The deadline for protecting prospects from the Rule 5 draft passed last night, and the Rays have filled 7 of their 8 open spots on their 40 Man Roster.
We've added seven players to the 40-man roster.
— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) November 21, 2017
Give them a follow! pic.twitter.com/3B62GqB6k6
Some real easy choices in that list (Honeywell and Bauers), with Jose Mujica being a bit more of a debate. The most notable names left unprotected:
#Rays Rule 5 players of interest:
— Steve Kinsella (@Steve_Kinsella1) November 21, 2017
Johnny Field
Kean Wong
Kyle Bird
Burch Smith
Travis Ott
Nick Ciuffo
Varying degrees of course
Guys like Kean Wong and Johnny Field have shown some interesting promise, same with Burch Smith and Travis Ott. Former 1st round pick Nick Ciuffo also seemed like a lock with other catcher Curt Casali being DFA’d this offseason.
Smith and Ciuffo seem like the most likely to get selected in the Rule 5 Draft. If they do, it will be unfortunate to lose guys who seem like they could play a role, however the Rule 5 Draft is often something that seems like more of a loss than it really is. The losses of Joey Rickard and Tyler Goeddel certainly were ringing alarm by some, and yet, both have shown to clearly have needed more time in the Minors.
The Rays have a deep, talented system, and as a result they will have some 40 Man crunches every year. These are tough choices, but I’d rather this than have too few worth protecting.
#Rays add 7 prospects to 40-man roster prior to deadline:
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) November 21, 2017
1. Brent Honeywell (#MLB No. 11)
5. Jake Bauers (No. 72)
10. Justin Williams
19. Yonny Chirinos
23. Ryan Yarbrough
RHP Diego Castillo
RHP Jose Mujica
Complete rundown for all 30 @MLB teams: https://t.co/ZwC05TC3ku pic.twitter.com/4YCszfjc1M
Links:
- Neil Solondz has some quotes from Chaim Bloom on these 40 Man moves:
#Rays Chaim Bloom says not adding someone doesn't mean they're down on the prospect, but more so don't think that individual will be selected AND stick the whole year with another MLB club.
— Neil Solondz (@neilsolondz) November 21, 2017
Here's background on each of the seven players the #Rays added tonight:https://t.co/fD2XMvMY76
— Neil Solondz (@neilsolondz) November 21, 2017
- Bill Chastain at MLB.com also has his own write up on the 40 Man additions.
- Paul Swydan at Fangraphs pondered: what should the Ray do? At the end of the article is also a poll with 3 options: Stay Competitive, Fire Sale, or Undecided. As of my writing this, Competative is in the lead 48% to 44% for Sell and Punt on 2018.
- Ohtani News: The MLBPA have extended their (arbitrary) deadline for a new posting agreement to Tuesday (also arbitrary).
- New Batting Practice Caps! Although the Rays ones look mostly unchanged (which is a good thing):
The 2018 batting practice hats from @NewEraCap are looking . pic.twitter.com/GxW4I9MRvs
— MLB (@MLB) November 20, 2017
- A real notable name is also on the market as a result of 40 man crunches:
Phillies designate former no. 1 overall pick Mark Appel for assignment.
— Chris Cotillo (@ChrisCotillo) November 20, 2017