Cubs Add Four to 40-Man Roster

The Cubs selected the contracts of four minor league players today (all four from AA Tennessee), adding 3B Jeimer Candelario, C Willson Contreras, RHSP Pierce Johnson, and 1B Dan Vogelbach to their MLB Reserve List (40-man roster), and thus insuring that the foursome will not be eligible for selection in next month's Rule 5 Draft.

So what exactly is the Rule 5 Draft? 

RULE 5 DRAFT: 

Each MLB club is required to file its MLB Reserve List and the reserve list for each of its minor league affiliates with the MLB Commissioner on November 20th each year (or November 19th if November 20th falls on a Saturday, or November 18th if November 20th falls on a Sunday), and the MLB Rule 5 Draft is held subsequent to the reserve lists being filed.

Although it actually could be scheduled anytime after November 20th, the MLB Rule 5 Draft (technically known as the "Rule 5 Selection Meeting") is (and has been for many years) the last order of business at the MLB Winter Meetins in December (it will be held on December 10th this year), and it is a mechanism that allows MLB clubs to select (draft) players off minor league reserve lists.

There is a "Major League Phase" where an MLB club can select Rule 5 Draft eligible players off the reserve lists of minor league clubs for $50,000, a "AAA Phase" where a club's AAA minor league affiliate can select Rule 5 Draft eligible players off the reserve lists of minor league clubs of a lower classification for $12,000, and finally a "AA Phase" where a club's AA minor league affiliate can select Rule 5 Draft eligible players off the reserve lists of Class "A" clubs for $4,000.

RULE 5 DRAFT ELIGIBILITY: 

1. A minor league player who was 18 or younger on the June 5th immediately prior to signing his first contract is eligible for selection starting with the 5th Rule 5 Draft after he signs, and a minor league player who was 19 years or older on the June 5th immediately prior to signing his first contract becomes eligible for selection starting with the 4th Rule 5 Draft that followed his signing.

2. If a player signs his first contract after the conclusion of the season of the MLB or minor league club to which he is first assigned, the next season is considered to be the player's "first season" for Rule 5 eligibility purposes.

3. A player eligible to be an MLB Rule 55 minor league free-agent who signs a minor league successor contract prior to being declared a free-agent and a free-agent with prior MLB and/or minor league service who signs a minor league contract prior to the Rule 5 Draft is eligible for selection if the player was 18 or younger on the June 5th immediately prior to signing his first contract and it is at least the 5th Rule 5 Draft since he signed his first contract, or the player was 19 years or older on the June 5th immediately prior to signing his first contract and it is at least the 4th Rule 5 Draft since he signed his first contract. 

4. Any player on a minor league reserve list who has either been released or had his contract voided and then re-signs with the same MLB organization within one year is eligible for selection. 

5. Any player on a minor league reserve list who has been outrighted to the minors previously in his career is eligible for selection. 

6. A player on the Voluntary Retired List, Disqualified List, or Ineligible List is not eligible for selection. 

7. An MLB club can designate any player on a minor league reserve list "eligible for selection" in the Rule 5 Draft even if the player would not normally be eligible, but once a player is designated eligible for selection, he remains eligible for selection in all subsequent Rule 5 drafts. 

8. A minor league player-manager who would be eligible for selection in the Rule 5 Draft if he was only a player can be selected, but if he is selected, the player-manager can reject the selection and retire. He has 30 days to decide. If he rejects the selection and opts to retire as a player, the player-manager is ineligible to be reinstated as a player for a minimum of one year.  

RULE 5 DRAFT RESTRICTIONS:
 

1. A minor league player eligible for selection in the Rule 5 Draft cannot be added to an MLB Reserve List (40-man roster), traded to another organization, or transferred from one minor league reserve list to another within the same organization, starting with the filing of MLB & minor league reserve lists on November 20th up through the conclusion of the Rule 5 Draft.

2. A player cannot be sent outright to the minors on the two days prior to the Rule 5 Draft and on the day of the Rule 5 Draft (through the conclusion of the draft).

