Scouting the Players Added to 40-Man Rosters

The 40-man deadline saw some players effectively punch their ticket to the big leagues, while others found homes in new orgs.

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Nov 21, 2024 - 10:27
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Scouting the Players Added to 40-Man Rosters
Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Tuesday was this year’s 40-man roster deadline, the date by which players who would otherwise be eligible for the Rule 5 Draft at Winter Meetings need to be added to their club’s roster in order to be protected. In addition to a few dozen players’ big league tickets essentially being punched on this day, there is often a flurry of trade activity as teams with a surplus of rosterable players look to find teams with skimpier rosters with which to trade.

I’ve updated the scouting reports for these newly rostered players over on The Board, which you can find here. There will probably be a couple of guys from this contingent whose grades change between now and when their team’s prospect list goes up on the site, but for the most part, these evaluations are hot off the presses and will hold up all offseason. I go into much greater depth on each player in their Board scouting report than I have here. The commentary below often has more to do with a team’s roster makeup than any individual player.

Players Added to 40-Man Rosters
Name Position Age Team FV
Joe Elbis SP 22.2 ARI 40
Tim Tawa 1B 25.6 ARI 35+
Elbis is likely to spend a developmental year on the 40-man the way Cristian Mena did in 2023. Tawa’s carrying trait is his defensive versatility, which is a great fit on an Arizona 40-man currently thin on the infield.
Name Position Age Team FV
Denzel Clarke CF 24.6 ATH 45+
Gunnar Hoglund SP 24.9 ATH 35+
Ryan Cusick SIRP 25.0 ATH 35+
Clarke might be the best defensive center fielder in the org right now. Hoglund and Cusick are lower-impact arms. The A’s have a lot of good position player pieces and might sneak up on people next year.
Name Position Age Team FV
Rolddy Munoz SIRP 24.6 ATL 40
Munoz has a ridiculous slider and could really break out if the Braves’ big league coaching staff can help his fastball play better than it has.
Name Position Age Team FV
Brandon Young SP 26.3 BAL 50
Kade Strowd SIRP 27.2 BAL 35+
I buy that Young’s fastball plays, and he currently has a Top 100 ticket with his name on it. Baltimore’s rotation needs guys like this to backfill for Corbin Burnes as best as they can.
Name Position Age Team FV
Jhostynxon Garcia RF 21.9 BOS 45+
Hunter Dobbins SP 25.2 BOS 40+
Garcia has ceiling akin to Teoscar Hernández if he keeps his strikeouts down like he did most of 2024. With Ceddanne Rafaela likely patrolling center field, Garcia could be forced into a corner, where his chase will be a bigger issue.
Name Position Age Team FV
Owen Caissie RF 22.4 CHC 45
Benjamin Cowles SS 24.8 CHC 40
Caissie had enough of a power downtick that he looks less like a surefire everyday option and more like a platoon guy. Players with fewer option years remaining, like Kevin Alcántara, are definitely ahead of Caissie in the pecking order for big league time as things currently stand.
Name Position Age Team FV
Colson Montgomery SS 22.7 CHW 55
Juan Carela SIRP 22.9 CHW 35+
Montgomery still has the talent to be an impact player, but it’s pretty clearly going to take a while.
Name Position Age Team FV
Luis Mey SIRP 23.4 CIN 40+
Tyler Callihan 2B 24.4 CIN 35+
If Mey can keep pitching like he did in the Arizona Fall League, he’ll help the Reds bullpen in 2025.
Name Position Age Team FV
Petey Halpin CF 22.5 CLE 40
Franco Aleman SIRP 24.4 CLE 40
Doug Nikhazy MIRP 25.3 CLE 35+
Just pitching depth and a part-time outfielder here. Most of Cleveland’s young lineup from 2024 should remain and improve in 2025.
Name Position Age Team FV
Zac Veen RF 22.9 COL 40+
This is still a turbo-charged fifth outfielder grade for Veen. You can’t trust surface stats at the Rockies’ affiliates; they’re too hitter-friendly for that.
Name Position Age Team FV
Tyler Mattison SIRP 25.2 DET 40+
Tyler Owens SIRP 23.9 DET 35+
Chase Lee SIRP 26.3 DET 35+
If Mattison comes screaming back from his TJ rehab, then he might make a late-inning relief impact. If not, these additions will provide more depth than pound-for-pound impact.
Name Position Age Team FV
Colton Gordon SP 25.9 HOU 35+
