Teams set 40-man rosters ahead of Rule 5 Draft

By Jonathan Mayo | November 18, 2016

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Most of the attention about this week of the offseason was given to the awards handed out to the game's best players. But while the hardware was being allocated, all 30 organizations were mulling over other coveted rewards: spots on the 40-man roster.
Every team had until 8 p.m. ET Friday to declare which players they were adding to their 40-man rosters. Those left unprotected will be exposed to selection by the 29 other teams in the Rule 5 Draft, at the Winter Meetings in National Harbor, Md., on Dec. 8.
Players first signed at age 18 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 $50,000 to select a player in the Major League phase of the Rule 5 Draft. If that player doesn't stay on the 25-man roster for the full season, he must be offered back to his former team for $25,000.
For this year, that means an international or high school Draft pick signed in 2012 -- assuming he was 18 or younger as of June 5 of that year -- has to be protected. A college player taken in the 2013 Draft is in the same position.
There were a dozen players on MLBPipeline.com's Top 100 Prospects list who needed to be protected or become exposed to the Rule 5 Draft. Not surprisingly, all 12 found their way onto their organization's roster.
Rank, Name, Position, Organization