Rule 5 pick Cade Winquest makes Yankees Opening Day roster
Rule 5 Draft pick Cade Winquest has made the Yankees’ 2026 Opening Day roster, manager Aaron Boone said on Tuesday.
Winquest, a 25-year-old right-hander who ranks 17th on MLB Pipeline’s list of the Yankees’ top prospects, joined the club as a Rule 5 selection from the Cardinals in December. It was the first time the Yankees made a pick in the Rule 5 Draft since they took Brad Meyers in 2011. Of the previous eight Rule 5 picks in franchise history only two — Josh Phelps and Jim Magnuson — ever made an appearance with the Yankees.
Winquest, who features a mid-90s fastball, a big-breaking curveball that sits in the upper-70s and a low-80s slider as part of his five-pitch arsenal, recorded a 3.99 ERA with 110 strikeouts over 106 innings between High-A and Double-A in 2025. He posted a 7.90 ERA in 10 innings this spring.
According to assistant general manager Michael Fishman, the Yankees had Winquest next on their Draft board after selecting Cam Schlittler in the seventh round of the 2022 MLB Draft, but St. Louis took Winquest three picks before New York’s next selection in the eighth round.
Given another chance to acquire him three years later, the Bronx Bombers didn’t let the opportunity pass. Winquest will now look to carve out a permanent role for himself in New York’s bullpen.
Because Winquest was taken in the Rule 5 Draft, the Yankees must keep him on their 26-man roster throughout the 2026 season or risk losing him. If they try to remove him from the active roster, he would first have to pass through outright waivers and then be offered back to the Cardinals for $50,000, half the original fee the Yankees paid St. Louis to select him in the Rule 5 Draft. He can be placed on the injured list, but he must spend at least 90 days on the active roster to avoid being subject to the same roster restrictions in 2027.
