It was a busy Tuesday for the Los Angeles Dodgers in terms of the 40-man roster.
The team announced that it selected the contracts of Keibert Ruiz, Yadier Alvarez, Matt Beaty, Edwin Rios and Josh Sborz. To make room on the 40-man roster, they designated Erik Goeddel, Zac Rosscup and Tim Locastro for assignment, and released Tom Koehler. They now stand at 40 players on the 40-man roster.
The moves came ahead of the deadline to protect players from December’s Rule 5 Draft.
While none of the players are expected to contribute significantly to the Dodgers this upcoming season, they are now not at risk to be selected by another team.
The players eligible for the Rule 5 Draft are: players signed at age 18 or younger with five years professional experience and players signed at age 19 or older with four years professional experience. Any players under the criteria not on 40-man rosters are eligible. If they are chosen, the selecting team must keep the player on their major league roster for the entire season or offer them back to their original team.
Alvarez and Ruiz are two of the more well-known Dodgers prospects, while the others are also well-regarded.
The Dodgers provided more information on the five added to the roster:
Alvarez, 22, spent the majority of the 2018 campaign with Double-A Tulsa, going 1-2 with a 4.66 ERA (25 ER/48.1 IP) in 17 games (eight starts) and was also selected to the Texas League Mid-Season All-Star team. The hard-throwing right-hander also struck out 52 batters in 48.1 innings with the Drillers and limited the opposition to a .211 average. The native of Cuba, who was signed as a non-drafted free agent on July 2, 2015 by the Dodgers, has posted a 9-11 record with a 3.83 ERA in 54 career games (42 starts) over three professional seasons.
Beaty, 25, posted a .277/.378/.406 slashline with 10 doubles, one home run and 12 RBI in 31 games with Triple-A Oklahoma City in 2018. The corner infielder saw majority of his time at first base (16 games) with the OKC Dodgers, but also played in four games at third base and four games at second base along with appearing in five games in left field. Beaty, who was a 12th round draft pick by the Dodgers in the 2015 First-Year Player Draft out of Belmont University, has posted a career .309 batting average with 79 doubles, three triples, 31 home runs and 199 RBI in 342 games over four professional seasons.
Ríos, 24, appeared in 88 games with Triple-A Oklahoma City last year and posted a .304/.355/.482 slashline with 25 doubles, 10 homers and 55 RBI. Defensively, he spent majority of the season at third base (38 games), but also saw time at first base (28 games) and in left field (17 games). In 346 career games over four professional seasons, Ríos has batted .302 with 92 doubles, 64 home runs and 235 RBI along with a .879 OPS. He was selected in the sixth round of the 2015 First-Year Player Draft out of Florida International University.
Ruiz, 20, spent the entire season with Double-A Tulsa and hit .268 with 14 doubles, 12 home runs and 47 RBI in 101 games. The switch-hitting backstop appeared in 86 games (85 starts) behind the plate, posting a .995 fielding percentage (4 ER/740.1 INN) and throwing out 26% of would-be base stealers (25/90). The Venezuelan native, who is ranked as the Dodgers No. 2 prospect by MLB.com, has posted a career .309/.357/.401 slashline with 67 doubles, six triples, 23 homers and 165 RBI in 302 games over four professional seasons. He was signed as a non-drafted free agent on July 20, 2014.
Sborz, 24, split last season with Double-A Tulsa and Triple-A Oklahoma City, combining to go 4-2 with six saves and posting a 3.88 ERA (23 ER/53.1 IP) in 46 relief appearances as he made his transition into the bullpen. The right-hander, who was selected in the Competitive Balance Round B (74th overall) of the 2015 First-Year Player Draft out of the University of Virginia, has appeared in 113 career games (46 starts) over four professionals seasons, going 20-17 with a 3.35 ERA and has collected nine saves.
With a full 40-man and an expectation to improve the team, it’s fair to say that there will be more changes to the roster in the coming weeks.
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