Tim Rogers
The Dodgers have until Friday, November 20th to put some of their top prospects on the 40-man Major League roster. Players that have been in the farm system for either four or five years (details below) are eligible to be drafted by another Major League team on December 10th. The player if drafted needs to be on the Major League roster the whole season or they can be re-claimed.
Players first signed at age 18 or younger 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 $100,000 to select a player in the Major League phase of the Rule 5 Draft. If that player doesn’t stay on the MLB roster for the full season, he must be offered back to his former team for $50,000. – MLB.com
Players to Protect
The Dodgers have quite a few top prospects who are now eligible for the Rule 5 draft. The number on the left is their prospect ranking according to MLB Pipeline.
16) Gerardo Carrillo, RHP
21) Omar Estevez, 2B/SS
22) Edwin Uceta, RHP
27) Brett de Geus, RHP
28) Andre Jackson, RHP
30) Cody Thomas, OF
The good news is that there are eight spots available on the Dodgers 40-man Major League roster. All the free agents have left a lot of room. Even if the Dodgers bring back some of their free agents there should be no problem finding a spot for each of these prospects. Some of them might have a better future than some already on the roster. This could lead to some trades, non-tenders or outright releases. This Friday will have a lot of tension of a select group of players, that is for sure.
