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Detroit Tigers protect two prospects from Rule 5 draft, cut players to make room on roster
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- Detroit Tigers protect two prospects from Rule 5 draft, cut players to make room on roster
The Detroit Tigers selected two prospects to their 40-man roster — right-hander Wilmer Flores and catcher Dillon Dingler — before Tuesday's deadline to protect eligible players from being selected in the 2023 Rule 5 draft.
Flores is the Tigers' No. 7 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline , followed Dingler at No. 11. Both players, as new members of the 40-man roster, will show up for big-league spring training in February.
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The Rule 5 draft, which allows other teams to select unprotected draft-eligible players, is scheduled for Dec. 6 at the winter meetings in Nashville, Tennessee. The notable players that the Tigers left unprotected include left-hander Andrew Magno , outfielder/infielder Trei Cruz , right-hander Wilkel Hernandez and outfielder Roberto Campos .
A PREVIEW: Examining prospects Tigers could add to 40-man roster, protect from Rule 5 draft
Erie SeaWolves starting pitcher Wilmer Flores throws against the Akron RubberDucks at UPMC Park in Erie on June 30, 2023.
"We're trying to make all the pieces fit together," Scott Harris, president of baseball operations, said Oct. 2. "You want those decisions to be hard. The reserve list, deciding who to protect and who not to protect, you want it to be hard. It doesn't make it fun, but you want it to be hard."
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To create roster space, right-handers Brenan Hanifee and Freddy Pacheco were designated for assignment. For now, the Tigers will operate with four catchers on the 40-man roster: Dingler, Jake Rogers , Carson Kelly and Donny Sands .
Hanifee, 25, spent most of last season in Triple-A Toledo, both as a starter and a reliever. He posted a 4.38 ERA, 30 walks and 82 strikeouts across 90⅓ innings with the Mud Hens before making his MLB debut in late September.
Pacheco, 25, underwent Tommy John surgery in early June and has been rehabbing with the Tigers, which means he will likely stay in the organization moving forward, just not on the 40-man roster. The Tigers claimed Pacheco off waivers in mid-March from the St. Louis Cardinals .
The 40-man roster is at 40 players.
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In the Rule 5 draft, teams can choose to select an eligible unprotected player from another team for a $100,000 fee. A player picked in the Rule 5 draft needs to stay on the 26-man roster (or the injured list) for the entire 2024 season.
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If removed from the roster, the player will be placed on waivers and offered back to their original team for $50,000.
In the 2022 Rule 5 draft, the Tigers selected right-hander Mason Englert after the Texas Rangers left him unprotected . Englert, who turned 24 in early November, posted a 5.46 ERA with 17 walks and 41 strikeouts over 56 innings out of the bullpen with the Tigers, spending almost the entire the second half of the season on the injured list or on rehab assignment with Triple-A Toledo. He could work as a starter for the Mud Hens to begin the 2024 season.
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The 40-man additions
Flores, 22, posted a 4.65 ERA with 33 walks and 90 strikeouts over 89 innings in 21 starts with High-A West Michigan (three starts) and Double-A Erie (18 starts).
He missed one month while on the injured list with a right hamstring strain. Flores throws four pitches: four-seam fastball, slider, curveball and changeup.
MORE ON FLORES: Tigers prospect Wilmer Flores, brother of MLB veteran, has 'some of the nastiest stuff'
His 93 mph fastball generates swings and misses, which is a positive sign for his future in the big leagues. He likes to throw his slider in the strike zone for weak ground-ball contact, and he likes to throw his curveball out of the strike zone in leverage counts for strikeouts. His changeup, however, has been and continues to be the weakest pitch in his repertoire.
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The Tigers signed Flores — the younger brother of 11-year MLB veteran Wilmer Flores — for a $20,000 bonus in July 2020 as an undrafted free agent out of Arizona Western College.
Dingler, 25, hit .256 with 16 home runs, 42 walks and 105 strikeouts over 89 games with Low-A Lakeland (12 games), Double-A Erie (51 games) and Triple-A Toledo (26 games).
His season didn't begin until April 21 because he underwent a right knee meniscectomy in mid-March during spring training. After his rehab assignment, Dingler hit .253 with nine home runs in 51 games for the SeaWolves before his Aug. 15 promotion to the Mud Hens.
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MORE ON DINGLER: Tigers promote catcher Dillon Dingler from Double-A Erie to Triple-A Toledo
Tigers catcher Dillon Dingler works on throwing to the bases during spring training on Monday, Feb. 13, 2023, in Lakeland, Florida.
At the Triple-A level, Dingler hit .202 with three homers, eight walks and 34 strikeouts. He is an above-average defender as an athletic catcher, but at the plate, he struggles with in-zone whiffs despite above-average plate discipline.
The Tigers selected Dingler with the No. 38 overall pick in the 2020 draft out of Ohio State, signing him for a $1.95 million bonus. He has played for the SeaWolves in all three of his professional seasons but is expected to begin the 2024 campaign in Triple-A Toledo.
Rule 5 draft candidates
Here's the full list of 2023 Rule 5 draft-eligible players from the Tigers' organization:
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Right-handed pitchers (12): Austin Bergner , Michael Bienlien , Jose Diaz , Dario Gardea , Layne Henderson , Wilkel Hernandez , Zack Hess , Williander Moreno , Tim Naughton , Angel Reyes , Yosber Sanchez , Bryce Tassin .
Left-handed pitchers (6): Jake Higginbotham , Andrew Magno , Carlos Pena , Gabriel Sequeira , Matt Walker , Adam Wolf .
Catchers (4): Eliezer Alfonzo , Daneurys De La Cruz , Ricardo Hurtado , Eduardo Valencia .
Infielders (6): Jake Holton , Corey Joyce , Carlos Mendoza , Andrew Navigato , Adinso Reyes , Gage Workman .
Outfielders (7): Daniel Cabrera , Roberto Campos , Trei Cruz , Jose De La Cruz , Iverson Leonardo , Jose Reina , Manuel Sequera .
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Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold .
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers protect two prospects from MLB Rule 5 draft
