Ahead of a Wednesday deadline to protect players ahead of December’s Rule 5 Draft, the Chicago White Sox purchased the contracts of seven players, including pitcher Dane Dunning and outfielder Blake Rutherford.
The moves by the White Sox leave their 40-man roster at maximum size, and means that the players cannot be selected in the Rule 5 Draft on Dec. 12.
The team opted to protect Dunning, along with pitchers Zack Burdi, Matt Foster and Jimmy Lambert. Hurler Bernardo Flores Jr. was also protected, along with catcher Yermín Mercedes and Rutherford.
According to the White Sox, five of the players are ranked among their Top 30 prospects by MLB Pipeline, including Dunning, Rutherford, and Lambert.
Per MLB rules, any player chosen in the Rule 5 Draft must remain on his new team’s 25-man roster for the entirety of the following season, and the selecting team must pay the player’s original team $50,000.
If a team later wants to send a Rule 5 player back to the minors, they must clear waivers, and the team they were drafted from gets first rights to bring the player back into their organization for a cost of $25,000.
