Rangers Move Prospects to 40-Man Roster

The Texas Rangers made the moves to protect a half-dozen prospects from next month's Rule V Draft.

The Texas Rangers made several moves on Wednesday to adjust their 40-man roster and protect six prospects from next month’s Rule V Draft.

The six prospects moved to the 40-man roster are infielder Luisangel Acuña, outfielder Dustin Harris, right-handed pitcher Zak Kent, infielder Jonathan Ornelas, right-handed pitcher Owen White and right-handed pitcher Cole Winn.

All of the prospects protected are considered Top 30 Rangers prospects by MLB.com.

By moving those six players, the Rangers now have a full 40-man roster and those six players cannot be selected in the Rule V Draft.

The Rangers were down to 34 players by late Wednesday after pitcher Martín Pérez accepted the Rangers’ $19.65 million qualifying offer to return for 2023. That took him off the free-agent market and pushed the Rangers’ 40-man roster to 35 players. The Rangers then dealt relief pitcher Dennis Santana to Atlanta for cash considerations to take the roster back down to 34.

Before Pérez made his decision, the Rangers trimmed the 40-man roster down to 34 players last week with a flurry of moves, a trade for Atlanta starter Jake Odorizzi and waiving several players that were later picked up by other teams.

To be eligible for the Rule V Draft, the player must have been drafted and signed to their first pro contract in 2019, or first signed in 2018 but were under the age of 19 at the time.

Just because the Rangers leave a prospect exposed to the Rule V Draft doesn’t mean they will lose the prospect. There’s a cost attached. If the Rangers have a player selected in the Major League phase of the Rule V Draft, they’ll receive $100,000 from the club that picked the player. The player’s new club must put that player on their 26-man roster immediately.

There is also a minor league phase that doesn’t require a team to place that player on their 40-man roster.

TEXAS RANGERS 40-MAN ROSTER (40)

Pitchers (22)

A.J. Alexy, Joe Barlow, Brock Burke, Dane Dunning, Jon Gray, Taylor Hearn, Jonathan Hernández, Spencer Howard, Zak Kent, John King, José Leclerc, Brett Martin, Jake Odorizzi, Glenn Otto, Martin Perez, Cole Ragans, Yerry Rodriguez, Josh Sborz, Nick Snyder, Ricky Vanasco, Owen White, Cole Winn.

Catchers (2): Jonah Heim, Sam Huff

Infielders (8): Luisangel Acuña, Ezequiel Duran, Josh Jung, Nathaniel Lowe, Jonathan Ornelas, Corey Seager, Marcus Semien, Josh H. Smith

Outfielders (6): Adolis García, Dustin Harris, Brad Miller, Leody Taveras, Bubba Thompson, Eli White

Designated Hitter (2): Mitch Garver, Mark Mathias

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You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard

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