When they reach certain time in an MLB team’s farm system, players can be poached by other organizations if they aren’t added to their current club’s 40-man roster.
A few weeks ago, the Cleveland Guardians protected Franco Aleman, Nic Enright, Petey Halpin and Doug Nikhazy, adding them to the roster and shielding them from being picked up by other teams in the Rule 5 Draft.
That draft took place on Wednesday, and it’s safe to say things could have been worse for the Guardians.
“Final tally of the MLB Rule 5 Draft for the Guardians. MLB phase: lose INF Christian Cairo to the Braves. Triple- A phase: Add INF Will Wilson from the Giants, lose OF Luis Durango Jr. to the Yankees, lose LHP Randy Labaut to the Pirates, lose LHP Steve Hajjar to the Pirates,” Guardians Prospective wrote on X.
Final tally of the MLB Rule 5 Draft for the Guardians.
MLB phase:
– lose INF Christian Cairo to the Braves
Triple- A phase:
– Add INF Will Wilson from the Giants
– lose OF Luis Durango Jr. to the Yankees
– lose LHP Randy Labaut to the Pirates
– lose LHP Steve Hajjar to the…— Guardians Prospective (@CleGuardPro) December 11, 2024
All things considered, and given the talent they couldn’t protect, losing only Cairo is close to a best-case scenario for Cleveland.
The infielder will now go to the Atlanta Braves.
Other quality prospects, such as Ryan Webb for example, will remain part of the Guardians organization.
In the minor league phase of the draft, the Guardians also added their only player of the afternoon, infielder Will Wilson, from the San Francisco Giants.
They also lost Durango Jr., Labaur and Hajjar in the Triple-A phase of the draft.
The Guardians’ system is still among the very best in the game, especially after landing three prospects in two separate deals on Tuesday night.
Nick Mitchell, Josh Hartle and Michael Kennedy are now among the best 30 prospects in the Guardians system.
NEXT: Insider Reveals Why Guardians Traded Andres Gimenez
