40-Man Roster Deadline: MLB Rule 5 Draft Protection Analysis For Every Team

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MLB teams face a 6 p.m. ET deadline Tuesday to submit 40-man rosters. Any eligible player left unprotected becomes available for the MLB Rule 5 Draft to be held at the winter meetings on Dec. 11.

For any pro who signed their initial contract as an 18-year-old or younger, said player becomes eligible for the Rule 5 draft after their fifth professional season. Any player who initially signed at 19 or older is eligible after their fourth professional season.

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So any 18-year-olds who signed during or before the 2019 season and any 19-year-olds who signed during or before the 2020 season are eligible if left off of a 40-man roster.

We’ll track each organization’s deadline protection decisions below and offer team-by-team analysis on the players joining 40-man MLB rosters. The 40-man roster numbers are as of midnight ET on Nov. 14 and should be considered unofficial.

More Rule 5 Draft Coverage

Arizona Diamondbacks

Added: RHP Joe Elbis, INF Tim Tawa

Analysis: Signed out of Venezuela in July 2019, Elbis has been a reliable innings eater with strong command of his deep arsenal of offerings. He mixes a low-90s four-seamer, a low-to-mid-80s gyro slider, a upper-70s curveball and a changeup. Elbis’ slider is an above-average swing-and-miss pitch, but, overall, he gets by on command and execution. He’s undersized and could end up in relief, but he shows strong starters traits.

The D-backs selected Tawa in the 11th round of the 2021 draft out of Stanford, and he’s been an under-the-radar success story. In 2024, Tawa was one of six players to hit 30 home runs in the minor leagues. He hit 31 while batting .279/.349/.519 and reaching Triple-A for the final month and a half of the season. Tawa has the look of a bat-first utility player, as he’s seen time at seven different positions as a professional.

Athletics

Added: RHP Gunnar Hoglund, RHP Ryan Cusick, OF Denzel Clarke

Analysis: Hoglund, a 2021 first rounder, went 9-4, 2.84 with a 23.4% strikeout rate to 6.5% walk rate across 104.2 innings for Double-A Midland before a brief Triple-A cameo to end the season. Simply returning to full health was a win for the Blue Jays’ 2021 first-rounder, who underwent Tommy John surgery that year and dealt with several setbacks upon arrival in the A’s system. Hoglund’s pitch mix isn’t flashy, but his fastball ticked back up to 91-93 mph this year, and he added more sweep to his slider to go along with a solid changeup. Hoglund throws plenty of strikes and should compete for a back-of-the-rotation role.

Cusick went No. 24 overall to the Braves in the same draft. A key piece in the Matt Olson trade, Cusick’s prospect stock tumbled amid an inability to stay healthy and throw enough strikes in a starting role. The A’s moved him to the bullpen midway through last year and he missed more bats in the second half of the season. He can more heavily lean on his 95-97 mph fastball and upper-80s gyro slider in a relief role.

Clarke is the highest-ranked prospect of the trio, coming in at No. 9 in the final A’s top 30 of the regular season. He has long had game-changing tools but an inconsistent hit tool. That played out in 2024, when he hit just .192 and struck out 40% of the time for Double-A Midland through the first two months of the season. Clarke recovered to hit .269/.339/.446 with 13 homers and 36 steals, then carried over his hot hitting into the Arizona Fall League. He could be an everyday center fielder who plays premium defense if he can find a way to make more contact.

Atlanta Braves

Added: RHP Rolldy Muñoz

Analysis: Muñoz is a power-armed righthander who now figures to compete for a relief role for the Braves in 2025. He struck out 34.6% of the batters he faced in 2024 between High-A Rome and Double-A Mississippi on the strength of a hellacious upper-90s fastball and upper-80s slider combination, although he needs to tighten his command.

Baltimore Orioles

Added: RHP Kade Strowd, RHP Brandon Young

Analysis: Strowd would have been an interesting risk to leave unprotected. Triple-A hitters hit .297/.400/.479 against him last year, but he has a low-90s cutter that has promise and could have made him an intriguing Rule 5 pick.

Young ranked as the Orioles’ No. 19 prospect in Baseball America’s midseason update. He went 5-4, 3.44 in 20 appearances (18 starts) for Triple-A Norfolk. He doesn’t throw particularly hard, but he has five pitches and throws plenty of strikes. He’s a big-league-ready, up-and-down starter with hopes of ending up as a No. 5 starter.

