Seattle Mariners Miss Deadline to Protect Players From Rule 5 Draft
The Seattle Mariners have had over 30 minor leaguers leave the organization in free agency since the regular season ended. Some have retired, others are simply exploring other options and some have signed major league deals with other organizations.
And that number of departing prospects might go up before 2024 ends.
The Rule 5 Draft will take place during MLB Winter Meetings on Dec. 11. The Rule 5 Draft is meant to be a competitive balance that prevents organizations from hoarding prospects.
The rule is that if a player was signed at 18 years-old or younger, they must be added to 40-man rosters within five seasons or they will be Rule 5 eligible. Players signed at 19 or older have to be on the 40-man roster within four years.
The rule for the Draft is players have to be placed on the 40-man roster by the team who selected them.
The deadline for Seattle and other organizations to move players to the 40-man roster to protect them from the Rule 5 draft was 3:00 p.m. PT on Tuesday.
According to an article on MLB.com from Joe Trezza, the Mariners had three new prospects that needed to be moved to the 40-man roster to avoid being Rule 5-eligible: right-handed pitchers Taylor Dollard and Jimmy Joyce and outfielder Carlos Jimenez. Dollard is ranked the organization's No. 21 prospect, Joyce is ranked the No. 23 minor leaguer and Jimenez is the No. 28 prospect, all according to MLB Pipeline.
Dollard missed almost all of 2023 and 2024 with a shoulder injury. He started three games with the organization's Triple-A affiliate, the Tacoma Rainiers, in 2023 before suffering his injury.
Jimenez split time across 81 games in the rookie-level Dominican Summer Leage and Seattle's High-A affiliate, the Modesto Nuts. He hit .295 with three home runs and 26 RBIs in 53 games with Modesto.
Joyce made 27 appearances (nine starts) with the Mariners' Double-A affiliate, the Arkansas Travelers. He had a 5.49 ERA with 58 strikeouts in 59 innings pitched.
Nice Web Gem from Mariners RHP Jimmy Joyce from the Fall League. pic.twitter.com/QPPHzpeGF0
— Josh Norris 🐻 (@jnorris427) November 14, 2024
The other Seattle prospects that are Rule 5 eligible are: pitchers Jordan Jackson, Pedro Da Costa Lemos, Jason Ruffcorn, Travis Kuhn, Reid Morgan, Leon Hunter Jr., Kyle Hill, Jimmy Kingsbury, Juan Burgos, Nick Davila, Anyelo Ovando, Gabriel Sosa and Peyton Alford; catcher Jose Caguana; infielders Milkar Perez, Nick Dunn, Ben Ramirez, Luis Suisbel, Morgan McCullough and Axel Sanchez; and outfielders Spencer Packard, Kaden Polcovich and Victor Labrada.
Related Stories on Seattle Mariners
FORMER MARINERS COACH WINS MANAGER OF THE YEAR AWARD: A former Seattle Mariners staff member made an impact in his first season as a big-league manager. CLICK HERE
POSSIBLE MARINERS TARGET HITS FREE AGENCY: The Arizona Diamondbacks stalwart first baseman declined his qualifying offer along with a host of other players on Tuesday. CLICK HERE
POSSIBLE MARINERS TARGET DECLINES QUALIFYING OFFER: The All-Star slugger will be a free agent for the first time in his career after declining a $21.05 million offer from the New York Mets. CLICK HERE
Follow Seattle Mariners on SI on social media
Continue to follow our Inside the Mariners coverage on social media by liking us on Facebook and by following Teren Kowatsch and Brady Farkas on "X" @Teren_Kowatsch and @wdevradiobrady. You can subscribe to the "Refuse to Lose" podcast by clicking HERE.