3. A club must have as many slots open on its MLB Reserve List (40-man roster) prior to the Rule 5 Draft as the number of players it selects in the Major League Phase, and an MLB club's AAA and AA affiliates must have as many slots open on their respective reserve lists prior to the Rule 5 Draft as the number of players the affiliate selects in the AAA and AA phases of the draft. There is no limit on the number of Rule 5 eligible players any one organization can lose.

4. A player selected in the Major League Phase of the Rule 5 Draft must be placed on the drafting club's MLB Reserve List (40-man roster) immediately, and must be tendered a major league contract by 5 PM (Eastern) on the day of the draft.

PLAYERS WITH RULE 5 RESTRICTIONS ON CUBS MLB RESERVE LIST (40-MAN ROSTER): (updated 12-11-2014)
NONE

5. A player selected in the Major League Phase of the Rule 5 Draft can be traded at any time, but the player cannot be released or sent to the minors any earlier than 20 days prior to MLB Opening Day, and then only if Outright Assignment Waivers have been secured and the player's former club declines to re-claim the player.

6. If a player selected in the Major League Phase of the Rule 5 Draft spends at least 90 days on an MLB Active List during the MLB regular season following selection, Rule 5 restrictions are removed at the conclusion of the MLB regular season. If time spent on an MLB Active List is less than 90 days in the season following selection, the player remains a Rule 5 player into the next season, and the player continues to be a Rule 5 player until he has spent 90 days total on an MLB Active List.

7. If a club wishes to send a Rule 5 player to the minors before Rule 5 restrictions have been removed, the player must be placed on Outright Assignment Waivers, where any of the other 29 MLB clubs can claim the player for the $25,000 Rule 5 waiver price and assume the Rule 5 obligations.

CUB MINOR LEAGUERS SELECTED IN MAJOR LEAGUE PHASE OF 2015 RULE 5 DRAFT: (updated 4-1-2015)
Andrew McKirahan, LHP (by Miami Marlins - see NOTE)
NOTE: McKirahan was claimed off waivers by the Atlanta Braves on 4/1 (Braves assume Rule 5 obligations) 

8. If the Rule 5 player is not claimed off Outright Waivers, the player then must be offered back to the club from which he was drafted, and the player's former club can reclaim the player for $25,000, with the player being automatically outrighted to the Reserve List of the minor league club from which he was drafted. The club from which the player was drafted usually has 72 hours to decide whether to reclaim the player, but it has only 24 hours to decide if the player is eligible to be an Article XX-D Free-Agent if outrighted to the minors (player has accrued at least three years of MLB Service Time, qualifies for salary arbitration as a "Super Two" player, and/or has been outrighted to the minors previously in his career).

9. If a Rule 5 player is returned (outrighted) to the minor league club from which he was drafted, the drafting club is responsible for any portion of the player's salary above what the player was paid the previous season.

10. If a Rule 5 Player is returned (outrighted) to the minor league club from which he was drafted, and if the player has accrued at least three years of MLB Service Time, qualifies for salary arbitration as a "Super Two" player, and/or has been outrighted to the minors previously in his career, the player can elect to be an MLB Article XX-D minor league free-agent after being outrighted (he has three days to decide), or he can accept the Outright Assignment and defer the right to be a minor league free-agent until after the conclusion of the MLB regular season. (An outrighted "Super Two" Rule 5 player who has not previously been outrighted to the minors can elect free-agency if he is outrighted to the minors, but he cannot defer free-agency until after the conclusion of the MLB regular season).

11. If the club from which the player was drafted declines to reclaim the player, the Rule 5 restrictions are removed, the drafting club retains the player, and the player can be sent to the minors or released.

12. A player selected in the AAA or AA Phase of the Rule 5 Draft must be assigned to the Reserve List of the AAA or AA club that drafted the player, but the player can be assigned to the Active List of any minor league affiliate in the MLB club's organization once the minor league regular season commences. Also, unlike players selected in the Major League Phase of the Rule 5 Draft, a player selected in the AAA or AA Phase of the Rule 5 Draft does not have to be offered back to the club from which he was drafted if the player is ultimately assigned to the Active List of a minor league affiliate below the level of the minor league affiliate that drafted the player.

