Nov. 22--The San Diego Padres added six players to their 40-man roster this week -- five of whom spent part of their minor-league careers in Fort Wayne -- to beat Major League Baseball's deadline for the Rule 5 Draft.
Two names that fans might quickly recognize are pitcher Jackson Quezada and outfielder Luis Durango, who spent most of this past season in Fort Wayne. The Padres also purchased the minor-league contracts of former No. 1-overall pick and converted pitcher Matt Bush, pitcher Cesar Ramos, and catcher Jose Lobaton. All three played for Fort Wayne in recent seasons.
The Rule 5 Draft occurs every December at the Winter Meetings of general managers. Minor-league players not currently on their major-league affiliate's 40-man roster are eligible to be drafted by other MLB teams.
The parent major-league team adds minor leaguers -- such as Quezada and Durango -- to its roster to protect them from being drafted by other teams.
The catch for the drafting teams is that if they select unprotected minor leaguers, said team must retain that player on its 25-man MLB roster for the entirety of the following season and pay $50,000 per draftee.
In 2006, former Wizard Joakim Soria was not protected by the Padres and was taken by the Kansas City Royals. He was an MLB All-Star last season and ranked second in the American League in saves (42).
Sixteen players on the Padres' 40-man roster spent at least part of their minor-league careers in Fort Wayne.
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