The Boston Red Sox announced on Monday the three players they would protect from the Rule 5 draft.
With the Winter Meetings approaching quickly, that means the Rule 5 draft is coming just as fast. The Boston Red Sox will be making moves, but they also did some housecleaning on Monday.
The Rule 5 draft is when the GM’s have another draft, except this time at the Winter Meetings. Teams can protect players from the Rule 5 draft by putting them on the 40-man roster. There are also some other built-in protections to keep teams from losing their top young prospects.
The Red Sox, in preparation for the Rule 5 draft, added three pitchers to the 40-man roster.
Jalen Beeks, Chandler Shepherd, and Ty Buttery found themselves on the 40-man roster, to protect them from the draft.
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All three of these guys spent some time in Triple-A Pawtucket this year, but none of them made an MLB appearance.
Beeks, a lefty starter, was pretty solid this season in Double-A and Triple-A. In time with both teams, he finished with a 3.29 ERA in 145 innings. He also compiled 155 strikeouts in those innings.
Shepherd, a right-handed reliever, pitched 59 and two-third innings this year in Pawtucket. He had 68 strikeouts in those 59 innings. Shepherd could be a key asset to the Red Sox this year. He has a nice chance at being a September call up. He could help the Sox down the stretch in some mid-relief innings in September.
Buttery, another right-handed reliever, spent some time in both Double-A and Triple-A this year, but he made his name in the Arizona Fall League. Buttery pitched to a 2.16 ERA in the AFL. He likely will not be a September call up option, but he provides an opportunity to be a good reliever down the road.
We gave you a list of names earlier today of guys who could make the roster, and we were pretty close. There were no shockers on the list of players added to the roster.
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