With the Rule 5 draft coming up on December 6, teams have until this Friday to make roster decisions about which players they’ll protect from the draft. (For a refresher on the Rule 5, click here.) The Mariners got ahead of the deadline with a move today, selecting OF Zach DeLoach to the 40-man roster and designating Mike Ford for assignment.
DeLoach was the Mariners’ second-round pick in 2020, and the Mariners are reportedly in love with his swing, a clean lefty swing built to make line drive contact. However, that swing hasn’t produced loud results in the upper minors.