With today being the deadline to add players to the 40-man roster before the Rule 5 Draft, the Arizona Diamondbacks have selected the contract of four players: right-handed pitchers Taylor Widener and Riley Smith and infielders Andy Young and Wyatt Mathisen. All four players had significant playing time with the organization’s top minor league affiliate, Reno, in the 2019 season. All four players will be protected from the Rule 5 Draft, which comes at the end of the Winter Meetings next month.
The Rule 5 Draft is a bit complicated but for all intents and purposes it’s designed to prevent teams from stashing talent in the minors.