The Boston Red Sox and Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow face an interesting decision in the coming days: Will they protect prospects from the Rule 5 Draft before Tuesday's deadline? 

The Rule 5 Draft typically takes place during the Winter Meetings; however, with many expecting owners to lock out players on Dec. 2, both the meetings and the draft are now in question. During the 2022 lockout, the Rule 5 Draft was canceled; however, teams have been told not to assume that will be the case this time around.

The Red Sox have consistently said they are operating business as usual ahead of the lockout, and that is not expected to change. So it wouldn't be surprising to see the Red Sox protect some of their Rule 5-eligible prospects. 

The deadline to protect players from the draft is Tuesday at 6:00 p.m. ET. In total, the team has 38 Rule 5-eligible players. However, not all of them will be considered for protection. 

Here are four players who could be added to the 40-man roster ahead of Tuesday's deadline.

The Red Sox No. 13-ranked prospect by SoxProspects.com, Wehunt began the season with Double-A Portland. In 13 starts with the Sea Dogs, the six-foot-seven right-hander posted a 3.52 ERA over 53.2 innings and held opponents to a .235 batting average. During his time in Portland, Wehunt struck out 33 percent of batters he faced while walking only 7.3 percent. 

After a strong showing in Double-A, the 26-year-old was promoted to Triple-A Worcester on July 21. In 10 starts for the WooSox to end the season, Wehunt posted a 3.47 ERA over 46.2 innings. Despite the strong results, Wehunt saw his strikeout rate cut in half to just 16.1 percent, thanks to significant drops in both his whiff and chase rates. 

With little pitching depth in Triple-A, it would be a relative surprise to see Wehunt not on the 40-man roster by Tuesday's deadline. 

The Red Sox selected Romero with their first-round pick in the 2022 MLB Draft, paying him $2.3 million to forego his commitment to LSU. The 22-year-old infielder spent the 2026 season with Worcester, hitting .239/.305/.375/.680 with 18 doubles, three triples, 12 home runs, and 61 RBI. 

While Romero's surface stats don't jump off the page, he has some intriguing under-the-hood metrics, including impressive exit velocity numbers. Romero's 90.8 mph average exit velocity ranked in the 85th percentile among Triple-A hitters, while his max exit velocity of 113.8 mph fell in the 96th percentile. 

As a former first round pick with intriguing metrics, it's entirely possible that the 22-year-old could be selected by a rebuilding team to see what he can do at the big league level. 

SoxProspects.com currently ranks him the No. 22 prospect in the Red Sox system. 

A 2022 12th-round draft pick out of Auburn University, Mullins spent most of the 2026 season with Portland. In 22 appearances (20 starts), Mullins posted a 3.98 ERA in 92.2 innings, holding opponents to a .195 batting average. In Double-A, Mullins featured massive strikeout stuff, posting a 37.1 percent whiff rate that ranked in the 92nd percentile and a 33.5 percent rate that ranked in the 90th percentile. 

Mullins made a cameo for Triple-A Worcester, starting one game in July for the WooSox. He threw three innings, allowing one earned run on four hits, while walking four and striking out three. 

Like Wehunt, it would be somewhat of a surprise to see Mullins not protected come 6:00 p.m. ET, on Tuesday given the state of the Red Sox pitching depth in the upper levels of the minor leagues. 

The 24-year-old right-hander is now eligible for the Rule 5 Draft after re-signing with the Red Sox on a minor league deal on Oct. 29. The No. 18 prospect in the Red Sox system, Bastardo, was selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 2024 Rule 5 Draft. However, he spent the entire 2025 season recovering from Tommy John surgery he underwent in late 2024.

Bastardo failed to make the Blue Jays roster out of spring training and was returned to the Red Sox system, spending the 2026 season in Worcester. In 40 appearances, spanning 54.1 innings, he posted a 4.64 ERA. Bastardo has massive swing-and-miss stuff, including a 36 percent whiff rate (90th percentile) and a 30.8 percent chase rate (76th percentile), for a 31.9 percent strikeout rate (88th percentile). However, he struggled mightily with command, walking 14.4 percent of batters faced (26th percentile). 

After being selected in the Rule 5 Draft two years ago, it certainly seems risky to leave Bastardo unprotected. However, the 24-year-old quickly signed a minor league deal with the Red Sox rather than wait to see if a major league deal was out there at the start of free agency. 

The Red Sox have until the deadline on Tuesday to clear the necessary spots on the 40-man roster and select the contracts of any player they wish to protect from Rule 5 consideration.