Rule 5 / 40 man question

[JGalt73]

BP lists Brandon Sing as the #2 candidate on the possible Rule 5 target list:

 

Brandon Sing, 1B, Chicago Cubs (AA, 24)

AA (SOU): .276/.404/.538, 26 HR in 409 at-bats

AFL: .246/.338/.464, 3 HR in 69 at-bats

 

Had a mediocre AFL, but Sing is coming off a regular season in which he put up a .942 OPS in the pitcher-friendly Southern League, including 26 HR’s and a nice 91 walks after hitting 32 HR’s the year before. Teams would love to have his bat, but the Cubs would have protected him if had even an adequate glove. An AL team could take a chance on Sing.

 

Honorable mention: Bobbie Brownlie

 

With the 3 pitchers coming off the 40 man in the Pierre deal, are the Cubs allowed to now add 2 players to the list?

[Transmogrified Tiger]

No.

[cubbyvirus00]

How come they aren't able to add 2 more players to the list?

[Ding Dong Johnson]

Well, we were all wondering about that 40 man list a couple of weeks ago, and now some questions are answered. What happens if this "many for one" rumor actually happens? We could be looking at only having 33-34 on the 40 man.

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

How come they aren't able to add 2 more players to the list?

 

Once the lists are submitted, the 40-man rosters are frozen until after the draft and you aren't allowed to trade players who are eligible for selection but aren't protected until after the draft.

[JeffH]

How come they aren't able to add 2 more players to the list?

 

I assume you're looking for an answer more sophisticated than "it's against the rules".