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Marlins Move Five to 40-Man Roster: Rule 5 Draft News

By Kevin Kraczkowski |
SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA - MARCH 07: Jazz Chisholm #82 of the Arizona Diamondbacks smiles for a photo during the spring training game against the Cleveland Indians at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick on March 07, 2019 in Scottsdale, Arizona. (Photo by Jennifer Stewart/Getty Images)
SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA - MARCH 07: Jazz Chisholm #82 of the Arizona Diamondbacks smiles for a photo during the spring training game against the Cleveland Indians at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick on March 07, 2019 in Scottsdale, Arizona. (Photo by Jennifer Stewart/Getty Images)

In preparation for the upcoming rule 5 draft, the Miami Marlins protected five players.

As David Levin wrote earlier, the Marlins moved Wei-Yin Chen off the 40-man roster in order to make room for another prospect. Chen hadn’t quite panned out as well as Miami would have hoped after inking him to a five-year, $80 million deal prior to the 2016 season.

The movement of Chen opened up a fifth empty slot on the 40-man roster. The moves had to have been finalized by 8PM last night in order to meet the MLB standards. The Winter Meetings will provide the backdrop for this offseason’s rule 5 draft, sometime between December 8th and 12th this year in San Diego.

In preparation for the event, Miami protected RHP Humberto Mejia, RHP Sixto Sanchez, SS Jazz Chisholm, 1B Lewin Diaz, and RHP Edward Cabrera.

Humberto Mejia

Mejia has been with the Marlins organization since 2015, but his metrics trended very sharply northward with his 2019 efforts. Between the mid-A Clinton LumberKings and the high-A Jupiter Hammerheads, he held opposing hitters to a .176 average and a 0.897 WHIP while collecting 89 whiffs in 90 1/3 innings. Mejia was 5-2 with a 2.09 ERA.

CLEVELAND, OHIO – JULY 07: Alec Bohm #23 celebrates with pitcher Sixto Sanchez #45 as Sanchez leaves the game during the fifth inning against the American League during the All-Stars Futures Game at Progressive Field on July 07, 2019 in Cleveland, Ohio. The American and National League teams tied 2-2. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OHIO – JULY 07: Alec Bohm #23 celebrates with pitcher Sixto Sanchez #45 as Sanchez leaves the game during the fifth inning against the American League during the All-Stars Futures Game at Progressive Field on July 07, 2019 in Cleveland, Ohio. The American and National League teams tied 2-2. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images) /

Sixto Sanchez

Currently regarded as the Marlins number one top rated prospect, Sanchez joined the team in the J.T. Realmuto deal last February. In 18 starts for the double-A Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp this year, he was 8-4 with a 2.53 ERA, a 1.029 WHIP, and 97 K’s in 103 innings.

Jazz Chisholm

Chisholm was the bounty the Marlins received for future ace Zac Gallen from the Arizona Diamondbacks. After joining the Jumbo Shrimp, Chisholm hit .284 with three homers and 10 RBI in 23 Southern League contests.

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Lewin Diaz

Power lefty first baseman Diaz arrived in Miami’s system from the Minnesota Twins in the Sergio Romo deal at the trade deadline. Although he only hit .200 in 31 games after joining the Marlins organization, his overall 2019 metrics tell a bigger story. Twenty-seven homers and 76 RBI in 121 contests to go along with a .270/.321/.530 slashline. In addition to that, Diaz maintained an 18.2 percent K-rate that is far better than most of Miami’s recent top prospects.

Edward Cabrera

Between Jupiter and Jacksonville in 2019, Cabrera was 9-4 with a 2.23 ERA and 116 strikeouts in 96 2/3 innings. Opponents could only manage the Mendoza Line against him, racking up a .190 average while Cabrera held them to a 0.993 WHIP.

Solid prospects, all. Will they all end up making a huge impact at the major league level for these Marlins? Probably not, but it’s good that the Marlins have taken this pre-emptive step in protecting them from would-be scavengers come next month.

dark. Next. Chen DFA

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