CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Guardians have some important decisions to make this week regarding their 40-man roster in anticipation of the Rule 5 Draft on Dec. 10 at the winter meetings.
All MLB teams must have their 40-man roster set by 6 p.m. Tuesday. The Guardians have three open spots on the roster that must be filled.
Among the Cleveland players who are eligible for the Rule 5 Draft are position players Angel Genao, Wuilfredo Antunez, Kahil Watson, Kody Huff and Milan Tolentino; and pitchers Yorman Gomez, Dylan DeLucia, Austin Peterson, Trenton Denholm, Ryan Webb and Steve Perez.
Here are the requirements to be eligible for the Rule 5 Draft.
- Players signed at age 18 or younger need to be added to their club’s 40-man roster within five seasons or they become eligible for the Rule 5 Draft.
- Players who signed at age 19 or older need to be protected within four seasons or they become eligible.
In October, the Guardians re-signed Perez and Antunez, after they became minor league free agents, and invited them to big-league spring training in February.
Antunez, who injured his right shoulder in the Arizona Fall League, hit .275 (105 for 382) with 18 homers and 62 RBI at Class A Lake County and Double-A Akron.
Perez, a left-hander, went 3-2 with a 1.83 ERA (14 earned runs in 69 innings) for Lake County and Akron. He struck out 70 and walked 20.
Three of the potential 40-man additions are ranked among the Guardians’ top prospects according to MLB.com.
- No. 3 prospect Genao hit .263 (80 for 335) with five homers and 42 RBI for Akron and the Arizona Complex League.
- No. 18 prospect Watson hit .250 (92 for 368) with 16 homers and 61 RBI at Akron and Triple-A Columbus.
- No. 30 prospect Peterson went 8-6 with a 3.21 ERA in 28 games, including 26 starts, at Akron and Columbus. He struck out 127 and walked 40 in 145 2/3 innings.
Tolentino, an unranked prospect, hit .216 (85 for 394) with 21 homers and 66 RBI at Columbus.
In the Major League Phase of the Rule 5 Draft, teams can take a player off another team’s unprotected list for $100,000. The drafting team must keep the player in the big leagues for at least 90 days. If not, they must offer to return the player to his original team along with $50,000.
Friday is the non-tender deadline for all teams. Teams must offer their unsigned players contracts, including their players eligible for arbitration, for the 2026 season.
Here are the six players eligible for arbitration, and their projected 2026 salaries by MLB Trade Rumors:
- LHP Sam Hentges, $1.3375 million;
- OF Steven Kwan, $8.8 million;
- OF Nolan Jones, $2 million;
- OF Will Brennan, $900,000;
- UT David Fry, $1.2 million;
- and RHP Matt Festa, $1 million.
If the Guardians choose not to offer any of them contracts for 2026, they would become free agents.
Hentges missed the 2025 season with shoulder and knee surgeries.
Brennan played just six games last season before needing Tommy John surgery on his left elbow.
Jones, acquired just before the start of the season in a trade with Colorado, hit .211 (75 for 355) with five homers and 34 RBI.
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