The Athletics protected a trio of prospects from the upcoming Rule 5 Draft by selecting the contracts of outfielder Junior Perez and right-handers Braden Nett and Chen Zhong-Ao Zhuang (A's No. 29 prospect) on Tuesday. All three were added to the A's 40-man roster, which is now completely full at 40 players.
Nett, rated the A’s No. 4 prospect by MLB Pipeline, was acquired from the Padres as part of the blockbuster deal that sent Mason Miller and JP Sears to San Diego at the 2025 Trade Deadline. He joined Double-A Midland in August and made seven starts for the RockHounds, posting a 4.60 ERA in 31 1/3 innings. Between Midland and Double-A San Antonio, the 23-year-old combined for a 3.75 ERA in 24 starts, with 116 strikeouts and 48 walks over 105 2/3 innings pitched.
Nett is fully on the Major League radar for the A’s, perhaps as early as 2026. He brings a fastball that can hit the upper 90s and a slider that has shown the ability to produce a good amount of swing-and-miss. Those are the standout offerings in a five-pitch mix that also includes a cutter, curveball and changeup that he incorporates mostly against lefties.
The A’s will bring Nett to big league camp, where he’ll likely be joined by other fellow top pitching prospects such as Jamie Arnold (A’s No. 2 and MLB’s No. 38 overall) and Gage Jump (A’s No. 3 and MLB’s No. 60 overall) before all three future potential rotation members start out the year in the Minors.
Perez, 24, is currently unranked on the A’s Top 30 Prospects list, though his stock has risen considerably following a breakout year. After starting out at Double-A Midland, Perez was promoted to Triple-A Las Vegas on Aug. 1.
The move was more due to a need for outfield depth rather than performance-based, as Perez was only hitting .201 with a .716 OPS at the time. Once he got to Las Vegas, however, a flip switched. Perez looked every bit like the five-tool star he was once touted as when he signed out of the Dominican Republic as a teenager, batting .298 with a 1.054 OPS, 12 home runs, 14 doubles, 34 RBIs and 11 stolen bases in 42 games at Triple-A, while also providing stellar defense in center field.
It is fair to question just how real Perez’s hitting surge was, given that the Pacific Coast League is notorious for being hitter friendly. But the fact that the A’s decided to designate outfielder JJ Bleday -- who struggled last season after an impressive 2024 season as their everyday center fielder -- for assignment on Tuesday speaks volumes as to how the organization feels about Perez, who should get a long look in big league camp among a crowded group of outfielders this spring.
His performance last year was enough even to catch the eye of A’s manager Mark Kotsay, who compared the toolsy outfielder to Mariners star Julio Rodríguez.
“He runs, plays good defense and he’s got pop,” Kotsay said of Perez in September. “There’s a lot of swing-and-miss. Hopefully, we can clean that up. But there are some similarities. … I like what Junior’s doing. I think this kid has a tremendous amount of talent.”
The deadline for teams to protect eligible players from the Rule 5 Draft was Tuesday at 3 p.m. PT. The Rule 5 Draft is scheduled for Dec. 10 during the MLB Winter Meetings in Orlando.
The most notable decision from Tuesday may have been a player who was not protected from the Rule 5 Draft in catcher Daniel Susac (No. 11), who, along with right-hander Kenya Huggins and first baseman Brennan Milone, remains eligible to be selected by another Major League club. Susac, their first-round selection in the 2022 MLB Draft, hit .275 with an .832 OPS, 18 homers, 19 doubles and 68 RBIs in 97 games with Las Vegas in '25.
Susac has steadily improved since becoming a professional, though he still strikes out at a high rate, and he seemingly has some more refining to do behind the plate despite a strong arm. With Shea Langeliers and Austin Wynns already on the 40-man roster, the A’s felt comfortable taking a risk by not adding Susac and potentially losing him to another team this winter.