Photo Courtesy Trevor May's Twitter Page
In preparation for the Rule 5 draft, the Phillies have added four players to the 40-man roster, CSNPhilly reports. The four are RHP Trevor May, RHP Jonathan Pettibone, OF Zach Collier, and RHP Ethan Martin. The move keeps other teams from claiming them in the upcoming Rule 5 draft.
The draft allows a team to select players from other teams' organizations who are either not on their 40-man roster and have been in the organization for a certain length. Players signed before age 18 must be added to the roster after four seasons and players signed age 19 or older must be added to the roster after three seasons. Players not on the 40 man roster who meet these conditions can be selected.
Teams pay $50,000 to the teams for the selection. The stipulation is that the player must be on the team's major league roster the whole season. If the claiming team does not wish to do so, the player must be offered back for $25,000. In recent years the Phillies have acquired RHP David Herndon and IF Michael Martinez through the draft. In 2005 Shane Victorino was selected by the Phillies and did not make the major league roster. The Phillies offered him back to the Los Angeles Dodgers, who declined to take him back.
The Phillies 40-man roster now sits at 38 players. The Phillies have room on the roster for two players. The Phillies have learned, however, the difficulty of using a roster spot for a player who may not be major-league ready. Both Herndon and Martinez were optioned to the minor leagues the year after their claim, and neither are on the Phillies' 40-man roster anymore.
