40-man roster and Rule 5 protects

[Little Slide Rooter]

There's also Nats pitcher Brad Meyers, not to be confused with wife beater Brett Myers who projects to be a 5 starter or swing man at best. We really don't need any relievers but Venditte really intrigued me. Lou would have loved the guy. There's also Nick Noonan, a 22 year old Giants 2B who was a 2007 late 1st round pick. He had a decent season in AAA last year but as for power makes Darwin Barney look like steroid era Sammy.

[Little Slide Rooter]

Combing over our list of exposed players one more time, David Cales and Ryan Searle are a few more guys I could see taken. Whether or not theyd stay on a big league roster is another story.

[Guest]

No one is taking David Cales or Ryan Searle. Come on, think about this for a second.

[Little Slide Rooter]

Why not? With the Rule 5 it's nothing to lose situation. All you're really doing is giving a guy a shot at spring training. If there's nobody a team really has their eye on why not take a look at a young reliever? We did a few years ago, and the Davd Patton era began.

[Guest]

David Patton can throw the ball hard. Cales and Searles don't have the stuff, performance, or pedigree to even be a blip on anyone's radar. There's literally a hundred of them available in the draft. All thirty teams leave these people unprotected, try to remember that.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

Why not? With the Rule 5 it's nothing to lose situation. All you're really doing is giving a guy a shot at spring training. If there's nobody a team really has their eye on why not take a look at a young reliever? We did a few years ago, and the Davd Patton era began.

 

Teams won't take guys they don't have a legitimate interest in keeping, because they don't want other teams doing the same to their prospects.

[Little Slide Rooter]

I have a pretty good grasp on how the Rule 5 works, but what are the rules for the minor league phase?

[Guest]

BA Rule 5 preview:

 

Dae-Eun Rhee, rhp, Cubs: OK, Rhee should have gone in the Lottery Ticket preview, while Ryan Flaherty would have fit better here. It is what it is. Rhee is what he is—a talented South Korean who has had Tommy John surgery but still has good stuff, a four-pitch mix and age (he's 22) on his side. He improved in his second turn at high Class A Daytona, throwing a career-best 128 innings, posting strong strikeout (8.25) and walk (3.03) ratios, and touched 94 mph with his fastball. His changeup flashes above-average, as does his hard-biting curveball, which is more consistent, and he has a decent slider to mix in as well. All that said, Rhee has a 4.37 minor league ERA in 291 innings, most of them having come in the Florida State League.

 

Ryan Searle, rhp, Cubs: Searle shined at the 2011 World Cup for Australia, winning both of his starts, including a shutout of Canada. Searle struck out nine and walked three in 12 innings in Panama after going 6-5, 3.03 in 2011 between high Class A Daytona and Double-A Tennessee. He has command issues, walking 43 in 85 Double-A innings this season, but he hit 94 mph with his fastball and has both a hard curveball and a hard slider, both with solid-average potential. He's matured but doesn't win points for mound presence or for his demeanor. His changeup lags behind and he's had less success against lefthanded batters.

 

Ryan Flaherty, if/of, Cubs: The Cubs have several prospects such as D.J. LeMahieu, Junior Lake and Josh Vitters who all profile best at third base. Flaherty also fits that description but the others are on the 40-man, and Flaherty isn't. He's the only one of that group that bats lefthanded, and his best-case scenario appears to be as a lefty-batting Mark DeRosa, though he's less athletic and therefore less skilled defensively. Flaherty has played a lot of second base in the minors but played short, third base and both outfield corners as well. He has solid-average power and a career .809 OPS in the minors, including a .280/.347/.478 line between Double-A and Triple-A in 2011. He's as safe a bet as any Rule 5 player available to stick because of his lefthanded bat, defensive versatility, good performance track record and solid makeup.