The New York Mets landed Jefferson Rojas in a trade, but they may have to protect him in the Rule 5 draft.
The New York Mets landed prized prospect Jefferson Rojas as part of the many trades they made at the deadline this year, with the infielder coming over in the deal that sent pitcher Clay Holmes and outfielder Tyrone Taylor to the Chicago Cubs.
Rojas had a slash line of .285/.338/.611 with 12 home runs across Double-A and Triple-A as he played for a dizzying array of teams and affiliates, so it’s easy to see why the Mets are eager to see what Rojas can do at Citi Field.
GM David Stearns mentioned Rojas when he was asked about second base in his Monday press conference, which means Marcus Semien might want to check in with his travel planner some time soon.
But there’s an interesting decision the Mets may have to make that would muck up Rojas’ path the big leagues, per Will Sammon of The Athletic. The Mets are “likely” to put Rojas on their 40-man roster in November to protect him from the Rule 5 draft, according to a source Sammon used.
Now for the punch line: because of the impending lockout, said Rule 5 draft may not happen, because the lockout is almost certain to kick in on Dec. 1 and that draft typically happens during the Winter Meetings in December. The Rule 5 draft didn’t happen the last time there was a lockout, but that was quite a while ago, and there’s no way the Mets will take a chance with a talent as significant as Rojas.
The Mets have two other prospects who don’t need Rule 5 protection in second baseman Mitch Voit and shorstop Emilien Pitre, so Rojas is the focal point for New York with this issue going forward.
Britton made another fascinating point: if there’s a long lockout, Voit or Pitre could play at Triple-A, get 200 or so at-bats, and make it to the majors before Rojas, which would put Rojas behind the other two prospects through no fault of his own.
Rojas, meanwhile, is expected to play winter ball, but the Mets have no control over what position he would play. It’s a big bowl of illogic, but that’s the situation the Mets are in.
If MLB was a real, big-time pro sports league, there’d be a solution at hand. Teams like the Mets would petition MLB to cancel the Rule 5 draft in advance and that would happen quickly and efficiently, but in today’s real world the owners and players would rather duke it out for months on end and cost their sport millions going on billions in both revenue and fan goodwill.
