Twins Select 1988 Toyota Celica in Obscure Rule 6 Draft

No franchise is more aware of the benefits of the Rule 5 Draft than the Minnesota Twins. Plucking Johan Santana from Houston’s Class A affiliate in 1999 is one of the savviest moves in recent MLB history. This year, though, the Twins are training their focus on the more obscure Rule 6 Draft, where they’ve already acquired a 1988 Toyota Celica.

“This thing’s a real beauty,” said a front office source. “Less than 200,000 miles, small crack in the windshield, brakes are a little squeaky, but it’ll get you where you want to go. We love the veteran presence and durability it brings to the organization.

“The Rule 5 Draft is fine and all, but there are some absolute gems in the 6.”

The Rule 5 Draft allows teams with open 40-man roster spots to select unprotected players from other teams. The much more obscure Rule 6 Draft lets teams acquire anything left in the parking lots of MLB stadiums after the final home game of their season. The Celica was parked in the Coors Field employee lot in Denver.

“One of our scouts was there at the trade deadline and was super impressed (by the car),” said the source. “He got the Blue Book out, did some due diligence, and it's been on our radar since.”

The source said they’re hoping the Celica can be used to transport players to and from the airport for call-ups, injury recovery, and other essential baseball activities.

Other notable Rule 6 acquisitions by the Twins include a severely dented but otherwise operational dorm fridge from Chicago's Wrigley Field media lot in 2017, and New Prague hobby farmer Junior Ortiz in 1990. Ortiz mistook the Metrodome parking lot for a Frattallone’s Ace Hardware and would go on to be the backup catcher on Minnesota's 1991 World Champions.