Boston Red Sox

Added: RHP Hunter Dobbins, OF Jhostynxon Garcia

Analysis: The Red Sox are thin on close-to-the-majors starters, but Dobbins gives them another arm alongside Richard Fitts and Quinn Priester who can provide some rotation depth next season. Dobbins reached Triple-A for the first time this season, making four starts there and pitching to a 2.61 ERA with a 25% strikeout rate. He mixes seven different pitches types: a four-seam fastball, cutter, slider, sweeper, curveball, splitter and what he calls a ‘sprinkler.’

Garcia was a breakout player for the Red Sox this season, as he hit .286/.356/.536 with 23 home runs across 107 games spanning three levels. The power-hitting outfielder added 3.6 mph to his 90th percentile exit velocity in 2024 and the results followed. A hyper-aggressive approach at the plate is the biggest question surrounding Garcia’s profile.

Chicago Cubs

Added: OF Owen Caissie, SS Ben Cowles

Analysis: The Cubs adding Caissie was one of the more slam dunk moves on deadline day. The Cubs acquired the Canadian slugger from the Padres in the Yu Darvish trade in December 2020. Since that time, Caissie has emerged as one of the Cubs’ top prospects. He spent all of 2024 at Triple-A, hitting .278/.375/.472 while showing improvements in his bat-to-ball skills and approach. Caissie’s easy plus raw power is the selling point, and he has enough athleticism to play a corner outfield spot at an above-average level.

Cowles was acquired from the Yankees in the Mark Leiter Jr. trade at the 2024 trade deadline. He’s a strong contact hitter with below-average raw power but the ability to find the barrel consistently. He’s seen a majority of his time defensively at shortstop but has played a variety of positions in the infield. He projects as a utility infielder capable of playing all over the diamond while providing quality at bats.

Chicago White Sox

Added: SS Colson Montgomery, RHP Juan Carela

Analysis: Montgomery was an easy addition for the White Sox, as he was their top Rule 5 eligible talent. Though he underperformed in Triple-A in 2024, Montgomery showed well in a brief stint in the Arizona Fall League. He has on-base ability and power but needs to refine his swing and bat-to-ball skills.

Carela was acquired from the Yankees in the Keynan Middleton trade at the 2023 deadline. Over 106.2 innings in 23 starts this season, Carela pitched to a 3.71 ERA with 114 strikeouts. Carela reached Double-A in 2024, and he mixes a low-80s sweeper, a low-90s sinker and a low-to-mid-80s splitter. He shows above-average command of his sinker-slider combination.

Cincinnati Reds

Added: RHP Luis Mey, OF/2B Tyler Callihan

Analysis: Mey was unprotected and unpicked in last year’s Rule 5 draft, but even with a walk rate that remains way too high (17.6%), his 100-102 mph fastball would make him a tempting target if he hadn’t been added to the 40-man roster. He did make strides with his control this year, reached Double-A and allowed only one hit in 8.2 scoreless innings in the Arizona Fall League.

Callihan hit .276/.359/.429 between Double-A Chattanooga and Triple-A Louisville, and he also had a solid performance in the Arizona Fall League. He’s a potential bench bat, although he better claim that role quickly, as Cam Collier and Sal Stewart have similar profiles and are coming up behind him.

Cleveland Guardians

Added: RHP Franco Aleman, RHP Nic Enright, LHP Doug Nikhazy, OF Petey Halpin

Analysis: Aleman is a righthanded reliever who spent the entirety of the 2024 season with Triple-A Columbus, where he posted a 1.99 ERA in 22.2 innings with a 36.6% strikeout rate and 10.8% walk rate. He missed time with a right lat strain and pitches off a mid-90s fastball that touched 99 mph and a low-80s slider.

Enright was previously claimed in the Rule 5 draft by the Marlins, who selected him from Cleveland after a strong 2022 season. Back with the Guardians, Enright will be protected this year after posting a 1.06 ERA with Triple-A Columbus in 17 innings that included one start. He dealt with a right shoulder strain that kept him out for a significant chunk of the season. He throws a three-pitch mix that includes a 90-94 mph fastball with great riding life, an 82-85 mph slider and mid-80s changeup. He’ll enter his age-28 season in 2025.

A second-round pick who signed for $1.2 million in the 2021 draft, Nikhazy posted a 2.98 ERA in 123.2 innings between Double-A Akron and Triple-A Columbus in 2024. He’s a softer throwing lefthanded starter who sits in the 89-92 mph range with his fastball but will get the pitch up to 95-96 at peak. He also mixes in a mid-80s slider, low-80s changeup and upper-70s curveball.

