Tuesday at 6 p.m. ET was the deadline for teams to add players to their 40-man roster in order to protect them from the Rule 5 Draft, and the Phillies had one notable omission in the form of Carlos De La Cruz.
But De La Cruz, ranked the organization’s No. 10 prospect by Phillies Nation‘s Ty Daubert in July, is far from a guarantee to be selected in December’s Rule 5 Draft — likely the reason the Phillies didn’t protect him.
The 6-foot-8 first baseman and corner outfielder broke out with 17 homers and an .815 OPS across 102 games at High-A Jersey Shore and Double-A Reading in 2022. He hit 24 big flies in 129 games at Reading this season, sporting a .798 OPS.
The big issue with De La Cruz, however, is his swing-and-miss propensity: He struck out 120 times in 2022 before doing so 160 times this season. His 54 walks this year doubled his total from a year ago, but his batting average also dropped to .259.
Those numbers (and his second-half drop-off) aren’t the most encouraging for any team that, upon selecting him in the Rule 5 Draft, would have to keep the 24-year-old on its 26-man roster lest the club risk losing him via waivers; he would also have to be offered back to Philadelphia if he did clear waivers. The Phillies will bet that their gamble pays off (and perhaps they won’t be too heartbroken if it doesn’t) while leaving a couple open spots on the 40-man for other moves.
Must-read Phillies content
- Earlier in the day, the Phillies traded Oliver Dunn — a different Rule 5 Draft protection candidate — to the Milwaukee Brewers. Our Destiny Lugardo has more on the move and the Phillies’ return.
- Also from Lugardo — it was a formality, but Aaron Nola rejected the Qualifying Offer on Tuesday. What it means for other teams who could sign him, what it says (nothing) about his interest in staying and who else rejected it, here.
- One of those teams that might make a Nola push is the New York Yankees. Our Tim Kelly covered the latest Nola rumor, linking them to the righty.
- A pitcher the Phillies could sign without QO-related penalties is Yoshinobu Yamamoto. The Phillies are apparently interested — legitimately — in him, but there’s a hurdle they’d have to overcome in his sweepstakes.
- Want predictions on where Nola, Yamamoto and the other 23 top free agents in this class will end up, and on what deals? Check out Kelly’s comprehensive free agent rankings and predictions over at Just Baseball.
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