Teams set 40-man rosters ahead of Rule 5 Draft

Teams set 40-man rosters ahead of Rule 5 Draft

November 19th, 2016

Most of the attention about this week of the offseason was given to the awards handed out to the game's best players. But while the hardware was being allocated, all 30 organizations were mulling over other coveted rewards: spots on the 40-man roster.

Every team had until 8 p.m. ET Friday to declare which players they were adding to their 40-man rosters. Those left unprotected will be exposed to selection by the 29 other teams in the Rule 5 Draft, at the Winter Meetings in National Harbor, Md., on Dec. 8.

Players first signed at age 18 must be added to 40-man rosters within five seasons or they become eligible to be drafted by other organizations through the Rule 5 process. Players signed at 19 years or older have to be protected within four seasons. Clubs pay $50,000 to select a player in the Major League phase of the Rule 5 Draft. If that player doesn't stay on the 25-man roster for the full season, he must be offered back to his former team for $25,000.

For this year, that means an international or high school Draft pick signed in 2012 -- assuming he was 18 or younger as of June 5 of that year -- has to be protected. A college player taken in the 2013 Draft is in the same position.

There were a dozen players on MLBPipeline.com's Top 100 Prospects list who needed to be protected or become exposed to the Rule 5 Draft. Not surprisingly, all 12 found their way onto their organization's roster.

Rank, Name, Position, Organization

    1. , SS, Mets

    1. , OF, Brewers

    1. Jorge Mateo, SS/2B, Yankees

    1. , SS, Rays

    1. , LHP, Brewers

    1. , SS, A's

    1. , OF, Phillies

    1. , OF, Reds

    1. , OF, Brewers

    1. Richard Urena, SS, Blue Jays

    1. Francisco Mejia, C, Indians

    1. Anthony Alford, OF, Blue Jays

  • Indicates that a player has been added to his 40-man roster.

    Last year, there were 11 Top 100 players who needed to be protected, and all 11 were added to 40-man rosters.

    There obviously were many more Minor Leaguers under consideration. There were 144 prospects on organizational Top 30 lists hoping to get added to a roster -- five of them No. 1 prospects in their organization. Of those 12 dozen players, 84 of them (58%) were protected. That's up from last year, when 48% (75 of 156) of prospects on organizational Top 30 lists vying for roster spots were protected. Of the 81 unprotected Top 30 prospects, six went on to be selected in the Major League phase of the Rule 5 Draft last December.

    Here's a list of all 30 teams' Top 30 prospects who needed to be protected to avoid being exposed to the Rule 5 Draft, along with non-Top 30 prospects who were given coveted roster spots.

    Arizona D-backs (7)

    1. , LHP

    1. , SS/2B

    1. , SS/2B

    1. , 3B/SS

    1. , RHP

  1. , OF

  2. Daniel Gibson, LHP

    Non-Top 30 prospects added:

    , INF

    More »

    Atlanta Braves (3)

  1. Zach Bird, RHP

    More »

    Baltimore Orioles (3)

  2. Mike Yastrzemski, OF

  1. Branden Kline, RHP

    Non-Top 30 prospect added:

    Jesus Liranzo, RHP

    More »

    Boston Red Sox (2)

  1. Corey Black, RHP

  2. Jose Paulino, LHP

    Non-Top 30 prospect added:

    , LHP

    More »

    Chicago White Sox (6)

  1. Jordan Guerrero, LHP

  1. Courtney Hawkins, OF

  2. , RHP

  3. Nick Delmonico, 1B/OF

    More »

    Cincinnati Reds (8)

  1. Calten Daal, SS

  1. Eric Jagielo, 3B/1B

  2. , RHP

    Non-Top 30 prospects added:

    , RHP

    , RHP

    More »

    Cleveland Indians (4)

    1. Francisco Mejia, C

  1. Nellie Rodriguez, 1B

  2. Luis Lugo, LHP

  3. Anthony Santander, OF/1B

    More »

    Colorado Rockies (3)

  1. , RHP

    Non-Top 30 prospects added:

    , RHP

    , RHP

    , RHP

    More »

    Detroit Tigers (5)

  2. Kevin Ziomek, LHP

  1. Austin Kubitza, RHP

  2. Zac Shepherd, 3B

  3. Arvicent Perez, C

    More »

    Houston Astros (0)

    More »

    Kansas City Royals (3)

  1. Pedro Fernandez, RHP

    Non-Top 30 prospects added:

    , 1B

    Cameron Gallagher, C

    More »

    Los Angeles Angels (6)

    1. Nate Smith, LHP

  1. Chad Hinshaw, OF

  2. , LHP

  3. Kyle McGowin, RHP

    1. Keynan Middleton, RHP

  1. , RHP

    Non-Top 30 prospects added:

    , RHP

    Eduardo Paredes, RHP

    Los Angeles Dodgers (4)

    1. Chase De Jong, RHP

    1. Jacob Rhame, RHP

  1. Jacob Scavuzzo, OF

  1. Austin Dean, OF

    1. J.T. Riddle, SS/2B

  1. , LHP

  2. Jose Adames, RHP

    Non-Top 30 prospects added:

    , INF

    , RHP

    More »

    Milwaukee Brewers (6)

    1. Lewis Brinson, OF

    1. Josh Hader, LHP

    1. Brett Phillips, OF

    1. , OF

  1. Miguel Diaz, RHP

  2. Tyrone Taylor, OF

    Non-Top 30 prospect added:

    Taylor Williams, RHP

    More »

    Minnesota Twins (8)

  1. Lewis Thorpe, LHP

  1. Travis Harrison, OF

  2. Aaron Slegers, RHP

    Non-Top 30 prospects added:

    Zack Granite, OF

    More »

    New York Mets (6)

  1. Jhoan Urena, 3B

  1. Luis Torrens, C

  2. , OF

  1. Dylan Covey, RHP

  1. Malquin Canelo, SS

  2. Carlos Tocci, OF

  1. Jose Pujols, OF

  1. Deivi Grullon, C

    Non-Top 30 prospects added:

    , RHP

    , 2B

    More »

    Pittsburgh Pirates (3)

  1. Dario Agrazal, RHP

  2. Barrett Barnes, OF

    More »

    San Diego Padres (1)

  1. Tyler Smith, INF

  2. Tyler Marlette, C

    Non-Top 30 prospect added:

    Thyago Vieira, RHP

    More »

    St. Louis Cardinals (5)

  1. Allen Cordoba, SS

  2. Trey Nielsen, RHP

  3. Corey Littrell, LHP

    Non-Top 30 prospects added:

    , INF

    , RHP

    More »

    Tampa Bay Rays (7)

    1. Willy Adames, SS

    1. , RHP

    1. Daniel Robertson, INF

    1. Jaime Schultz, RHP

    1. Ryne Stanek, RHP

    1. Hunter Wood, RHP

  1. Michael Santos, RHP

    Non-Top 30 prospects added:

    Austin Pruitt, RHP

    Jose Alvarado, LHP

    More »

    Texas Rangers (3)

  1. Jairo Beras, OF

  2. Pedro Payano, RHP

    More »

    Toronto Blue Jays (8)

    1. Richard Urena, SS

    1. Anthony Alford, OF

  1. Angel Perdomo, LHP

  2. Francisco Rios, RHP

    1. Ryan Borucki, LHP

  1. D.J. Davis, OF

  2. Dwight Smith, OF

  3. Roemon Fields, OF

    More »

    Washington Nationals (4)

  1. Osvaldo Abreu, SS/2B