The Phillies added six players to their 40-man roster Friday night, thus preventing them from being selected by another club in next month’s Rule 5 draft.
The list of protected players includes four pitchers, an infielder and an outfielder.
Three of the pitchers are left-handers — Damon Jones, Kyle Dohy and Bailey Falter. The other pitcher is right-hander Francisco Morales. Jones, Falter and Morales have all worked as starters in their minor-league careers. Dohy is a reliever.
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Infielder Nick Maton and outfielder Simon Muzziotti were also added to the roster. Both players were named to Baseball America’s list of Top 10 Phillies prospects earlier this week. Morales is also on that list.
Jones, Dohy and Maton were all invites to major-league spring training in 2020. Muzziotti also participated in several big-league spring training games, though he was not an official invite.
Players who signed their first pro contract when they were 19 or older and have played for four years, or players who signed their first pro contract when they were 18 or younger and have played five years, are eligible for the Rule 5 draft. It costs $100,000 to draft a player. Players who are selected must spend the next season in the majors or be offered back for $50,000 to the team from which they were drafted.
The Phillies have had a number of notable Rule 5 players over the years, including Dave Hollins, Shane Victorino and Odubel Herrera. The Phils lost future American League MVP George Bell to Toronto in the 1980 Rule 5 draft.
MLB
Notable players not protected by Friday night's deadline include lefty reliever Zach Warren, lefty starter David Parkinson, power-hitting outfielder Jhailyn Ortiz and Kevin Gowdy, a right-handed pitcher who was the Phillies’ second-round pick in the 2016 draft. He has been slowed by an elbow injury.
Warren participated in big-league camp in 2020. Parkinson won the Paul Owens Award as the organization’s top minor-league pitcher in 2018. Ortiz, a 22-year-old, power-hitting outfielder who has struggled to make contact in the low minors, was signed for $4 million out of Venezuela when he was 16.
These players will all be eligible to be selected in the Rule 5 draft on Dec. 10.
The Phillies’ 40-man roster stands at 37.
The next big date on the baseball calendar is Dec. 2, the deadline for tendering 2021 contracts to players eligible for salary arbitration.
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