Houston Astros Set Protections for Rule 5 Draft

The Houston Astros had some big decisions to make in terms of prospect protections for the Rule 5 Draft.

The Houston Astros had some big decisions to make in terms of which prospects to protect for next month’s Rule 5 Draft in Nashville.

Those protections were due late Tuesday, as the Astros had to move the players they wanted to protect to their 40-man roster before the deadline.

For the Astros, the decisions were significant because they had nine Top 30 prospects, as ranked by MLB.com, to consider protecting.

They were outfielder Colin Barber (No. 8), outfielder Kenedy Corona (No. 11), outfielder Justin Dirden (No. 14), catcher/first baseman Miguel Palma (No. 17), outfielder Zach Daniels (No. 19), infielder Shay Whitcomb (No. 25), right-handed pitcher Jaime Melendez (No. 27) and right-handed pitcher Misael Tamarez (No. 30).

Of those prospect, the only one the Astros protected, and moved to their 40-man roster, was Corona. He will be protected from the Rule 5 Draft, while the rest of the players will be available. 

The moves can be critical for the Astros’ future, as there are players that could make their way to the team one day.

The Astros traded away two of their top outfield prospects to re-acquire Justin Verlander at the deadline — Ryan Clifford and Drew Gilbert.

The Astros just hired a new manager in Joe Espada, who will replace Dusty Baker, who was the Astros’ manager from 2020-23 and led them to the 2022 World Series. Espada was Baker’s bench coach and the target of several managerial searches over the years.

The Rule 5 Draft, or the Winter Meeting Draft, will take place on Dec. 6 in Nashville.

Players signed at age 18 or younger who had not been added to the 40-man within five seasons of becoming a pro, or players who signed at age 19 or older and had not been added to the 40-man roster within four seasons were eligible for protection.

For teams that draft a player in the Rule 5 Draft, they must pay $100,000 to the player’s club, put him on their 26-man roster immediately and put him out outright waivers if they release him the following season. If he clears waivers, he goes back to his former team for $50,000.