The Cleveland Guardians added four prospects to their 40-man roster, also protecting them from MLB's Rule 5 Draft.
The Cleveland Guardians had to make a series of roster moves on Tuesday evening or risk losing some of the organization's top prospects from being selected by another team in the Rule 5 Draft this December.
Leading up to MLB’s 40-man roster deadline at 6:00 PM EST, the Guardians made the following roster moves.
Prospects Added To Guardians’ 40-Man Roster
The Guardians added four players to the 40-man roster on Tuesday, which also protected them from the Rule 5 Draft. Those players were RHP Austin Peterson, OF Kahlil Watson, INF Angel Genao, and RHP Yorman Gomez.
Cleveland adding Genao and Watson were two easy decisions for the team.
Genno has true star potential in MLB, and he has shown nothing but that throughout his minor league career. Across all levels, the 21-year-old is hitting .289/.366/.419. Genao finished the 2025 season at Double-A and should reach Triple-A by the end of 2026 if he continues to progress at this rate.
Watson is arguably Cleveland’s most big-league-ready position prospect, and he showed that in 2025. After being promoted to Triple-A in July, Watson slugged eight home runs with an OPS of .834. There’s a good chance the 22-year-old could be in the big-league conversation by the end of next season.
Columbus Clippers infielder Kahlil Watson (9) scores a run during the game against the Buffalo Bisons at Huntington Park on Tuesday, July 22, 2025 in Columbus, Ohio.The two other players the Guardians added to the 40-man roster are pitching prospects.
Peterson, at 26 years old, should be approaching his MLB debut soon. He had a 3.21 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP in 28 games (26 starts) last season.
Considering Gomez is still at Double and is 23 years old, the Guardians protecting him came as a slight surprise. That said, the right-hander's stats speak for themselves. He recorded a 2.96 ERA in 27 games in 2025.
Nic Enright Designated for Assignment
The Guardians entered Tuesday with three roster spots open, but opted to protect four players. That means they had to create a spot on the 40-man roster.
Unfortunately, this means that RHP Nic Enright was designated for assignment to give the Guardians some more flexibility.
Enright had a long journey to his MLB debut, finally making it in 2025. However, the 28-year-old underwent Tommy John surgery earlier this offseason and will miss all of next season.
For a Cleveland team that desperately needed a roster spot, it made sense for the Guardians to DFA Enright, but it still shows the difficult business side of the sport.