M’s Pass on Major League Rule 5 Pick, Nab Two in Minor League Phase, Lose Cole Phillips to Brewers
ORLANDO, Fla. - The Seattle Mariners opted against adding a 39th player to their 40-man roster during the Rule 5 draft on Wednesday, Dec. 5, but they did fill out a couple more spots in their minor league system with two picks during the minor league phase. While the M’s might have done well with an RJ Petit or Peyton Pallette in their bullpen - or Daniel Susac as their backup catcher - all three of these players were swiped up by teams with earlier picks. The team also decided against picking up some of the remaining available players, such as right-hander Alimber Santa or utility man Cameron Cauley, choosing roster flexibility as the better thing to have.
The minor league phase, which doesn’t have the usage restrictions of the major league phase, was a different story. Seattle picked up catcher and first baseman Carson Taylor from the Phillies organization in the first round, adding some light catching depth outside of the 40-man roster. Taylor missed almost all of 2025 with injury, but he slashed .277/.389/.465 (149 OPS+) in 2024 for the Double-A Reading Fightin Phils, hitting 16 doubles, three triples, and 16 home runs.
Although StatCast data is not publicly available for Double-A teams, Taylor’s .335 batting average on balls in play (BABIP) does indicate that some of his high production came from good luck in the minors - regressing that figure to the usual major league average of .290 would give a .210 average and .334 on-base percentage. On the flip side, Taylor has shown a knack for drawing walks, getting a free pass in 14.9% of his plate appearances for Reading in 2024 while striking out 21.3% of the time. However, Taylor’s age at 26 means that he is unlikely to make the major league team for very long without some improvement.
The M’s went for an arm in the second round of the minor league phase, picking up right-handed reliever Sean Hermann from the Yankees organization. Hermann is more of a project than Taylor, still in Low-A in 2025, but he is still young at 22 years old. Playing for the Tampa Tarpons, Hermann sported a 3.17 ERA, 1.307 WHIP, and 4.10 FIP (90 FIP-) in 59 ⅔ innings, relying on a sinker-slider-changeup trio with a curveball mixed in. Hermann has a fairly low arm angle and lots of movement on his pitches, but his relatively slow sinker (averaging 91.7 miles per hour) didn’t miss a whole lot of bats. While he profiles as a good ground ball pitcher, Hermann doesn’t strike out very many batters and has some issues with walks, making him very much a project for Seattle’s farm in 2026.
Seattle also got one of their minor leaguers sniped by another organization, with the Milwaukee Brewers taking right-hander Cole Phillips in the minor league phase. Phillips, eyed by M’s brass for some time, came over as part of the Atlanta Braves’ return package for Jarred Kelenic, Marco Gonzales, and Evan White in the 2023 offseason. Having already undergone one Tommy John surgery in Atlanta’s farm, Phillips had another one with the Mariners, pushing his professional debut beyond 2025. Still, Phillips’ plus-plus fastball clearly intrigues other organizations, with Milwaukee making a stab at turning the injury-beleaguered arm into MLB material.