Phillies add 6 prospects to roster ahead of Rule 5 Draft

The Phillies have added six Rule 5 Draft-eligible prospects to their 40-man roster.

The Philadelphia Phillies added six prospects to their 40-man roster on Friday — left-handed pitchers Kyle Dohy (24 years old), Bailey Falter (23), Damon Jones (26); right-handed pitcher Francisco Morales (21); infielder Nick Maton (23); and outfielder Simon Muzziotti (21).

By selecting their contracts ahead of Friday’s deadline, these players are now protected from being selected by another team in next month’s Rule 5 Draft. The Phillies’ 40-man roster now stands at 37 players. Maton, Morales, and Muzziotti were recently named to Baseball America’s Top 10 Phillies prospects list.

2019 Stats

• Dohy (AA, AAA): 7-5, 5.32 ERA, 47 appearances, 105 strikeouts, 67 2/3 innings
• Falter (AA): 6-5, 3.84 ERA, 14 starts, 62/15 SO/BB, 77 1/3 innings
• Jones (A+, AA, AAA): 5-4, 2.91 ERA, 23 starts, 152/59 SO/BB, 114 1/3 innings
• Morales (A): 1-8, 3.82 ERA, 27 appearances, 15 starts, 129 SO, 96 2/3 innings
• Maton (A+, AA): .266/.349/.376, 17 2B, 3 3B, 7 HR, 51 RBI
• Muzziotti (A+): .287/.337/.372, 21 2B, 3 3B, 3 HR, 28 RBI, 21 SB

Dohy, Falter, Jones, Morales, Maton and Muzziotti are Rule 5-eligible because they either signed their first professional contract when they were at least 19 years old and have played four years, or signed when they were 18 or younger and have played five years.

Last year, the Phillies protected four prospects, including left-handers JoJo Romero, Garrett Cleavinger and Cristopher Sanchez, as well as right-hander Mauricio Llovera. Romero (12 appearances, 7.59 ERA), Cleavinger (1 appearance, 13.50 ERA), and Llovera (1 appearance, 36.00 ERA) all made their big-league debuts this past season. Sanchez was added to the 60-man player pool, but never received the call up from the Phillies alternate training site in Lehigh Valley.

Despite protecting these four, several other of the organization’s prospects remained vulnerable to being plucked. NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Jim Salisbury notes that southpaw reliever Zach Warren, southpaw starter David Parkinson, slugging outfielder Jhailyn Ortiz, and righty Kevin Gowdy were left unprotected. The Phillies lost no players in the 2019 Rule 5 Draft’s major league phase.

The draft provides a unique opportunity to add a player for $100,000 from another organization through means other than free agency or trade. If the Phils were to select a player — such as they famously did 16 years ago with the now-Hall of Fame-eligible Shane Victorino — they must remain on the big-league roster for the entirety of the 2021 season or be offered back to their original team for $50,000.

The Phillies have not kept any of their Rule 5 selections since Tyler Goeddel in 2016. They selected 26-year-old shortstop Vimael Machin from the Chicago Cubs in the 2019 Rule 5 Draft, but soon after dealt him to the Oakland Athletics for cash considerations.

The 2020 Rule 5 Draft will take place on Thursday, December 10; the annual offseason event is typically held on the last day of Winter Meetings (this year’s will not be held in person due to the COVID-19 pandemic). Perhaps, the Phils could target a reliever, as they look to revamp their near-all-time-worse bullpen from the 2020 season.