Tuesday’s Rule 5 protection deadline passed quietly for Kansas City Royals fans. Not unexpectedly, the club shielded pitchers Ben Kudrna and Steven Zobac from the December 10 Rule 5 Draft by adding them to the club’s 40-man roster.
But Tuesday’s two-player move didn’t end Kansas City’s Rule 5 suspense. Instead, it threw the local speculation door wide open — with the protection decision made, the question becomes who among their many players still exposed to the draft the Royals might lose.
Here are three of the most familiar prospects the club placed in jeopardy by leaving them unprotected.
The Royals could lose speedy infielder Daniel Vazquez
Vazquez will begin the 2026 season with only five games above High-A ball under his belt, but he might end up on someone’s Rule 5 radar. Currently ranked by MLB Pipeline as the Royals’ 16th-best prospect, he punished Arizona Fall League pitching with a .329/.459/.468 line, .928 OPS, and 21 RBI in 22 games in helping his Surprise Saguaros to the championship of the recently-completed AFL season.
And clubs looking for help can’t ignore his speed. Besides the 11 bases he stole for the Saguaros, he swiped 27 in 116 minor league games this year and 32 for Single-A Columbia two seasons ago. He also possesses a decent glove.
Vazquez still has work to do at the plate — despite his hot AFL bat, and the respectable .260 he hit in 105 Double-A appearances this year, his five-season minor league line is only .231/.319/.294. But he’s a clear up-and-comer with a bright future. Primarily a shortstop, he’ll need to find another position if he hopes to play regularly in Kansas City, where Bobby Witt Jr. owns that spot.
Outfielder Gavin Cross was left unprotected by the Royals
A big league team leaving a first-round draft pick unprotected may seem odd, but that’s precisely what Kansas City did with Cross, the hard-hitting collegian they chose with the ninth overall pick in 2022. How did such a thing happen?
Simple. Cross’ hitting has been inconsistent, a flaw that’s slowed his progress — he has yet to play Triple-A ball and, unless he’s taken in the Rule 5 Draft (more on that in a moment), won’t see the majors until he does.
He’s hitting just .242 in four minor league campaigns and averages 13 homers per season, a number that doesn’t reflect the kind of power the Royals so desperately need.
But it seemed his performance at the plate during this season’s second half rendered him worthy of Rule 5 protection. Reminiscent of the .312/.437/.653 he slashed, eight homers he hit, and 25 runs he drove in over 29 minor league games after the 2022 draft, and the decent .261/.342/.428, 15-homer Double-A season he enjoyed in 2024, he put the .152 he was batting through May behind him — and convincingly so.
He started with a .265/.321/.469 June, improved to .306/363/.458 in July, slashed .298/.325/.577 in August, and put up a .283/.278/.415 line in September. Nevertheless, Kansas City didn’t find room on the 40-man for the prospect MLB Pipeline considers the club’s 24th best.
The Royals left another first-round pick unprotected
While the decision not to protect Cross may confound many, the same move with Pipeline’s No. 22 KC prospect Frank Mozzicato isn’t a shocker.
The lefty hurler Kansas City surprisingly made its first-round 2021 draft selection hasn’t measured up to that top billing. The raves about his excellent curveball remain justified, but in four minor league seasons he’s 12-30 with a disturbing 6.43 BB/9 and 4.34 ERA, including the 5.03 mark he posted in a 2025 season split between High-A Quad Cities and Double-A Northwest Arkansas.
To his credit, his seven-game 1.24 ERA at Quad Cities this year was excellent, but he went 2-5, 7.46 at Northwest Arkansas.
Will the Royals lose Daniel Vazquez, Gavin Cross, or Frank Mozzicato?
Perhaps, but don’t be surprised if all three are still Royals when the Rule 5 Draft smoke clears. Rule 5 requires a franchise drafting any one of them to pay the Royals $100,000 and, subject to injury list exceptions, keep them on its major league roster for the entire 2026 season. If the drafting club decides it wants to cut a draftee loose, it must put him on waivers and, if he clears, offer him back to KC for $50,000.
Drafting teams may trade a drafted player, but his Rule 5 restrictions follow him to his new team unless a trade with the club from which he was drafted transfers his full rights to the new team.
The risks are clear. Any club drafting one of these three unprotected Royals, none of whom have played above Double-A, must sacrifice two key roster spots that might be better and more prudently allotted to a more proven player. There’s also the loss of cash (but not much by major league standards) and the difficulty in trading a drafted player.
Time will tell whether any clubs are willing to assume those risks to get Vazquez, Cross, or Mozzicato.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source kingsofkauffman.com ’