CUB MINOR LEAGUERS SELECTED IN A MINOR LEAGUE PHASE OF 2015 RULE 5 DRAFT: 
Rock Shoulders, 1B (by Texas Rangers AAA Round Rock affiliate from Cubs AA Tennessee affilate in AAA Phase)
Luis Flores, C (by Houston Astros AAA Fresno affiliate from Cubs AA Tennessee affiliate in AAA Phase)

MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS SELECTED BY CUBS IN A MINOR LEAGUE PHASE OF 2015 RULE 5 DRAFT: 
Ariel Ovando, OF (by Cubs AAA Iowa affiliate from Houston Astros AA Corpus Cristi affiliate in AAA Phase) 

13. A club can select a player off the reserve list of one of its own minor league affiliates, but if the player is selected in the Major League Phase, the club is bound by the same Rule 5 roster restrictions as if it had selected the player off the reserve list of another club's minor league affiliate.

14. A player eligible for selection in the Rule 5 Draft cannot be "covered up" from selection, either by agreement between two clubs or by effect. Also, a player selected in the Major League Phase of the Rule 5 Draft cannot be "hidden" on a Disabled List to help the drafting club fulfill Rule 5 roster obligations. If the MLB Commissioner believes a club "covered up" a player to avoid losing the player in the Rule Draft or "hid" a selected player on a Disabled List, the offending club or clubs are subject to a penalty (TBD by the MLB Commissioner).

DRAFT=-EXCLUDED PLAYER: 

A "Draft-Excluded Player" is any minor league player eligible for selection in the Rule 5 Draft whose contract is selected and who is added to an MLB Reserve List (40-man roster) between August 15th and the Rule 5 Draft.

While a "Draft-Excluded Player" can be non-tendered on 12/2 and released or traded at any time, he cannot be sent to the minors by Optional Assignment beginning with the conclusion of the MLB regular season up until 20 days prior to MLB Opening Day. Also, a "Draft-Excluded Player" can be outrighted to the minors only if Outright Assignment Waivers are requested no later than 2 PM (Eastern) on the 4th day following the final game of the World Series, and if a "Draft-Excluded Player" is not outrighted to the minors prior to the Rule 5 Draft, the player cannot be sent outright to the minors any earlier than 20 days prior to the start of the MLB regular season. 

CUBS WITH DRAFT-EXCLUDED STATUS POST-2015 (last updated 11-20-2015)
Jeimer Candelario, INF 
Willson Contreras, C 
Pierce Johnson, RHP
Dan Vogelbach, 1B

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

So Candelario, Contreras, Johnson, and Vogelbach have Draft-Excluded Status, and thus cannot be optioned or sent outright to the minors any earlier than 15 days prior to 2016 MLB Opening Day. (Draft-Excluded players can be non-tendered on 12/2, released, or traded, however). NOTE: Although he was added to an MLB 40-man roster after August 15th, Andury Acevedo does not have Draft-Excluded status, because he was not added to an MLB reserve list directly from a minor league reserve list (he was a free-agent in-between). 

With the addition of the four minor leaguers to the MLB 40-man roster today, plus one player (RHP Spencer Patton) acquired in a trade with Texas today, two recent waiver claims (RHRP Ryan Cook from BOS and LHRP Jack Leathersich from NYM), and the signing of Rule 55 minor league 6YFA Andury Acevedo (ex-NYY) to a major league contract earlier this week, the Cubs MLB Reserve List that had only 29 players on it just two weeks ago now stands at 37, with three slots still open for free-agents who might be signed in the next few days or weeks, off-season waiver claims, or maybe even a Rule 5 draft pick next month.  

In addition to submitting their MLB Reserve List to the MLB office today, the Cubs (like all MLB clubs) also submitted the reserve lists of all of their minor league affiliates to the MLB office. While MLB reserve lists have a 40-man limit, AAA reserve lists have a 38-man limit, AA reserve lists have a 37-man limit, and reserve lists for clubs below AA have a 35-man limit.

