The expansion draft is one of the most interesting aspects of Major League Baseball (MLB). Like other professional sports, it takes place when the MLB expands to new areas and creates new teams for the area accordingly. As a result, the new teams draft players for themselves that are generally from already existing teams.
The concept of the expansion draft in MLB started with the emergence of the Continental League, a third baseball league that ultimately never came to exist. The first MLB expansion draft took place in 1960, when the Washington Senators and the Los Angeles Angels were introduced as the new teams. Since then, there have been five more MLB expansion drafts in 1961, 1968, 1976, 1992 and 1997. Notably, the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Tampa Bay Rays (originally Tampa Bay Devil Rays) are the latest expansion teams in MLB, launched in 1997. The expansion drafts have gained popularity because it allows fans to have a glimpse of new baseball teams making their debut in the league.
Protected Players in MLB Expansion Draft.
The expansion draft allows the MLB teams to protect a certain number of their players from its total list of players by submitting their names to the league office on or before a given date.
Notably, the last MLB expansion draft was held in 1997 when the Tampa Bay Rays and the Arizona Diamondbacks were introduced as new teams. Based on the rules back then, all teams were allowed to protect 15 of their players. Moreover, having no-trade clauses or ten or five rights in their contracts were also included among the fifteen player list. The expansion teams cannot draft their members from the protected list.
The MLB expansion draft rules also state that a player who is signed at 19 years old with no previous MLB experience and less than three years of service, then he is exempt from the draft.
Previous MLB expansion Drafts
The following is a list of all the MLB expansion draft that have taken place as of 2024 as per mlb.com-
| Years | New Team 1 | First Pick (with previous team) | Best Pick (with previous team) | New Team 2 | First Pick (with previous team) | Best Pick (with previous team) |
| 1960 | Los Angeles Angels | Eli Grba (New York Yankees) | Jim Fregosi (Boston Red Sox) | Washington Senators | Bobby Shantz (New York Yankees) | Dean Chance (Baltimore Orioles) |
| 1961 | New York Mets | Hobie Landrith (San Francisco Giants) | Al Jackson (Pittsburgh Pirates) | Houston Colt .45s | Eddie Bressoud (San Francisco Giants) | Turk Farrell (Los Angeles Dodgers |
| 1968 | Kansas City Royals | Roger Nelson (Baltimore Orioles) | Al Fitzmorris (Chicago White Sox) | San Diego Padres | Ollie Brown (San Francisco Giants) | Nate Colbert (Houston Astros) |
| 1968 | Seattle Pilots | Don Mincher (California Angels) | Lou Piniella (Cleveland Indians | Montreal Expos | Manny Mota (Pittsburgh Pirates | Maury Willis (Pittsburgh Pirates) |
| 1976 | Seattle Mariners | Ruppert Jones (Kansas City Royals) | NA | Toronto Blue Jays | Bob Bailor (Baltimore Orioles) | Jim Clancy (Texas Rangers) |
| 1992 | Colorado Rockies | David Nied (Atlanta Braves) | Vinna Castilla (Atlanta Braves) | Florida Marlins | Nigel Wilson (Toronto Blue Jays) | Trevor Hoffman (Cincinnati Reds) |
| 1997 | Tampa Bay Devil Rays | Tony Saunders (Florida Marlins) | Bobby Abreu (Houston Astros) | Arizona Diamondbacks | Brian Anderson (Cleveland Indians) | Tony Batista (Oakland Athletics) |
FAQ's On MLB Expansion Draft
A. An expansion draft in MLB works by the teams protecting fifteen of their players and new teams choosing outside of protected players.
A. The Arizona Diamondbacks and the Tampa Bay Rays were the last expansion teams in the MLB.
A. MLB teams can protect 15 of their players in an expansion draft.
A. Yes, the Oakland Athletics are moving to Las Vegas from the 2028 MLB season.
A. An expansion team chooses its players by selecting outside of the protected players list.
