Who are you concerned that they would have to expose in the Rule 5 draft?  This year should be mostly the 2013 class.  Gonzales is already gone.  Mercado was a high-schooler, so he has another year.  I can't say that I recognize any of the other names from that year's draft well enough to know if any of them are legit prospects.

http://stlouis.cardinals.mlb.com/team/draft.jsp?c_id=stl&year=2013

I believe we just witnessed the opening up of one spot on the 40 man roster for next year.  Maybe a lot sooner.

artie_fufkin wrote:

Mags wrote:

I believe we just witnessed the opening up of one spot on the 40 man roster for next year.  Maybe a lot sooner.

 
Oh? I think they're rid of him at the end of this season.

that's what I meant by maybe a lot sooner.
 

forsberg_us wrote:

Mags wrote:

forsberg_us wrote:

Who are you concerned that they would have to expose in the Rule 5 draft?  This year should be mostly the 2013 class.  Gonzales is already gone.  Mercado was a high-schooler, so he has another year.  I can't say that I recognize any of the other names from that year's draft well enough to know if any of them are legit prospects.

http://stlouis.cardinals.mlb.com/team/draft.jsp?c_id=stl&year=2013

Good question.  I think Mercado was one that concerned me.  I didn't know, and still don't understand, how the high school player stuff factors in.
 

If the player is 18 or younger as of June 5 the year he signs his first professional contract he has to be added to the 40 man begore the 5th Rule 5 draft following his signing, otherwise, he's exposed to the draft. If the player is over 18 as of that date he has to be on the 40 man by the 4th Rule 5 draft.

So players from the 2013 draft that were 19 or older as of June 5, 2013 are eligible for the Rule 5 draft this coming off-season unless they're on the 40 man. Mercado was only 17 or 18. He wouldn't be Rule 5 eligible until after the 2018 season.

Thanks.  I believe that Dylan Carlson may also fall into the 5 year category.

Last edited by Mags (8/23/2017 10:24 pm)

Fors,

I'm sure you are right about Mercado but Goold continues to assert that he has to be put on the 40 man.  The first time i got that idea was here:

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/baseball/professional/cardinals-rethink-roster-protection-for-offseason/article_8be367c2-e267-5ab9-ade9-fe1b471a0b7f.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=email&utm_campaign=user-share

Again, this morning, Goold has a column on the log jam of outfielders in which he states that Mercado has to be added to the 40 man to be protected from a rule 5 draft.  Given the rules you've explained, I have no doubt you are right.  In part because I think Goold is generally full of shit.

Another guy I was worried about was the pitcher Junior Fernandez, who has been having injury problems for the past several weeks.  But based upon your explanation, it appears he has another year.

I'll try to get back with you soon on the candidates for addition and subtraction as soon as I can.

Fors,

When I tried to do some concrete thinking on this issue, I realized I was also thinking in terms of there being prospects who the team might want to add to the forty man at some point early next season even if they don't yet need protection.  Those would include Flaherty, Hudson, and J. Garcia.

I can think of 4 players who will probably non-tendered in time for roster adjustments if they haven't already been taken off the 40-man roster:  J. Martinez, Sean Gilmartin, Oh, and Duke (or maybe Siegrist, depending upon his comeback).  I really like each of these guys that I know anything about but it's a business, as Mo says in every interview.

Players to be added or lost before next season:  Alex Reyes (comes off the 60 day), Alcantara (will probably replace Gilmartin in September), O'Neill, Austin Gomber, Matt Pearce, Patrick Wisdom, and Mercado.  There may be others I can't think of but I doubt it.

Besides Wisdom, there are three infielders currently at Memphis who are a couple of years younger than Greg Garcia -- Mejia, Valera, and Diaz.  (Actually, Diaz is only a year younger).  Each has more speed and a little more power.  Valera is a switch hitter.  The other two are righties.  I think Diaz is the only one who is a decent shortstop, but could be wrong.  Valera has seen quite a bit of time in the outfield this year.  But Garcia is very much a proven quantity and a left-handed bat off the bench.

They also have on the 40 man Sosa, a shortstop who has spent most of the year in high A, and Alvarez, a lefty-hitting second baseman who has spent most of the year at Springfield.  These two are younger than the ones at Memphis.  I don't know whether Alvarez is acceptable at SS.

Wisdom, a third baseman, has been at Memphis 2 years now, has continued to show improvement but still makes a lot of errors and is still hitting under .250.  He has shown excellent power and supposedly has the strongest arm of any infielder in the system.  He's also been playing some first base.  He is supposedly very intense, maybe a little bit too much so.

You can add Lynn to the list of spots that will open up and I wouldn't be surprised if they don't move on from Tuivailala. He hasn't shown an ability to do anything but throw hard.

Plus, as you've alluded to, there are likely to be trades. They can't go into the 2018 season with this roster, especially the logjam in the outfield.