Dodgers protect prospect from Rule 5 Draft, but not the one fans might think

Los Angeles Dodgers v Toronto Blue Jays
Los Angeles Dodgers v Toronto Blue Jays / Cole Burston/GettyImages

Ahead of Tuesday's 3 PM PST deadline to protect prospects from the Rule 5 Draft by moving them to the 40-man roster, the Dodgers had three open spaces that could potentially be filled. Attention turned to the only ranked prospect who might be vulnerable to the draft in utilityman Austin Gauthier, ranked No. 24 in the pipeline.

The aforementioned 3 PM deadline passed and the Dodgers remained silent, which seemed to indicate that they weren't going to bother with protecting any prospects at all.

However, almost an hour after the official cut-off time, Ari Alexander reported that LA would be adding unranked lefty pitcher Jack Dreyer to the 40-man, but that would be it for them.

Dreyer was promoted to Triple-A this season, and did good work in 42 2/3 innings of relief (he's also been credited with four saves), but it was certainly an unexpected move with Gauthier also on the table.

Dodgers protect one prospect, lefty pitcher Jack Dreyer, from Rule 5 draft

Dreyer, son of former major league reliever Steve Dreyer, signed an undrafted free agent contract with the Dodgers in 2021 as he was coming off of Tommy John. He got a slow start through the majors as he rehabbed; he didn't pitch in 2021, and he pitched just 12 innings in 2022 in rookie ball.

He was promoted to High-A in 2023 and pitched 54 2/3 innings for a 2.30 ERA, and was moved up twice in 2024 after allowing zero earned runs and just six hits through 14 2/3 innings in Double-A. He spent the bulk of his season this year in Triple-A, pitching 42 2/3 innings for a sub-3.00 ERA. (Fun fact: he also went briefly viral for creating Shohei Ohtani out of Rubiks Cubes during spring training this year).

The Dodgers have to be happy with the way that Dreyer is working his way up through the minors if they chose to protect him over 12 other Rule 5 draft-vulnerable prospects, including one who's ranked. If they're that high on him, he might be a name to watch next season if the Dodgers have anymore untimely pitching injuries that they need to cover for.

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