So besides deciding which players to add to the MLB Reserve List to make them excluded from selection in the Rule 5 Draft (that's why they are called "Draft-Excluded Players"), the Cubs also had to decide which Rule 5 Draft-eligible players to place on the AAA Iowa Reserve List, and which players to leave on AA or Class "A" reserve lists.

Typically, most MLB clubs will leave four or five slots open on their AAA affiliate's reserve list, to leave room for free-agents who might be signed to minor league contracts prior to the Rule 5 Draft, for players on the MLB 40-man roster who might get outrighted to AAA between now and then, and for players the club might want to select from other organizations in the AAA Phase of the draft (a club can only select as many players in the AAA Phase of the Rule Draft as the number of open slots on the AAA affiliate's reserve list).

So figure about 33 or 34 of the Cubs 53 minor leaguers presently eligible for selection in the Rule 5 Draft were placed on the AAA Iowa reserve list today, with 19 or 20 left on AA or Class-A reserve lists, making those 19 or 20 eligible for selection in the AAA Phase (AA or Class-A players, $12,000 draft price, with no right to re-claim) or in the AA Phase (Class-A players only, $4,000 draft price, with no right to re-claim).

Here are the 53 Cubs minor leaguers presently eligible for selection in next month's Rule 5 Draft (there won't be any fewer than 53, but there could be more depending on whether the Cubs sign any free-agents to minor league contracts or outright any players off the 40-man roster between now & then).

I have highlighted in bold and underlined the 33 players I suspect were probably placed on the AAA Iowa reserve list today (making them eligible for selection in the Major League Phase of the draft only): 

CUBS MINOR LEAGUERS ELIGIBLE FOR SELECTION IN DECEMBER 2015 RULE 5 DRAFT (last updated 11-20-2015):
Gioskar Amaya, INF-C
John Andreoli, OF
Julian Aybar, RHP (MLB Rule 55 second-contract player - under club control in 2016) 
Pedro Araujo, RHP
Jeffrey Baez, OF
Frank Batista, RHP (post-2015 MLB Rule 55 6YFA - signed 2016 minor league successor contract)
Corey Black, RHP
David Bote, INF
Matt Brazis, RHP
Stephen Bruno, INF 
Ben Carhart, INF
Erick Castillo, C
Pin-Chieh Chen, OF (post-2015 MLB Rule 55 6YFA - signed 2016 minor league successor contract)
Gerardo Concepcion, LHP (Article XX-D player - can elect free-agency if drafted & then later re-claimed by Cubs)
Josh Conway, RHP
Blake Cooper, RHP
Taylor Davis, C
Ryan Dent, INF (post-2015 MLB Rule 55 6YFA - signed 2016 minor league successor contract)
Andin Diaz, LHP
Shawon Dunston Jr, OF
Kevin Encarnacion, OF
P. J. Francescon, RHP
Anthony Giansanti, OF
Michael Heesch, LHP
Michael Jensen, RHP
Danny Lockhart, INF
Mark Malave, RHP (ex-C)
Dillon Maples, RHP
Ricardo Marcano, OF
Trey Martin, OF
Jonathan Martinez, RHP
Alberto Mineo, C
Yomar Morel, RHP
Yoanner Negrin, RHP
Ariel Ovando, LHP (ex-OF)
Juan Carlos Paniagua, RHP 
Jose Paulino, LHP 
Felix Pena, RHP (post-2015 MLB Rule 55 6YFA - signed 2016 minor league successor contract)
Carlos Penalver, INF
Steve Perakslis, RHP
Starling Peralta, RHP (post-2015 MLB Rule 55 6YFA - signed 2016 minor league successor contract)
Chris Pieters, OF (ex-LHP)
James Pugliese, RHP 
Bijan Rademacher, OF
Jasvir Rakkar, RHP
Austin Reed, RHP
Jacob Rogers, 1B
Jose Rosario, RHP (post-2015 MLB Rule 55 6YFA - signed 2016 minor league successor contract)
Alexander Santana, RHP 
Tayler Scott, RHP
Daury Torrez, RHP
Roberto Vahlis, C (MLB Rule 55 second-contract player - under club control in 2016)
Logan Watkins, INF (post-2015 MLB Rule 55 6YFA - signed 2016 minor league successor contract)