Angels Must Soon Decide 40-Man Roster Futures Of Four Top Prospects

This coming Tuesday, Nov. 17, is an important date for minor leaguers throughout MLB. It's on that day, at 3 p.m. PT, that every team must decide which of its farmhands that are eligible for the Dec. 9 Rule 5 Draft will either be protected or made available for any of the other 29 teams to select.

As a refresher, players first signed at age 18 or younger must be added to 40-man rosters within five seasons and players signed at 19 or older have to be protected within four seasons or they become eligible to be drafted by other organizations through the Rule 5 process.

Clubs pay $100,000 to select a player in the Major League phase of the Rule 5 Draft. If that player doesn't stay on the drafting team's 26-man roster for the full season, he must be offered back to his former team for $50,000.

Before we proceed to the more notable players that the Los Angeles Angels need to make 40-man decisions on, we have a few caveats:

• The Angels continue to operate without a full-time general manager as the Kroenke Sports & Entertainment group works to take full control of the team from former owner Arte Moreno, meaning we can't be quite sure who is making final personnel decisions during this period of time

• Any MLB activities that are scheduled to occur in December and beyond will likely be cancelled with the owners expected to lock out the players at 9 p.m. PT on Dec. 1, meaning the Rule 5 Draft will be in jeopardy

• The prospect rankings for the players listed below come from MLB Pipeline's assessment of the top players in the Angels' minor-league system

• The Angels currently have 37 players on their 40-man roster, meaning they can only add three more without first releasing or trading anyone else who is on that list

Now, onto a look the four players ranked in the Angels' Top 30 - with their age, position and system rank - who must be protected or they will be exposed to the Rule 5 Draft:

1. Nelson Rada, 21, OF, No. 6

Rada has gotten some smoke already this offseason as a possible centerfield replacement for Mike Trout, who has apparently agreed to shift to left for the 2027 season, which Rada almost certain to be protected.

He is a speed-first player who hit .278 with three home runs and 45 RBIs in 128 games at Triple-A Salt Lake in 2026 with his 43 stolen bases giving him 214 in his five full MiLB seasons.

2. Raudi Rodriguez,  23, OF, No. 19

Rodriguez, a native of the Dominican Republic who moved to the U.S. and played high school ball in Boston, was drafted in the 19th round by the Angels in 2023.

After a 29-game season in 2024, things began to click for him in 2025 at Single-A Inland Empire where hit .282 with an .842 OPS, 21 doubles, 14 home runs, 83 RBIs and 38 stolen bases. He followed that up with 95 games at Double-A Rocket City and 38 at Triple-A Salt Lake in 2026 with combined .264 average, .784 OPS, 100 runs scored, career-best 16 homers, 15 doubles and 36 stolen bases.

Rodriguez, who did play in the 2025 Arizona Fall League's Fall Stars Game, is described by MLB Pipeline as a potential "athletic corner [outfielder] who, if he can keep his whiffs in check [288 strikeouts in 299 minor-league games], has the chance to have big league value as an athletic corner outfielder with pop."

3. Mason McGwire, 22, RHP, No. 21

The Angels acquired McGwire, who is the son of former MLB first baseman Mark McGwire, from the Chicago Cubs at the August trade deadline for reliever Ryan Zeferjahn.

After appearing in 44 games, 29 starts, in two-plus seasons in the Cubs' system, he made five starts for High-A Tri-City following the trade, going 1-2 with a 4.12 ERA over 19.2 innings pitched with 23 strikeouts.

MLB Pipeline says that with improved control, he has the chance of "becoming a back-of-the-rotation starter."

4. Joel Hurtado, 25, RHP, No. 27

The Angels signed Hurtado for a middling $10,000 in June of 2022. Armed with a fastball that tops out in the upper-90s, Hurtado has appeared in 100 games and made 87 starts across five MiLB levels since 2022.

In that time, he has gone a combined 29-27 with a 4.35 ERA and 417 strikeouts in 463.2 innings pitched. After going 6-4 in 20 starts at Rocket City with a 3.63 ERA, he finished 2026 at Salt Lake, where he struggled to a 2-3 record in eight starts with an elevated 7.57 ERA in 35.2 innings pitched.

As far as providing any future value to the Angels, MLB Pipeline says that improved strike-throwing in 2026 (2.7 walks-per-nine rate) and "the ability he’s shown to log innings and hold his stuff deep into outings, gives him the chance to start, though he needs a third pitch and more missed bats to thrive."