Halpin was a third-round pick in the 2020 draft and spent the 2024 season repeating Double-A Akron, where he hit .233/.314/.399 in 90 games and tapped into double-digit home runs (12) for the first time in his pro career. A left wrist injury ended his season in late August. While Halpin’s bat is light, he is one of the best baserunners and outfield defenders in the Guardians system. He is a plus defender in center field with the arm strength, instincts and route running ability that should allow him to be a strong defender in any spot, if necessary.

Colorado Rockies

Added: OF Zac Veen

Analysis: Even after a few injury plagued seasons, Veen was an easy add for the Rockies. When on the field, he shows some of the best plate discipline in the minors, some impact and the ability to run the bases. He’s dealt with back and wrist injuries over the last two seasons, but Veen should see some time in Colorado this season, if healthy.

Detroit Tigers

Added: RHP Tyler Mattison, RHP Tyler Owens, RHP Chase Lee

Analysis: Mattison had Tommy John surgery in March, which means he’s unlikely to be ready for spring training. In Rule 5 terms, that would have been a feature and not a bug, as it would make him more likely to get selected and more likely to stick because he would be able to spend part of the season on the injured list while still potentially fulfilling Rule 5 roster requirements. Pre-injury Mattison had a plus-plus fastball and an above-average curveball, so it makes plenty of sense for the Tigers to add him. He can hope he will help their MLB bullpen later next season.

Owens was acquired from the Rangers with Liam Hicks at the trade deadline for Carson Kelly. He was traded in part because he was facing a Rule 5 decision. He’s a flame-throwing reliever who gets to the upper 90s with a flat fastball with above-average carry, and he pairs it with a high-80s slider. He should get to Detroit to help in the bullpen at some point in 2025, especially as he has average-or-better control to go with that stuff.

Lee was acquired in a different deadline deal with the Rangers (the one that sent Andrew Chafin to Texas for Joseph Montalvo and Lee). Lee has a different approach. He’s a sidearming righthander who barely tops 90 mph, but he throws slider after slider after slider, and then will sneak in a sinker to set up another slider. Lefties hit .241/.313/.466 against him, but he tamed righthanded hitters to the tune of .284/.337/.330 with four doubles and no other extra-base hits in 95 plate appearances.

Houston Astros

Added: LHP Colton Gordon

Analysis: The lefthander was an easy addition coming off a strong season in the notoriously-tough Pacific Coast League. Gordon made 24 starts spanning 123.1 innings, pitching to a 3.94 ERA, 4.31 FIP and a 16.3% strikeout-to-walk rate. Gordon mixes four-seam and two-seam fastballs, a slider, curveball, changeup and cutter, giving hitters a kitchen sink’s worth of pitch shapes. Though he only sits 89-91 mph on his fastball, he attacks the zone and sequences effectively. He’s a long term up-and-down starter with a backend rotation ceiling.

Kansas City Royals

Added: RHP Eric Cerantola, LHP Noah Cameron, RHP Luinder Avila

Analysis: The Royals add a trio of arms that experienced success this season and reached Triple-A. Cerantola could be in line for a bullpen role early next season after pitching to a 3.38 ERA with 39 strikeouts over 26.2 innings in 2024. Cerantola mixes a mid-80s power downer curveball (his primary pitch) with a mid-90s four-seam fastball, and he will occasionally flash a changeup, too. It’s above-average power and below-average command made for middle relief.

Cameron, a seventh rounder back in 2021 out of Central Arkansas, has been a nice development story for the Royals. He’s shown the ability to get deep into starts and eat innings, while generating strikeouts at a rate you wouldn’t anticipate based on the stuff. Cameron mixes a four-seam fastball that sits 91-93 mph with cut and average ride along with a plus changeup, a downer curveball in the low 80s and an upper-80s cutter. He has No. 4 starter upside.

Avila broke out in Double-A this season, posting a 3.86 ERA supported by a 3.76 FIP. He features a cut-ride four-seam fastball that sits 93-95 mph and touches 98, a low-80s two-plane curveball and a changeup in the upper 80s. It’s a powerful mix with fringy command, and Avila’s curveball is his only true bat-missing weapon. He fits as a backend starter that could transition to middle relief.

