The Detroit Tigers added two players to their 40-man roster before Friday’s deadline to protect them from being selected in the Rule 5 draft in December.
The players are infielder Kody Clemens and right-handed reliever Angel De Jesus. Clemens is the Tigers’ No. 18 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline. The team did not protect righty starter Paul Richan, the No. 25 prospect who arrived in the 2019 Nick Castellanos trade.
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To make room for the additions, the Tigers waived utility player Niko Goodrum, outfielder Jacob Robson and righty reliever Nivaldo Rodriguez. While Robson and Rodriguez were outrighted to Triple-A Toledo upon clearing waivers, Goodrum elected free agency.
The 40-man roster is now at 39 players.
Last year, the Tigers protected four players: right-handers Matt Manning, Alex Faedo and Alex Lange, as well as left-hander Joey Wentz. Manning and Lange made their MLB debuts in 2021, with Faedo and Wentz expected to contribute in 2022.
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Here’s the full list of Rule 5 draft-eligible players from the Tigers’ organization, not including Friday’s protected players:
RHP: Gio Arriera, Brad Bass, Nolan Blackwood, Yaya Chentouf, Ethan DeCaster, Sandel De La Cruz, Chavez Fernander, Ruben Garcia, Carlos Guzman, Wilkel Hernandez, Garrett Hill, Zac Houston, Chance Kirby, Billy Lescher, Keider Montero, Joe Navilhon, Angel Reyes, Paul Richan, Jesus Rodriguez, Logan Shore, Hugh Smith and Will Vest.
LHP: Jack O’Loughlin, Jared Tobey and Adam Wolf.
C: Eliezer Alfonzo, Brady Policelli, Christopher Proctor and Jon Rosoff.
INF: Jose King, Dane Myers, Wenceel Perez, Daniel Pinero, Reynaldo Rivera and John Valente.
OF: Ulrich Bojarski, Eric De La Rosa and Dylan Rosa.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanPetzold. Read more on the Detroit Tigers and sign up for our Tigers newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers protect infielder Kody Clemens from Rule 5 draft