We’ll use this post to keep track of the players being added to their teams’ respective 40-man rosters today, which is the deadline to protect players from the Rule 5 draft. Players must be added to the big league roster within either four years (if they were 19 or older at the time of their original signing) or five years (if 18 or younger) of their signing year in order to be shielded from selection.
MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo took a look at some of the biggest names who face roster decisions, though most of those won’t be much in question. At the fringes, teams must also consider the major league readiness of the player, since that factors heavily into whether they’ll be taken and kept. Any drafting team, of course, must keep a player on its active MLB roster for the full season (with certain exceptions relating to the DL) in order for their control rights to vest. Adding a player to the 40-man too early can have its own risks, because it limits flexibility and could require a team to expose that player to waivers if a need arises. With 26-man rosters reportedly under consideration, the Rule 5 draft could be quite intriguing this year, and that may bleed into today’s decisions as well.
Below is a division-by-division rundown of the names that were added to each team’s 40-man roster (plus the various waiver claims that spawned from teams trying to outright players to protect Rule 5-eligible prospects). We won’t delve into each player’s background, but if you’re looking to a little more about the names that were added, I’d highly recommend this tremendous, in-depth examination of each team’s additions by Baseball America’s J.J. Cooper. If you want to see how the moves look in the context of a team’s roster, head over to Roster Resource for your club’s depth chart.
Onto the moves…
American League West
- Angels: Nate Smith (LHP), Keynan Middleton (RHP), Austin Adams (RHP) and Eduardo Paredes (RHP)
- Astros: None today
- Athletics: Paul Blackburn (RHP), Bobby Wahl (RHP), Franklin Barreto (SS), Yairo Munoz (INF) and Jaycob Brugman (OF)
- Mariners: Paul Fry (LHP), D.J. Peterson (1B/3B) and Thyago Vieira (RHP); Also acquired LHP James Pazos (link), 1B/OF Richie Shaffer and INF/OF Taylor Motter (link)
- Rangers: Ronald Guzman (1B); Also claimed RHP Tyler Wagner
American League Central
- Indians: Francisco Mejia (C); Also claimed LHPs Tim Cooney (link) and Edwin Escobar (link)
- Royals: Andrew Edwards (RHP), Jake Junis (RHP), Cam Gallagher (C), Samir Duenez (1B)
- Tigers: Sandy Baez (RHP)
- Twins: Felix Jorge (RHP), Fernando Romero (RHP), Zach Granite (OF), Daniel Palka (OF), Mitch Garver (C), Engelb Vielma (SS)
- White Sox: Brad Goldberg (RHP), Adam Engel (OF), Jacob May (OF)
American League East
- Blue Jays: Anthony Alford (OF), Ryan Borucki (LHP), Richard Urena (INF); Also claimed RHPs Dominic Leone (link) and Leonel Campos (link)
- Orioles: Joe Gunkel (RHP) and Jesus Liranzo (RHP)
- Rays: Chih-Wei Hu (RHP), Hunter Wood (RHP), Ryne Stanek (RHP), Austin Pruitt (RHP), Jaime Schultz (RHP), Willy Adames (INF), Daniel Robertson (INF) and Jose Alvarado (LHP)
- Red Sox: Kyle Martin (RHP) and Luis Ysla (LHP)
- Yankees: Miguel Andujar (INF), Dietrich Enns (LHP), Jorge Mateo (SS), Giovanny Gallegos (RHP), Ronald Herrera (RHP) and Yefrey Ramirez (RHP)
National League West
- Diamondbacks: Anthony Banda (LHP), Jimmie Sherfy (RHP), Dawel Lugo (SS), Jack Reinheimer (INF) and Ildemaro Vargas (2B)
- Dodgers: Chase De Jong (RHP), Jacob Rhame (RHP) and Kyle Farmer (C)
- Giants: Orlando Calixte (SS), Miguel Gomez (3B), Reyes Moronta (RHP), Dan Slania (RHP), Chase Johnson (RHP)
- Padres: Franchy Cordero (OF),Javier Guerra (SS), Walker Lockett (RHP), Jose Ruiz (C)
- Rockies: Yency Almonte (RHP), Shane Carle (RHP), Rayan Gonzalez (RHP), Zach Jemiola (RHP) and Sam Moll (LHP)
National League Central
- Brewers: Josh Hader (LHP), Taylor Williams (RHP), Lewis Brinson (OF), Ryan Cordell (OF) and Brett Phillips (OF); Also claimed 1B/OF Adam Walker
- Cardinals: Magneuris Sierra (OF), Eliezer Alvarez (INF), Edmundo Sosa (INF) and Rowan Wick (RHP)
- Cubs: Victor Caratini (C), Duane Underwood (RHP), Jacob Hannemann (OF) and Jack Leathersich (LHP); Also claimed LHP David Rollins
- Pirates: Clay Holmes (RHP)
- Reds: Barrett Astin (RHP), Keury Mella (RHP), Jackson Stephens (RHP), Nick Travieso (RHP), Aristides Aquino (OF), Phil Ervin (OF) and Jesse Winker (OF)
National League East
- Braves: Max Fried (LHP), Lucas Sims (RHP), Johan Carmago (INF); Also claimed C Tuffy Gosewisch
- Marlins: Luis Castillo (RHP), Drew Steckenrider (RHP), Austin Nola (INF), J.T. Riddle (INF); Also claimed LHP Elvis Araujo
- Mets: Amed Rosario (SS), Wuilmer Becerra (OF), Chris Flexen (RHP), Marcos Molina (RHP), and Tomas Nido (C)
- Nationals: Austin Voth (RHP), Rafael Bautista (OF), Raudy Read (C), Matt Skole (1B/3B) and Jose Marmolejos (1B/OF)
- Phillies: Drew Anderson (RHP), Mark Appel (RHP), Ricardo Pinto (RHP), Nick Pivetta (RHP), Alberto Tirado (RHP), Ben Lively (RHP), Dylan Cozens (OF), Nick Williams (OF), Andrew Knapp (C), Elniery Garcia (LHP) and Jesmuel Valentin (2B)
The Braves not the Rangers added Fried, Sims and Camargo
I was about to say the same thing LOL
I think that’s supposed to say the Braves added Fried, Sims, and Camargo, not the Rangers?
