in rookie ball before making his affiliate debut in 2023. He has a 3.22 minor league ERA as a starter and reached the High-A level in 2025 despite injuries limiting him to just seven starts. Paez was ranked by MLB Pipeline as the 19th best prospect in the Red Sox system. Alberto, 24, followed a similar trajectory to Paez after being signed out of the Dominican Republic. He’s posted back to back seasons with an ERA under 3.00 as a full-time reliever and reached the High-A level in 2025. 

Pallette, 24, seemed to be in a good position to crack the big league roster in 2025 after a full-time move to the bullpen, but he never got the opportunity. The White Sox made the decision to leave him unprotected, and now he’ll depart for a division-rival known for it’s work with pitchers. Earlier this week, I ranked Pallette as the most likely player the team could lose in Rule 5, and it's proven to be true. This one could come back to bite the White Sox in a big way. 

White Sox took unconventional approach with Paez and Alberto

In Paez, the White Sox get a primary starter with elite control but questions about the quality of his stuff. His best pitch is his changeup, so it’s no wonder the White Sox liked him. Alberto fits the reliever profile much better, with a fastball nearing 100 MPH and a sharp breaking slider. Despite elite control for Paez and elite stuff for Alberto, neither have proven it at the upper levels of the minors. It’s a curious decision to pick multiple players that don’t seem anywhere near the big leagues given the amount of advanced arms that were available. It’s even more so interesting with the rule that they’ll be required to stay on the Major League roster or risk being sent back. 

The White Sox will bring them into spring training and see what they have and make a decision on whether they’ll be kept on the roster. Personally, I would’ve liked to see the White Sox take a reliever with more experience at a higher level and given him a shot at making the bullpen, but I’ll trust that Chris Getz and Brian Bannister knew what they were doing. 

The White Sox have had great success in Rule 5 in recent seasons, famously drafting Shane Smith last season. They acquired Mike Vasil via waivers, but the Rule 5 rules applied to him as well. Players selected in Rule 5 often don’t pan out, so it’s far from a guarantee that Paez or Alberto will succeed at the major league level, but Chris Getz and the front office have proven their ability to identify and get the most out of talent in this capacity. They deserve the benefit of the doubt.