Yankees’ 40-man roster revealed ahead of Rule 5 Draft

Here’s who the Yankees added to their 40-man roster on Friday.

The moves are in! Though we expected a surprise, there wasn’t one. The New York Yankees went with the expected decisions ahead of the 6 p.m. EST 40-man roster deadline on Friday. This was all in preparation for the Rule 5 Draft, which will take place on Dec. 10.

For those not familiar with the annual event, here’s a brief description from MLB.com’s glossary:

“Held each December, the Rule 5 Draft allows clubs without a full 40-man roster to select certain non-40-man roster players from other clubs. Clubs draft in reverse order of the standings from the previous season. Players signed at age 18 or younger need to be added to their club’s 40-Man roster within five seasons or they become eligible for the Rule 5 Draft. Players who signed at age 19 or older need to be protected within four seasons.”

It’s a pretty kooky scenario, and here’s who the Yankees have opted to protect from other teams:

Let’s get a quick rundown of these guys and their performances from 2019:

• Roansy Contreras (21): 12-5 with a 3.33 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and 113 strikeouts in 24 starts (132.1 innings) with Single-A Charleston
• Yoendrys Gomez (21): 4-5 with a 3.99 ERA, 1.30 WHIP and 53 strikeouts in 12 starts (56.1 innings) with Single-A Charleston and Rookie League Pulaski
• Oswald Peraza (20): slashed .263/.332/.340 with 38 runs scored, 4 home runs, 20 RBI and 23 stolen bases in 65 games with Single-A Charleston and Short-Season-A Staten Island
• Alexander Vizcaino (23): 6-6 with a 4.38 ERA, 1.31 WHIP and 128 strikeouts in 21 starts (115 innings) with Single-A Charleston and High-A Tampa

Obviously, the Yankees are bullish on these youngsters’ future with the team. They took the top-four guys who were eligible for the Rule 5 Draft.

Some figured reliever Addison Russ, who the Yankees acquired in a midseason trade with the Philadelphia Phillies in exchange for David Hale, would be among those protected, but instead New York will run the risk of another team scooping him up come Dec. 10. Here are his stats from 2019:

• Addison Russ (26): 5-6 with a 2.54 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 22 saves and 81 strikeouts in 55 games (56.2 innings) in Double-A Reading.

Pretty darn good, but it’s not like the Yankees need a whole lot of bullpen help at the moment. Plus, Russ is 26 years old and they surrendered a non-impact player in Hale for him. If the Yankees lose Russ, they’ll be able to live with it since he hasn’t even pitched a single game as a member of the organization.

As for the other youngsters, they could be future cornerstones, but we won’t know for a while. If they are, these roster moves will be a part of Yankees history.

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