The Nationals added five players today to the 40-man roster, and when Chris Heisey is officially added back to the 40-man roster the Nationals will be at 37 players.
Mike Rizzo added OF Rafael Bautista, 1B Jose Marmolejos-Diaz, 1B/3B Matt Skole, Catcher Raudy Read, and RHP Austin Voth.
#Nats add 5 to 40-man roster: https://t.co/v3KCNqHnLs
OF Rafael Bautista
1B Jose Marmolejos
C Raudy Read
INF Matt Skole
RHP Austin Voth pic.twitter.com/zbuFI87YmJ— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) November 18, 2016
With the new additions to the 40-man roster, the team can now protect those players named above from the Rule 5 draft. It leaves Bryan Harper, Nick Lee, Jake Johansen, and Osvaldo Abreu all unprotected. The Rule 5 draft will be on December 8th as the final portion of the Winter Meetings at the Gaylord National Harbor in Maryland. The players mentioned are eligible because they were not on the team’s 40-man roster as of 5 p.m.ET today, and have spent either five seasons in the Minor Leagues before their 19th birthday or their fourth season in the minors after their 19th birthday.
Even if one of those players were to be selected in the Rule 5 draft, they could be returned to the Nationals if they do not spend the entire season on the new team’s active roster. Jesus Flores and Dan Uggla were both successful Rule 5 picks.
