We’re going to see a whole lot of players added to 40-man rosters in advance of tonight’s deadline to protect players from the Rule 5 draft. We will use this post to track those contract selections from National League teams that are not otherwise covered on the site.
NL West
- The Dodgers announced that they’ve selected the contracts of right-hander Mitchell White, infielder/outfielder Zach McKinstry and outfielder DJ Peters. Both White and Peters are considered to be among the club’s top 15 prospects. McKinstry isn’t generally ranked inside L.A.’s top 30, but the 24-year-old had a big season between Double-A and Triple-A in 2019 while appearing at six defensive positions (shortstop, second base, third base and all three outfield slots).
- The Diamondbacks announced that they’ve selected the contracts of right-handers Taylor Widener and Riley Smith as well as the contracts of infielders Andy Young and Wyatt Mathisen. Widener, 24, was one of the organization’s best pitching prospects coming into the season but was blown up for an eye-popping 8.10 ERA in 100 innings. He’s only a year removed from 137 1/3 innings of 2.75 ERA ball and an 11.5 K/9 mark in Double-A, however. Smith, 24, was sharp in Double-A before struggling in Triple-A — like many pitching prospects throughout the league (and with the D-backs in particular). Young, acquired in the Paul Goldschmidt trade last winter, hit 29 homers while playing three infield positions between Double-A and Triple-A. Mathisen, 26 in December, hit .283/.403/.601 in 345 Triple-A plate appearances.
- The Giants, surprisingly, did not add anyone to their 40-man roster prior to tonight’s deadline.
- The Rockies selected the contracts of infielder Tyler Nevin, left-hander Ben Bowden and right-handers Ashton Goudeau and Antonio Santos (Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post first reported the news on Twitter). Those four moves will fill the team’s 40-man roster. Of the four, Bowden and Nevin draw the most fanfare. Nevin, the No. 38 pick in the 2015 draft and son of former MLB slugger Phil Nevin, posted deceptively solid numbers in an extremely pitcher-friendly Double-A environment in 2019 (.251/.345/.399 — good for a 122 wRC+). Bowden, a second-round pick in ’16, posted gaudy strikeout numbers but struggled in Triple-A after dominating in Double-A in 2019.
- The Padres selected outfielder Jorge Ona’s contract and designated outfielder Nick Martini for assignment, as outlined here.
NL Central
- The Cardinals announced the additions of Jake Woodford, Elehuris Montero and Alvaro Seijas while designating righty Dominic Leone for assignment (as detailed here at greater length).
- Outfielder Corey Ray and right-hander J.P. Feyereisen will head onto the Brewers 40-man, per Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel (via Twitter). It’s not yet known if the team will make further roster additions, but it would have five additional spots to work with to do so. Ray was the fifth overall pick in the 2016 draft but is coming off of a rough season. Feyereisen, who was added in a quiet September swap, will have a chance to challenge for MLB relief opportunities. Milwaukee also added infielder Mark Mathias to the 40-man roster after acquiring him in a trade with the Indians tonight.
- The Cubs announced that they’ve added catcher Miguel Amaya, infielder Zack Short and right-handers Tyson Miller and Manuel Rodriguez to the 40-man roster. Amaya is the most highly regarded of the bunch, ranking second among Chicago farmhands and drawing some top 100 consideration at MLB.com.
- Four additions to the 40-man were announced by the Reds, who have selected the contracts of catcher Tyler Stephenson and right-handers Tony Santillan, Ryan Hendrix and Tejay Antone. All four rank within the club’s top 30 at MLB.com, headlined by Santillan at No. 4 and ranging all the way to Antone at No. 30. Santillan thrived in a brief Double-A debut in 2018 but struggled there in a larger 2019 sample (4.84 ERA, 8.1 K/9, 4.8 BB/9 in 102 1/3 innings). He’s still just 22, though, and is regarded as a potential big league starter. Stephenson is a former first-round pick who hit well in a highly pitcher-friendly Double-A setting (.285/.372/.410; 130 wRC+). Hendrix posted big strikeout numbers as a reliever in 2019, while Antone displayed sharp ground-ball skills as a starter and reached Triple-A for the first time.
- The Pirates added prospects Ke’Bryan Hayes, Oneil Cruz, Will Craig, Blake Cederlind and Cody Ponce to the 40-man roster while also designating four pitchers for assignment (as explored in greater length here). Lefty Williams Jerez and right-handers Dario Agrazal, Montana DuRapau and Luis Escobar were cut loose.
NL East
- Yesterday, the Braves announced the addition of five prospects to their 40-man roster: outfielder Cristian Pache, catcher William Contreras, right-hander Jasseel De La Cruz and lefties Tucker Davidson and Phil Pfeifer. (More about those moves here.)
- The Nationals announced that they have selected the contract of southpaw Ben Braymer. They still have a huge amount of 40-man flexibility to work with. Even after this move, the Nats have nine openings. The organization also surely expects to fill many of those slots with free agents and/or trade acquisitions after losing quite a few significant players to the open market. Braymer is a former 18th rounder out of Auburn who had a nice run last year at Double-A before being hit hard in the batter-friendly International League.
- The Phillies picked up lefty Cristopher Sanchez in a trade with the Rays and added him to the 40-man roster. Philadelphia also selected the contracts of lefties JoJo Romero and Garrett Cleavinger and right-hander Mauricio Llovera. (Details on those moves here.)