With so many serious mid-season injuries to Houston’s starters, the Astros’ ability to generate depth from within is especially important next year. Alex Santos II was a surprising omission.
Name Position Age Team FV
Luinder Avila SP 23.3 KCR 40+
Noah Cameron SP 25.3 KCR 40+
Eric Cerantola SIRP 24.6 KCR 35+
The Royals have a ton of optionable, young reliever depth but were thin on starters. Avila and Cameron help stabilize their starting pitching situation.
Name Position Age Team FV
Jack Dashwood SIRP 27.0 LAA 35+
Matthew Lugo LF 23.5 LAA 35+
Dashwood was added after just a handful of regular season innings and looks like a pretty standard lefty specialist with a good slider.
Name Position Age Team FV
Jack Dreyer SIRP 25.7 LAD 40+
Another sly draft-and-development success for the Dodgers, Dreyer has three good pitches and might end up working in higher-leverage spots. Injuries forced the Dodgers to roster a lot of young, green pitching in 2024, and a pretty big chunk of their 40-man is made up of Nick Frasso, Edgardo Henriquez, and Justin Wrobleski — talented young arms who lack much experience, let alone the kind you’d want while you defend your title.
Name Position Age Team FV
Jared Serna 2B 22.5 MIA 45+
Dax Fulton SP 23.1 MIA 45
Deyvison De Los Santos DH 21.4 MIA 40+
Luarbert Arias SP 23.9 MIA 35+
Serna and DDLS are the kind of higher-upside power hitters who deserve prolonged big league exposure to make adjustments and (hopefully) hit their ceiling. Miami definitely has the rebuild runway to do that.
Name Position Age Team FV
Logan Henderson SIRP 22.7 MIL 40+
Chad Patrick SP 26.3 MIL 35+
These guys are behind Carlos Rodriguez on the spot start depth chart. Brandon Woodruff’s health is a huge 2025 variable for this squad.
Name Position Age Team FV
Marco Raya MIRP 22.3 MIN 45
Travis Adams SP 24.8 MIN 35+
The Twins’ roster has a ton of starting pitching depth, but it’s light on athletic, multi-positional defenders.
Name Position Age Team FV
Justin Hagenman SP 28.1 NYM 35
Hagenman signed a one-year big league deal. He looks more like a depth starter or swingman than a true on-roster contributor. The Mets also traded for Jose Siri, which you can read about here.
Name Position Age Team FV
Jesus Rodriguez C/3B 22.6 NYY 40+
Caleb Durbin 2B/3B 24.6 NYY 40
The Yankees have rostered a developmental catching prospect each of the last several years and Rodriguez is the latest. Durbin is one of two D-III guys rostered this week.
Name Position Age Team FV
Moisés Chace SP 21.5 PHI 50
Mick Abel SP 23.3 PHI 40+
Jean Cabrera SP 23.1 PHI 35+
Chace is going to have a monster fastball and is the biggest individual riser from this group. He looks like Bryce Miller did a couple years ago.
Name Position Age Team FV
Omar Cruz MIRP 25.8 SDP 40
Ryan Bergert SIRP 24.7 SDP 40
Henry Baez SP 22.1 SDP 35+
All depth types here, with Cruz having the best chance to emerge as a more meaningful contributor.
Name Position Age Team FV
Carson Seymour MIRP 25.9 SFG 40+
Carson Ragsdale SP 26.5 SFG 35+
Who knows whether the Giants will continue to deploy big league pitching the way they did under the former regime. If they do, these two guys with plus breaking stuff and sketchy command will be well-suited for that approach.
Name Position Age Team FV
Tink Hence SP 22.3 STL 50
Matt Koperniak LF 26.8 STL 45
Tekoah Roby MIRP 23.2 STL 40+
Matt Svanson SIRP 25.8 STL 35+
What do the Cardinals need to see from Tink to take the training wheels off? Koperniak is one of the best stories of this year’s additions, a D-III senior sign who had a power uptick deep into his 20s.
Name Position Age Team FV
Ian Seymour MIRP 25.9 TBR 45
Joe Rock SP 24.3 TBR 40+
Jake Mangum CF 28.7 TBR 40
Evan Reifert probably gets popped in the Rule 5, right?
Name Position Age Team FV
Winston Santos SP 22.6 TEX 45
Emiliano Teodo SIRP 23.8 TEX 45
Max Acosta SS 22.1 TEX 45
Luis Curvelo SIRP 24.1 TEX 35+
A good group here. Acosta had a great Fall League, and Santos and Teodo could help the pitching staff immediately.
Name Position Age Team FV
Robert Hassell III CF 23.3 WSN 35+
Andry Lara SP 21.9 WSN 35+
Lara’s slider is legit and he should keep starting for a while, but his ultimate role should be in the bullpen. Hassell is coming off a good AFL run where he had nearly as many extra-base hits as he did during the entire regular season.

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