The deadline to protect players from the Rule 5 draft passed on Tuesday evening.
Of course, the Blue Jays elected to not make a transaction, standing pat and keeping the 40-man roster as is.
MLB’s 6pm ET deadline has passed and the Blue Jays haven’t protected any Rule 5 eligible minor leaguers today; their 40-man roster remains unchanged.
Friday’s tender deadline could lead to more activity.
— Ben Nicholson-Smith (@bnicholsonsmith) November 19, 2024
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As Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi pointed out in a Tweet on Tuesday evening, that leaves a handful of intriguing prospects exposed to the Rule 5 draft, including Phil Clarke, Lazaro Estrada, Damiano Palmegiani, CJ Van Eyk, Adrian Pinto, Alex De Jesus, and Chad Dallas.
No 40-man roster additions for the Blue Jays ahead of deadline for filing reserve lists.
Among first-time players who can now be selected in next month’s Rule 5 draft are Phil Clarke, Damiano Palmegiani, Lazaro Estrada, CJ Van Eyk and Adrian Pinto.
— Shi Davidi (@ShiDavidi) November 19, 2024
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There are also a handful of MLB Pipeline top 30 prospects that the Blue Jays didn’t add. They are: Eddinson Paulino (No. 17), Dahian Santos (No. 20), Yohendrick Piñango (No. 21), Dasan Brown (No. 23), and Victor Arias (No. 28).
A candidate for the Blue Jays 40-man roster was Eric Pardinho, who had a terrific season between Double-A and Triple-A. However, he became a free agent in early November and it’s unclear if he’ll be re-signed.
When a player is selected in the Rule 5 draft, they have to stay on the 26-man roster or they’ll be sent back to their original team. So even if prospects are selected during the Winter Meetings in early December, there’s a chance they’d return to the Jays, where they’ll return to the minor leagues.
While the Blue Jays didn’t make any moves, there were two former Blue Jays added to their new team’s 40-man roster. Before the 2023 trade deadline, the Blue Jays sent Matt Svanson to the St. Louis Cardinals for Paul DeJong.
Well, Svanson had a good season with the Cardinals’ Double-A team, posting a 2.69 ERA and a 3.93 FIP in 63.2 innings pitched, with a 20.8 K% and an 8.8 BB%. This is coming off the heels of posting a 1.86 ERA and a 2.43 FIP, with a 30.2 K% and a 7.5 BB% in 53.1 innings pitched last season.
The Blue Jays’ first-round pick in 2021 was also added to the 40-man roster of the Athletics. They selected Gunnar Hoglund 19th overall, knowing full well that the left-handed pitcher received Tommy John surgery around the time he was drafted. He never pitched for the Jays, as he was traded to the Athletics, along with Kevin Smith, Kirby Snead, and Zach Logue for Matt Chapman.
Hoglund debuted at the end of the 2022 season but pitched his first full season in 2023 between Double-A, High-A, and Single-A. Last season between Double-A and Triple-A, the 24-year-old had a 3.44 ERA and a 4.40 FIP in 130.2 innings pitched, with a 22.7 K% and a 7 BB%. Hoglund would’ve led the Jays minor league system in innings pitched.
It’s unclear if the Blue Jays will pick any of the available players in the Rule 5 draft, which comes our way on December 11.
As always, you can follow me on Bluesky @ryleydelaney.bsky.social.