- The Mets announced the additions of Andres Gimenez, Thomas Szapucki, Ali Sanchez and Jordan Humphreys to the 40-man roster and designated righty Drew Gagnon for assignment. (More on those moves here).
- The Marlins opened some eyes by eating the remaining $22MM on Wei-Yin Chen’s contract and adding six prospects to the 40-man roster: Sixto Sanchez, Lewin Diaz, Nick Neidert, Jazz Chisholm, Humberto Mejia and Edward Cabrera. (More details here.)
I dont know if this deserves a headline
It’s going to be updated throughout the day
Speak for yourself. I’m glued – keep them coming.
then why’d you open it?
Then go to another website, critic. Sick of people like you feeling this dying need to give their useless commentary on grammar, headlines …on an damn FREE site maintained by people where article writing is not their primary occupation. SMH.
Thank you, but fwiw … article writing is the primary occupation for our full-time staff! We’ll never be perfect due to the nature of our publishing process, but we should be held to a high standard.
You guys do a bang up job, Jeff! Keep up the great work!
Especially people who dismiss some of the trade chatter as just rumors. Are they aware of the name of the site?
Clepto here is some information you may benefit from. A lot of people learned the rule that you put “a” before words that start with consonants and “an” before words that start with vowels, but it’s actually more complicated than that. The rule is that you use “a” before words that start with a consonant sound and “an” before words that start with a vowel sound.
When you wrote “on an damn” it should have actually been “on a damn”. I hope this helps you in the future.
you’re expecting him to know that? I think you are giving mr. clepto too much credit
I already told you he works at BK, so his knowledge does not go far beyond refilling the ketchup dispensers
Just one more reason to love Vin Scully. Lmao
I’d love to see the mods go on a banning spree and get rid of the complainers and agitators. It’s gotten out of control.
Hit4me GTFOH. I dont like the whiners either. But censorship and halting free speech or dialogue is a huge issue in our country. Man up and ignore or deal with what you dont like instead of thinking you can make it all go away.
You’re right.
They as site owners have a right to remove those who drive people away from posting. Many have and will GTFOH and not post again. You’re either part of the problem or part of the solution, I see you’re a supporter of those who create problems and complain about a free site. And, free speech has nothing to do with it. MLBTR wouldn’t be stopping you from saying whatever you want, they would be stopping you from saying it on a privately owned site. As owners they can do whatever they want. Now cop a stroll J-off.
Its ya gotta understand when this guy opened it he probably saw what I saw when I first looked it only showed one player being added at all so he meant the one player being added
Couldn’t agree more! I use this app at least once a day, love it!
If the Nats don’t protect Sharp, he’s one of the first guys picked
they will – they have PLENTY of space
He will be protected. They have 9 spots left. He’s the easiest choice. No idea why he’s wasn’t first announced tbh
will Cardinals add Woodford
No way they don’t, they were way too high on him in spring training this past year
We’re finally going to see some much awaited trade activity over the next couple of days…can’t wait!
Cubs adding Amaya (C), Short (IF) & Miller (P).
once a player is protected can he be removed when a free agent is signed with losing the rule 5 that was protected.
If a player is removed he has to be run through waivers and thus Rule 5 becomes a moot point
these players can be dfa’ed after, but if a team was willing to commit a 26-man spot to the player, (where they would need to be if they were selected) they’d certainly be willing to claim them and give them any 40-man spot.
Yes! Finally Peters might play in the bigs. Another mammoth home run hitter like Judge.
The outfield is pretty crowded, I have a feeling he stays in the minors to work on cutting down on his strikeouts. We have Taylor, Kiké, Verdugo, Bellinger, Pollock, Pederson, Beaty, and Garlick ahead of DJ, I would love to see Peters hit one out of the stadium, but I don’t think it will be happening any time soon.
Interesting that Tyler nevin’s doesn’t say his dad is Phil nevin
Bio
Curious that the Dbacks chose to add Wyatt Mathisen to the 40-man. He isn’t a highly regarded prospect. He didn’t hit the AAA juiced ball particularly well last year. Yet they decided to add a 3b?!?! Could mean Jake Lamb will be traded or released? Could mean Domingo Leyba, Josh Rojas (hopefully) or another utility type will be traded? Probably doesn’t mean EE will be traded? Love to speculate on what this curious move means. What is Hazen cooking up?
Stephenson’s been underrated since his injury. Reds should avoid Grandal and stick with Casali and a stopgap for this year until Stephenson is ready.
It all depends at what it takes to get Grandal. I agree with Stephenson being underated. You have to give H.S. catchers a little more time than other positions.
Given his size I almost wonder if Stephenson might be steered to a different position eventually, perhaps 1B though I know he’s a righty. Someone’s going to have to step in for Votto in a few years unless he has a career renaissance.
Where did Manuel Rodriguez come from?
Mrs. Rodriguez.
nymetsking…. NAILED IT! Haha!!
That’s the wrong link to Baseball Reference. The Manuel Rodriguez that the Cubs added to the 40 man pitched at Advanced-A Myrtle Beach. He was signed out of Mexico.
wow it looks like Sharp was exposed. guess we know who Baltimore is selecting this year.
Not surprised about the Giants. They made a lot of progress in the farm system rankings last year (27 to 14), but there aren’t many who are likely to stick with another club that aren’t already on the 40-man.