The Los Angeles Dodgers, and all other clubs, have until Tuesday, November 15, to set their 40-man rosters to protect any eligible prospects prior to the 2022 Rule 5 Draft, which takes place on Wednesday, Dec. 7, on the final day of the Winter Meetings.
Players signed at age 18 or younger become eligible after five seasons, while those who signed at age 19 or older become eligible within four seasons. If a team wishes to protect any eligible players from possibly being selected in the Rule 5 Draft, they must be added to the 40-man roster ahead of Tuesday’s deadline.
Last season, the Dodgers added Jacob Amaya, Jorbit Vivas, Eddys Leonard, Michael Grove and James Outman to their 40-man roster before the deadline. But due to the lockout, the Major League position of the Rule 5 Draft was canceled.
This year, the Dodgers have multiple prospects who are locks to be added to to their 40-man to protect them from the draft, headlined by top prospect Diego Cartaya. Michael Busch and Andy Pages, who are both ranked among the MLB Top 100 prospects, will also be added to the 40-man roster.
Of others who may be protected, Jose Ramos has been gaining some notoriety over the past year and has risen up the Dodgers prospect rankings, and Jonny DeLuca has performed well in the Minors. If the Dodgers chose to protect any more hitters after the three locks, it would likely be one of them rather than both.
Kody Hoese, the Dodgers’ first-round pick in the 2019 Draft, is also eligible for the Rule 5 Draft now, but he has shown little to no signs of becoming a Major League player.
The Dodgers have less talent on the pitching side they need to protect, but Carlos Duran, Nick Robertson and Hyun-il Choi, the organization’s 2021 Minor League Pitcher of the Year, all have a case to be added, but none of them are must-protect players.
Dodgers prospects eligible for Rule 5 Draft
The Dodgers prospects who would be eligible for the Rule 5 Draft if not added to the 40-man roster are Cartaya, Pages, Busch, Ramos, Hoese, Duran, DeLuca, Choi, Robertson, Ryan Ward, Jerming Rosario, Brandon Lewis, Brandon Fisher, Aaron Ochsenbein, Alec Gamboa, Jeff Beige, Jacob Cantleberry, Jack Little, Zac Ching, Logan Boyer, Mitchell Tyranski, Julio Carrion, Martin Santana, Christian Suarez, Kelvin Bautista, Heisell Baro and Jean Zambrano.
The majority of the players will not be protected, and most of them will stay within the organization following the Draft.
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