Los Angeles Angels

Added: OF Matthew Lugo, LHP Jack Dashwood

Analysis: The Angels acquired Lugo from the Red Sox in the Luis Garcia deal alongside Niko Kavadas. Lugo was a highly-touted amateur out of Puerto Rico who didn’t hit his stride as a professional until 2024. He had a big first half with Double-A Portland, hitting .315/.405/.664 with 11 home runs in 43 games. He posted solid production after he was promoted to Triple-A Worcester prior to the trade. Lugo suffered a hand injury in his first game with the Angels and missed the remainder of the season. Before that, he showed excellent contact quality in 2024 with a .416 xwOBAcon backing his improved production. Lugo has average plate skills with above-average raw power due to plus bat speed.

It took a long time for the Angels to see a fully-healthy Dashwood, but he showed good stuff in his return from injury over the final few months of the season. The 6-foot-6 lefthander boasts a four-seam fastball at 93-94 mph with average ride and above-average armside run, and he pairs it with a mid-to-high-80s cut-slider and a upper-80s changeup.

Los Angeles Dodgers

Added: LHP Jack Dreyer

Analysis: The Dodgers signed Dreyer as an undrafted free agent in 2021 after he’d pitched three seasons at Iowa. He split his 2024 season between Double-A and Triple-A. Between the levels, he pitched 57.1 innings, struck out 72 hitters and walked just a dozen. Dreyer works with a three-pitch mix fronted ny a fastball that averaged 94 mph and 18.6 inches of induced vertical break. He backs the offering with a mid-80s slider and a high-70s curveball. Both breaking balls produced miss rates north of 25%, though the slider was thrown for a strike far more often.

Miami Marlins

Added: 1B/3B Deyvison De Los Santos, SS/2B Jared Serna, LHP Dax Fulton

Analysis: De Los Santos was a Rule 5 pick last year by the Guardians before they returned him to the D-backs and he became part of the Marlins’ expansive trade deadline haul. The 21-year-old has age and massive power on his side—he hit 40 homers between two levels and three teams in 2024—but also significant strikeout risk. De Los Santos had the highest chase among any Marlins minor league hitter with more than 50 plate appearances. He’s likely either a first baseman or designated hitter in the big leagues.

Serna, 22, came over from the Yankees in the Jazz Chisholm trade. He briefly reached Triple-A last season and hit .251/.337/.414 in 133 games across three levels with 15 homers and 15 steals. The 5-foot-7 infielder pairs solid contact ability and strike-zone awareness and has a better chance of sticking at shortstop after slimming down a bit this season. Serna’s hoping to add more strength this winter.

Fulton, 23, didn’t pitch last season while recovering from his second Tommy John surgery. Miami drafted him No. 40 overall in 2020, and he ranked No. 9 in the Marlins’ system entering the season. When healthy, The 6-foot-7 lefthander sat 92-94 mph on his fastball and spun a mid-80s slider that had plus potential to go along with above-average command of his entire arsenal.

Milwaukee Brewers

Added: RHP Logan Henderson, RHP Chad Patrick

Analysis: Henderson made two starts in High-A, nine in Double-A and ended the year with six starts in Triple-A, finishing with a 3.32 ERA across 81.1 innings with a 106-26 K-BB mark. At 5-foot-11, 195 pounds, Henderson’s strengths are his ability to pound the strike zone and keep hitters off balance with a plus changeup. His fastball has good carry but, sitting at 91-94 mph and touching 95, it isn’t overpowering, and his lack of an average breaking ball has him heavily dependent on his fastball/changeup mix.

In 2023, Patrick had a 5.59 ERA between Double-A and Triple-A, first with the D-backs before they traded him at the deadline to the Athletics for second baseman Jace Peterson. After the season, the A’s shipped him to Milwaukee for third baseman Abraham Toro, and Patrick had better results in 2024 with Triple-A Nashville, where the 25-year-old posted a 2.90 ERA in 136.1 innings with 145 strikeouts and 39 walks.

Minnesota Twins

Added: RHP Marco Raya, RHP Travis Adams

Analysis: Raya has been considered one of the Twins’ best pitching prospects for years. But five years after he was drafted, Raya has yet to throw 100 innings in a season, and he’s worked six innings only twice in 66 pro appearances. He has an above-average fastball, a quality cutter and a plus slider. If unprotected, he would have been a very plausible pick as a reliever, but he still has work to do before he’ll be ready to help the Twins as an MLB starter.

