Sox add prospects Mata, Groome to 40-man

To protect them from the Rule 5 Draft, the Red Sox added seven prospects to their 40-man roster on Friday, selecting the contracts of right-hander Bryan Mata (the club's No. 4 prospect per MLB Pipeline), left-hander Jay Groome (No. 7), outfielder Jeisson Rosario (No. 16), catcher Connor Wong (No. 19), third baseman Hudson Potts (No. 20), righty Connor Seabold (No. 23) and righty Eduard Bazardo.

The Red Sox protected six of their Top 30 prospects, four of whom were acquired by chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom via trade within the past year. Boston also designated lefty Matt Hall and righty Ryan Weber for assignment and outrighted left-hander Kyle Hart to Triple-A Pawtucket in corresponding moves, further reshaping its roster following a last-place finish in the American League East in 2020.

Previously, the Red Sox removed Domingo Tapia, Robinson Leyer, Zack Godley, Andrew Triggs, Mike Kickham, Dylan Covey, César Puello, Tzu-Wei Lin and José Peraza from the 40-man roster in a flurry of transactions last month.

The deadline for teams to set their 40-man rosters, thus shielding prospects from Rule 5 selection, was 6 p.m. ET on Friday. The Rule 5 Draft is scheduled for Dec. 10.

Players first signed at age 18 or younger must be added to a team's 40-man roster within five seasons or they become eligible through the Rule 5 process; players signed at age 19 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 26-man MLB roster for the full season, he must be offered back to his former team for $50,000.

This year, that means an international or high school Draft pick signed in 2016 -- assuming he was 18 or younger as of June 5 of that year -- must be protected, A college player taken in the '17 Draft is in the same position.

Let’s look at the seven prospects the Red Sox protected on Friday, and what those decisions mean for their outlook next season and beyond:

RHP Bryan Mata
MLB Pipeline club ranking: No. 4
2021 Opening Day Age: 21
MLB ETA: 2021

Listed at 6-foot-3 and generously at 240 pounds, Mata is a hard-throwing sinkerballer and the Red Sox’s top pitching prospect per MLB Pipeline. His two-seam fastball sits in the mid-90s and has touched triple-digits, and he also features a wipeout slider and improving changeup. Walks have been an issue, but the upside is real. Mata has the ceiling of a mid-rotation starter or closer and could be part of the big league mix by next season.

LHP Jay Groome
MLB Pipeline club ranking: No. 7
2021 Opening Day Age: 22
MLB ETA: 2022

Injuries have limited Groome to 66 low-level innings since the Red Sox took him No. 12 overall in the 2016 Draft, signing the left-hander for a franchise-record $3.65 million. Protecting him now ensures Boston doesn't lose out on that investment and prevents another team from stashing Groome in a big league bullpen for a full season. It wouldn’t have been unreasonable for a club to toy with the idea: the 6-foot-6 southpaw features a mid-90s heater, a plus curveball and considerable prospect cache, despite his injury history.

OF Jeisson Rosario
MLB Pipeline club ranking: No. 16
2021 Opening Day Age: 21
MLB ETA: 2022

Rosario’s speed made him potentially vulnerable from a Rule 5 perspective; he’s a left-handed-hitting center fielder who has been promoted aggressively since signing for $1.85 million as a teenager out of the Dominican Republic in 2017. He was acquired from the Padres as part of the Mitch Moreland trade in August.

C Connor Wong
MLB Pipeline club ranking: No. 19
2021 Opening Day Age: 24
MLB ETA: 2021

Acquired as the final piece in the trade that sent Mookie Betts and David Price to the Dodgers, Wong arrived in the Red Sox's organization and immediately became their best catching prospect. He is a right-handed hitter with power to all fields, above-average speed for a backstop and the positional versatility to project as a utility player if things don’t work out behind the plate. Wong will get a chance to catch first, though, given how thin Boston's system is in that department.

3B Hudson Potts
MLB Pipeline club ranking: No. 20
2021 Opening Day Age: 22
MLB ETA: 2022

Potts came over with Rosario from the Padres in the Moreland deal. He is a former first-round Draft pick who draws comparisons to Bobby Dalbec for his right-handed power and plus arm, profiling best at third base. Contact and discipline have been issues, leading some to believe Potts will need to refine his approach to hit consistently at the highest level. But there is enough upside here to make protecting him an easy call.

RHP Connor Seabold
MLB Pipeline club ranking: No. 22
2021 Opening Day Age: 25
MLB ETA: 2021

Acquired from the Phillies as part of the package for Brandon Workman and Heath Hembree this past summer, Seabold uses three above-average pitches and plus command to make up for his lack of overpowering stuff. The right-hander’s last game action came in the Arizona Fall League in 2019, which followed a strong showing at the Double-A level. He now profiles as internal rotation depth and could see Boston as early as next summer.

RHP Eduard Bazardo
MLB Pipeline club ranking: Unranked
2021 Opening Day Age: 25
MLB ETA: 2021

An undersized but strong-armed righty, Bazardo reached Double-A in 2019, and performed well at instructional camp this fall. The Venezuela native is known for his high-spin curveball and is seen as a full-time reliever with a chance to contribute at the big league level in the near future.