{"id":122806,"date":"2025-11-19T14:35:48","date_gmt":"2025-11-19T14:35:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=122806"},"modified":"2025-11-19T14:35:48","modified_gmt":"2025-11-19T14:35:48","slug":"braves-protect-zero-prospects-from-rule-5-draft-what-that-means","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=122806","title":{"rendered":"Braves Protect Zero Prospects From Rule 5 Draft, What That Means"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/figure>\n

Tuesday evening, the deadline to protect eligible prospects from the Rule 5 Draft came and went. The Atlanta Braves were quiet. Zero of the four eligible players, Right-hander Blake Burkhalter, right-hander Ian Mejia, third baseman David McCabe and right-hander Elison Joseph, were protected. None were put on the 40-man roster.<\/p>\n

Next month, one of them could be claimed by another team and added to their active roster. Let\u2019s take a look at what this decision means for the team and the players involved.<\/p>\n

Braves are Willing to Roll the Dice<\/h2>\n

The Braves didn\u2019t feel an urgency to use open spots on the 40-man roster to protect them. It\u2019s a sign that they don\u2019t view these prospects as Major League-ready, or close enough to Major League-ready, that they\u2019re willing to find out if other teams feel the same.<\/p>\n

According to the Braves’ official 40-man roster on the MLB.com website, there are 37 players already on it. Twenty-three of them are pitchers. Those spots could go to free-agent additions or players that come in trades.<\/p>\n

Players can be removed from the 40-man roster if needed. However, with few spots still open and there being a need to add this offseason, the Braves likely decided they didn\u2019t want to have to force themselves to subtract others by adding players now.<\/p>\n

Even if they are claimed, that doesn\u2019t guarantee they are lost forever. The Braves took two players last year, Christian Cairo and Anderson Pilar, and both were returned to their original teams during Spring Training. That could happen with those they potentially lose in a month.<\/p>\n

It Doesn\u2019t Mean These Prospects Aren\u2019t Valuable (to Braves or Another Team)<\/h2>\n

It\u2019s all a strategy game here. The Rule 5 draft is about picking up players you think will benefit your team’s active roster. One day, the Braves could decide they could. Then, they\u2019ll purchase their contracts and call them up.<\/p>\n

These could still be prospects wanted by other teams. It\u2019s all about whether or not someone wants them in the Majors immediately. If a team that needs pitching or a third baseman were able to acquire them and then develop them further in Triple-A, they\u2019d be more willing to make a move.<\/p>\n

Other Prospects Could Ultimately Use 40-Man Spots<\/h2>\n

Talking about the use of the few spots on the 40-man roster that they have. Keep in mind that other prospects could take precedence. It\u2019s expected that No. 2 prospect JR Ritchie will see action in the Majors this upcoming season. That\u2019ll require him to the 40-man, which in turn will likely mean someone is removed.<\/p>\n

If the Braves are going to make the effort to make those moves, Ritchie is first in line. I\u2019m willing to guess that No. 12 prospect Lucas Bruan is ahead of them after some promising starts in Triple-A. The other four unprotected prospects are not.<\/p>\n

More From Atlanta Braves on SI<\/h3>\n
<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Atlanta Braves balked at protecting four top-30 prospects from the Rule 5 Draft; see what that means for the offseason outlook<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":122807,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-122806","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"\nBraves Protect Zero Prospects From Rule 5 Draft, What That Means - NEWS USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=122806\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Braves Protect Zero Prospects From Rule 5 Draft, What That Means - NEWS USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Atlanta Braves balked at protecting four top-30 prospects from the Rule 5 Draft; see what that means for the offseason outlook\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=122806\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"NEWS USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-11-19T14:35:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/avtvip-50-3.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"MrThanh\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"MrThanh\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=122806\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=122806\",\"name\":\"Braves Protect Zero Prospects From Rule 5 Draft, What That Means - NEWS USA\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=122806#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=122806#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/avtvip-50-3.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-11-19T14:35:48+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-11-19T14:35:48+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/850fd1b8bcb1d322b7f0a04b3d2f18ec\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=122806#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=122806\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=122806#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/avtvip-50-3.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/avtvip-50-3.jpg\",\"width\":900,\"height\":900},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=122806#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Braves Protect Zero Prospects From Rule 5 Draft, What That Means\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/\",\"name\":\"NEWS USA\",\"description\":\"Your Daily Dose of Sports News and Updates\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/850fd1b8bcb1d322b7f0a04b3d2f18ec\",\"name\":\"MrThanh\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8c8f2d90ff2a21a61a5e6bc0619622a5021fc65353885d9d7b3db1c8c7c1ca8d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8c8f2d90ff2a21a61a5e6bc0619622a5021fc65353885d9d7b3db1c8c7c1ca8d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"MrThanh\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?author=6\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Braves Protect Zero Prospects From Rule 5 Draft, What That Means - NEWS USA","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=122806","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Braves Protect Zero Prospects From Rule 5 Draft, What That Means - NEWS USA","og_description":"The Atlanta Braves balked at protecting four top-30 prospects from the Rule 5 Draft; see what that means for the offseason outlook","og_url":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=122806","og_site_name":"NEWS USA","article_published_time":"2025-11-19T14:35:48+00:00","og_image":[{"width":900,"height":900,"url":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/avtvip-50-3.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"MrThanh","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"MrThanh","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=122806","url":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=122806","name":"Braves Protect Zero Prospects From Rule 5 Draft, What That Means - NEWS USA","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=122806#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=122806#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/avtvip-50-3.jpg","datePublished":"2025-11-19T14:35:48+00:00","dateModified":"2025-11-19T14:35:48+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/850fd1b8bcb1d322b7f0a04b3d2f18ec"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=122806#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=122806"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=122806#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/avtvip-50-3.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/avtvip-50-3.jpg","width":900,"height":900},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=122806#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Braves Protect Zero Prospects From Rule 5 Draft, What That Means"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/","name":"NEWS USA","description":"Your Daily Dose of Sports News and Updates","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/850fd1b8bcb1d322b7f0a04b3d2f18ec","name":"MrThanh","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8c8f2d90ff2a21a61a5e6bc0619622a5021fc65353885d9d7b3db1c8c7c1ca8d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8c8f2d90ff2a21a61a5e6bc0619622a5021fc65353885d9d7b3db1c8c7c1ca8d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"MrThanh"},"url":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?author=6"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122806","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=122806"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122806\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":122808,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122806\/revisions\/122808"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/122807"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=122806"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=122806"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=122806"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}