Adams reached Triple-A in 2024 as a starter, but if unprotected, his fastball/slider/cutter combination would have fit nicely as a reliever. He throws strikes and fits the profile of a player who gets picked, so the Twins chose to play it safe.

New York Mets

Added: None

Analysis: N/A

New York Yankees

Added: 2B Caleb Durbin, C Jesus Rodriguez

Analysis: Durbin was one of the better stories in the upper levels of the Yankees’ minor leagues this past season. If not for an injury, he might already have made his big league debut. Instead, he spent the fall making up for lost time with a standout turn in the Arizona Fall League, where he set a new league record with 29 stolen bases and showed exemplary bat-to-ball skills with hints of power.

The Yankees signed Rodriguez out of Venezuela in 2018, and in 2024, he reached the upper levels for the first time. The righty moved around the diamond all year, including double-digit starts at catcher, left field and third base. He earned praise for his offensive potential, though scouts questioned how much it would translate against premium pitching at the higher levels of the minor leagues.

Philadelphia Phillies

Added: RHP Mick Abel, RHP Moises Chace, RHP Jean Cabrera

Analysis: Abel, one of the team’s former top prospects, has struggled at the upper levels, and he spent the 2024 season tinkering with his delivery and pitch mix in an effort to improve his command and re-discover the best version of himself. Abel still has plenty of time on his side and is an easy choice to add to the 40-man roster.

Chace came to the Phillies from the Orioles in the midseason deal that sent Gregory Soto to Baltimore. The righthander has an outlier fastball and an interesting array of offspeed pitches.

Cabrera is one of the most improved pitchers in the Phillies system thanks to an improved delivery that helped him throw more strikes. He’s added a cutter to his mix and will look to get more swings and misses as he moves forward in his career.

Pittsburgh Pirates

Added: None

Analysis: N/A

San Diego Padres

Added: RHP Henry Baez, RHP Ryan Bergert, LHP Omar Cruz

Analysis: Baez signed out of the Dominican Republic and has enjoyed a steady rise through the Padres system. 2024 was his best year yet, as across High-A and Double A Baez pitched his way to a career-low 2.99 ERA with a career-best 109 strikeouts across 126.1 innings. For his performance, Baez was named San Diego’s Minor League Pitcher of the Year. He pairs his mid-90s fastball with an average high-70s curveball and a mid-to-upper-80s split-changeup that is his best pitch. As a big leaguer, he projects as a back-end-of-the-rotation starter.

Bergert was drafted in the sixth round in 2021 and has been a steady performer throughout his four-year career. Following a standout 2023 campaign, he took a bit of a step back this season, spending the entire year with Double-A San Antonio, where he worked a 4.78 ERA with 87 strikeouts to 33 walks in 98 innings. Bergert’s fastball has been up to 97 mph with run and ride through the zone, especially at the top. His go-to swing-and-miss offering is a mid-to-upper-80s slider that flashes sharp, two-plane tilt at times. He looks the part of a future No. 4 or 5 starter.

It’s been quite the career arc for Cruz, who was signed by San Diego in 2019 before being traded to Pittsburgh in 2021 as part of the Joe Musgrove deal. After three years with the Pirates, Cruz was drafted by San Diego in the Triple-A phase of last year’s Rule 5 draft. 2024 was a bit of a breakout season for the 25-year-old lefthander, as across Double-A and Triple-A, he compiled a 3.96 ERA with a career-high 118 strikeouts across 86.1 total innings. Cruz attacks hitters from a near-over-the-top slot and features a low-to-mid-90s fastball that plays well at the top of the zone, a low-to-mid-80s changeup that flashes plus and an effective mid-to-upper-70s curveball. Cruz’s change and curve generated miss rates of 48% and 46%, respectively, and he projects as an intriguing bullpen option.

San Francisco Giants

Added: RHP Carson Ragsdale, RHP Carson Seymour

Analysis: Ragsdale has been besieged by injuries since the Giants acquired him from the Phillies in 2021, but when healthy, he has enough stuff to fill at least a swingman’s role in the big leagues. Proximity alone would likely have made him attractive enough to earn a flier from another club in the Rule 5 Draft.

The Giants got Seymour from the Mets as part of the four-player haul they landed for Darin Ruf in 2022, and he’s spent the last two seasons eating innings at the upper levels. The physical righthander has a full four-pitch complement and could fit in the bullpen on a rebuilding club while he continues to make developmental strides in the big leagues instead of at Triple-A.

