Atlanta Braves add 5 minor leaguers to 40-man

With the 40-man deadline looming tomorrow, the Atlanta Braves have added their five players.

Just minutes ago, the Atlanta Braves listed five players to be added to the team’s 40-man roster — outfielder Cristian Pache and catcher William Contreras, as well as pitchers Tucker Davidson, Jasseel De La Cruz and Philip Pfeifer.

Pache, who turns 21 today, slashed .277/.340/.462 between Double-A Mississippi and Triple-A Gwinnett in 2019. It’s expected that the Braves top prospect could finally earn his MLB debut this upcoming season.

Contreras, the Braves top catching prospect, hit .255/.314/.354 between High-A Florida and Mississippi.

Davidson is a 21-year-old lefty who led the Southern League (Double-A) in ERA this past season, posting a 2.03 ERA in 21 starts. He also made it up to Gwinnett, where he made four starts.

Cruz ascended all the way to Mississippi in 2019, after starting the year in Single-A Rome. The 22-year-old made 24 total starts (one relief app.) and finished with a 3.25 ERA as one of the fastest movers in the Braves organization.

Perhaps no Braves’ minor league pitcher improved quite like Pfiefer, who after 4 years of mostly average performance, broke out in 2019. The former Vanderbilt pitcher made 18 starts and 12 relief appearances from Florida all the way up to Gwinnett, striking out 10.7 batters per nine and maintaining a 2.97 ERA.

With these additions, the 40-man roster now stands at 38 players.

What this means

The five players listed above are now protected from being selected in the Rule 5 Draft, which will take place on December 12. This is obviously a great thing, as all five are currently great players that any team in the league would love to have.

Now, this doesn’t necessarily mean that each of these players will play in the majors in 2020, but it does make that possibility more logistically feasible. A minor leaguer must be on the team’s 40-man roster before he can be brought up to the majors.

As far as the Rule 5 Draft goes, these additions also do not hinder the Braves from participating in the draft, though as you can see space on the 40-man is rather limited.

The Braves aren’t required to make any selections in the Rule 5 Draft, but if they do see a player they like, the following must occur:

• The Braves must pay $100,000 to the club from which the player was selected. The selected player is then added straight to the Braves’ 25-man roster, where he must stay for the entire 2020 season and remain active for at least 90 days.
• If the player does not remain on the Braves major league roster, he must be placed on outright waivers, where if unclaimed, he is offered back to his original team for $50,000. If the original team declines, only then can the Braves option the player to the minors.

So as you can see, there are some pretty specific parameters that come with a Rule 5 selection.

Last year the Braves did rather well, selecting three solid players — relievers Jason Creasy (DBacks) and Rafael De Paula (Reds), and infielder Riley Unroe (Angels). All three are now main contributors in Triple-A Gwinnett.

The Rule 5 Draft will go in reverse order of the standings, with the Detroit Tigers set to pick first overall (for the second time in three years). Be sure to check back for more analysis regarding the upcoming Draft, as well as the five players the Braves have decided to protect this evening.