Morning Rundown: Deadline day to protect players from Rule 5 draft

Teams have until 6 pm ET to add Rule 5 eligible players to roster

This is another significant milestone day for the offseason, as teams have until 6 pm ET today to add eligible players to the 40-man roster to protect them from the Rule 5 draft.

The Pirates have quite a few names eligible that could be selected if not protected, so Ben Cherington will have some big decisions to make.

Ethan Hullihen broke down who was eligible for the Rule 5 draft a couple of weeks ago, including who he thought the Pirates would protect.

Pittsburgh Pirates Rule 5 Draft Preview

Going into the day, the Pirates have three open roster spots to protect players, but they don’t have to use them all.

As of 11:30 pm ET the night before when this was written, there hasn’t been any news of any trades or waiver moves to clear up space, which isn’t a necessity right now.

They could add players now and then clear some spots for any free-agent signings later.

Here’s a quick refresher of some notable names that will be eligible again;

Cam Alldred

Braxton Ashcraft

JC Flowers

Matt Fraizer

Matt Gorski

Abrahan Gutierrez

Carlos Jimenez

Valentin Linarez

Dariel Lopez

Rodolfo Nolasco

Malcom Nunez

They were all eligible at some point and weren’t added or picked up. Now, some names that will be eligible for the first time;

Omar Alfonzo

Jase Bowen

Tsung-Che Cheng

Hudson Head

Brennan Malone

Javier Rivas

Sammy Siani

Enmanuel Terrero

Quite a few names there, and that’s not even the complete list. In the end, unless something happens, the Pirates can protect up to three listed above - or they could opt to protect none.

My prediction

The Rule 5 gets a lot more hype than it probably should, as fans don’t want to lose players for nothing, especially fearing that another organization will turn them into a success.

Pittsburgh got Jose Hernandez out of the Rule 5, who became a solid reliever, but they lost Blake Sabol, who hit 13 home runs for the Giants last year. When looking at WAR, Sabol (0.7) didn’t offer much more than Hernandez (0.1).

So, with that in mind, there are two ways of looking at this. The Pirates have three roster spots open right now, which could be deliberate for this reason.

In that case, my three choices are probably;

Jase Bowen

Tsung-Che Cheng

Braxton Ashcraft

If it were up to me, I would only protect Ashcraft, with Bowen being next if I wanted to protect two.

Bowen and Cheng, I believe, can become productive players in the proper role at the next level, but also have enough questions to where I don’t think they will be taken. Bowen hasn’t played much above High-A, and I still have questions about Cheng’s power once he got to Double-A.

After a strong stint in the Arizona Fall League, the Pirates could opt to protect Bowen as he does cover two specific areas of need - a right-handed outfielder and someone who can play first base.

Ashcraft, though, already looks like a potential power reliever and, thanks to his elite control, still has a chance to start.

The Pirates eased him back in last year after coming off of Tommy John, which allowed teams to see how he looks as a reliever.

He seems like the easiest player to hide on a major league roster and might find some success as a reliever after an adjustment period.