Seattle Mariners

Added: None

Analysis: N/A

St. Louis Cardinals

Added: RHP Tink Hence, RHP Tekoah Roby, OF Matt Koperniak, RHP Matt Svanson

Analysis: Two of the Cardinals’ more notable pitching prospects were slam dunk additions to the 40 man roster. Hence possesses some of the best swing-and-miss stuff in the minors, but health has been a consistent hurdle. Roby has also dealt with health issues throughout his career but has flashed mid-rotation upside behind his mid-90s fastball and plus curveball.

Koperniak was a 2020 undrafted free agent left unprotected for the Rule 5 draft last season. The outfielder just finished his second full season at Triple-A, hitting .309/.370/.512 with 20 home runs. He’s likely an outfield depth option for the Cardinals as opposed to an everyday option long term.

The Cardinals acquired Svanson for Paul DeJong at the 2023 trade deadline. He enjoyed a standout season with Double-A Springfield this season, finishing with 27 saves, the second most in the minors in 2024. Svanson mixes a mid-90s sinker, a mid-80s sweeper slider and a low-90s cutter primarily.

Tampa Bay Rays

Added: LHP Joe Rock, LHP Ian Seymour, OF Jake Mangum

Analysis: The Rays picked up Rock in the trade that sent Greg Jones to the Rockies. He’s a well-rounded lefty with a plus slider whose ability to mix pitches and locate makes him a potential back-of-the rotation starter or bulk innings reliever. His lack of velocity (90-93 mph fastball) could limit his ceiling.

Seymour bounced back well from Tommy John surgery to once again be the funky lefty with a baffling changeup. He has enough fastball (90-93 mph) and a decent slider to mess with hitters’ timing.

Mangum will turn 29 before Opening Day, but his hitting ability would have made him a top Rule 5 option if unprotected. Mangum hit .317/.357/.442 for Triple-A Durham in 2024, and he’s hit .310 in 256 career Triple-A games. He’s a plus-plus runner—thought, he’s not a volume basestealer— and plus defender in center field. Though Mangum is a contact hitter with well-below-average power, he doesn’t get the bat knocked out of his hands. He should compete for a fourth outfielder role with the Rays.

Texas Rangers

Added: RHP Emiliano Teodo, RHP Winston Santos, SS/2B Max Acosta

Analysis: By switching his fastball from a four-seamer to a two-seamer, Teodo has also flipped his fortunes. The lightning-armed righthander sets off fireworks on radar gun displays, and this season he improved the quality of his offspeed offerings, as well. Whether he sticks in the rotation or moves to the bullpen is still an open question, though his chances for the former improved in 2024.

For years, Santos was a righthander with an excellent fastball but little else. Now, after plenty of tinkering, he’s found a breaking ball that suits him and experienced the most success of his career—including a spot in the Futures Game—as a result. He’s one of the best pitching prospects among a cluster of upper-level arms in Texas’ system.

Formerly a top prospect in Texas’ system, Acosta’s stock had fallen somewhat thanks to a pair of middling seasons at the Class A levels. He showed big leaps on and off the field and finished the year with far-better bat-to-ball skills than he’d shown at previous stops, as well as hints of power. He put a cherry on top with a strong showing in the Arizona Fall League, where he reproduced some of the same traits from the regular season while also displaying defensive versatility. The Rangers’ big league infield is crowded, but Acosta could get there this season as a bench option.

Toronto Blue Jays

Added: None

Analysis: N/A

Washington Nationals

Added: OF Robert Hassell III, RHP Andry Lara

Analysis: Hassell was a key member of the blockbuster trade that sent Juan Soto to the Padres in exchange for CJ Abrams, MacKenzie Gore, James Wood and Jarlin Susana at the 2022 Deadline. Injuries have plagued the outfield prospect, limiting him both during the 2023 season and this year. Hassell returned to the Arizona Fall League and saw success in his third-go-around. He hit .281 with seven doubles, one triple, four homers, 19 RBIs, eight walks and five stolen bases en route to an AFL Championship with the Salt River Rafters.

Lara pitched to a 3.34 ERA across High-A and Double-A in his fourth professional season with the Nationals. The righthander led Washington’s farm system in wins (11) and WHIP (1.16), and his 132 strikeouts were good for the third most across the Nationals’ affiliates. Lara’s 86-87 mph slider gained two ticks of velocity since last year and remains his best pitch.