How long do teams have before they have to add someone to the 40 man to protect them? In terms of service years by said players.
After six full seasons, they become free agents if not added, effectively.
Sorry I meant in regards to the rule 5. Say I’m a highschooler drafted and start playing immediately in A ball. At what point do i have to be added to the 40 man to be protected against the rule 5?
4 years if signed or drafted at 19 or older, 5 years if signed or drafted at 18 or younger
I hope the Genius Alderson remembers to protect Ahmed Rosario.
And Marcos Molina/Wuilmer Beccera
No, he’s going to let him be taken by Atlanta in the Rule 5 draft…#dumb
Wouldnt be surprised. You sound real bright also.
You really think an organization would forget to protect it’s #1 prospect? Lol
I told you Sandy is OVERRATED
Who overrates a front office member?
Nice job eating your own words, fool.
Mets added Rosario, Beccera, Flexen, Molina, and Nido today. twitter.com/themainemets/status/799670641423097861
Whew…Sandy always gets me worried. Thanks!
Beccera is the real deal. Real excited to see him in 2018. Five tool potential. A throw in part of the dickey trade 🙂 keeps on paying off. Just wake up Travis and they might go down as he most lopsided trade ever. Dickey and thole for trav Noah and beccera. Ha!
If an at-risk player is not added and that player is traded before the Rule 5 draft, can he be added to his new team’s 40-man or does the acquiring team have to cross their fingers he isn’t taken in the draft?
Trades aren’t very frequent from the deadline until the Rule 5 Draft, for that exact reason. But, the latter.
The Cardinals ought to be working the phones rather aggressively. Probably about 5 worthy of adding. Only three spots.
As this is a resource for MLB bloggers everywhere, feel free to include the best hitter and pitcher your team neglected to select (in your opinion) beneath this. I’ll do the same with the Cubs when they announce 45 seconds before the deadline.
For the Tigers, LHP Kevin Ziomek and 3B Zac Shepherd
The Cubs Armando Rivero and Jose Paulino are both pitchers. Rivero is a “safe” reliever. Paulino is an on-the-move LHSP that was in the Midwest League in August.
Very remote, but I thought he might be worth protecting.
The thing about Rivero is that he’s 29, has pitched professionally in Cuba, and has put up consistently solid numbers in his time in the minors. With this in mind, the fact that he’s been repeatedly passed up for promotion in favor of guys like Concepcion, Patton, and Buchanan suggests that our scouts and FO see something they don’t like.
The Cubs I could see picked (and good luck to them) are:
Dallas Beeler: in a weak free agent SP market, teams are going to stock up on what they can get their hands on.
Bijan Rademacher: Safe platoon OF
Dillon Maples: Classic ‘if we can get him to throw more strikes…’
Beeler and Rademacher I could see experiencing enough success to warrant a ‘good for him but no regrets.’ Maples, while not big league ready, is the one we might one day lament. He could be stashed at the end of someone’s pen and/or DL. This being said, he’s been getting by on the fumes of his draft pedigree for 5 years now and has been plagued by injury and badness.
A few other possibilities to be taken are Rivero, Corey Black, and Juan Carlos Paniagua. Then again, the Rule 5 tends to feature a multitude of guys just like them, or at least who serve the same purpose.
Indians kept UT Michael Martinez/1B Jesus Aguilar/RP Austin Adams/RP Kyle Crockett & didn’t protect 1B Nellie Rodriguez or OF Anthony Santander? With picking up Cooney & Escobar Crockett could easily have been dfa’d & M. Martinez should have been outrighted. SMH I could see 2 National League teams that are available to pick in Rule 5 drafting Rodriguez & Santander.
Kyle Crockett still has potential, and I could see him easily getting claimed by say the D-backs. Crockett had really no shot in that OP bullpen.
I agree on Aguilar and Martinez
Aguilar may be useful and has a shot for the 1B job, Martinez had no value
Martinez may be the worst player on any 40 man roster, he has no business in MLB. That he was the Tribe’s final out in Game 7 of the World Series was a travesty. I’d rather take my chances with any unproven prospect over this guy who we all know sucks.
I think there is 3 Brewers that could be very attractive Rule 5 pick ups Kyle Wren, Garret Cooper and Nate Orf. I will say here if given a chance they will be major leaguers
Shocked Corey Black wasn’t protected. He’ll get drafted and can sit in a bullpen for a year. 2 pitches, iffy control but when its on he’s tough on rightys.
My first job out of High School was at St Paul and over the next 5 years Iearned so very much. Seeing the hospital torn down tears a small piece of my heart out. The Daughters of Charity and the doctors and staff of St Paul Hospital will always be with me.M#3..
►►► ►►► http://www.WorkJoin30.COM