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Toronto Blue Jays Opt Not to Protect Any Prospects From Rule-5 Draft

Tuesday was the day to protect players from the Rule-5 Draft by adding them to the 40-man roster, but the Blue Jays elected not to do that, exposing multiple players to possible selection.

Brady Farkas

A pair of Toronto Blue Jays hats and glove in the dugout during a game against the Minnesota Twins at Rogers Centre on May 10.
A pair of Toronto Blue Jays hats and glove in the dugout during a game against the Minnesota Twins at Rogers Centre on May 10. / John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images
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On Tuesday, the Toronto Blue Jays elected not to add any minor leaguers to the 40-man roster, therefore leaving them exposed to possible selection by other clubs in the Rule-5 Draft.

The Rule 5 Draft will take place on December 11.

According to MLB.com, the following types of players needed to be protected:

For this year, that means an international prospect or high school Draft pick signed in 2020 at age 18 or younger had to be protected. A college player -- or 19-year-old high school player -- taken in the 2021 Draft was in the same position.

According to Shi Davidi of Sportsnet, the Blue Jays are at risk of losing players like Phil Clarke, Damiano Palmegiani, Lazaro Estrada, CJ Van Eyk and Adrian Pinto.

Pinto and Estrada were just named All-Stars in the Arizona Fall League.

Pinto is a 22-year-old infielder from Venezuela who played 26 games in this minor league season. He spent time at Rookie ball, Low-A and High-A. He hit .330 in just 103 at-bats with four homers and 20 RBI. He hit a three-run homer in the All-Star Game.

Estrada is a 25-year-old native of Cuba who pitched at Low-A, High-A and Double-A in 2024. Across all three levels, he went 5-9 with a 3.29 ERA. He struck out 113 batters in 98.1 innings.

None of the players mentioned by Davidi are part of the Blue Jays' Top 30 prospects, per MLB.com.

Clark is 26 and hit .260 this season. Palmegiani is 24 and hit .216. Van Eyk went 3-8 with a 5.68 ERA on the mound.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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