Diamondbacks Protect Four Players, Designate Tommy Henry for Assignment
Arizona protects four players ahead of the Rule 5 Draft, including two arms from the Merrill Kelly trade, while Tommy Henry is designated for assignment.
Tuesday marked the deadline for all 30 MLB clubs to finalize their 40-man roster ahead of the Rule 5 Draft. The Diamondbacks added four players to their 40-man roster.
LHP Kohl Drake
LHP Mitch Bratt
RHP Dylan Ray
INF Jose Fernandez
To make room on the roster, the D-backs designated LHP Tommy Henry for assignment. That hardly comes as a shock, since he’ll miss almost all of 2026 rehabbing from Tommy John surgery. As a result, he was the easiest candidate to not only DFA but pass through outright waivers. He’ll likely be outrighted to Triple-A Reno within a week.
Thoughts on Additions
All four players were listed either as a slam dunk or likely to be added in Monday’s primer, so no surprises. Both Drake and Bratt were acquired in the Merrill Kelly deal at the trade deadline.
Drake is a candidate for the team’s fifth starter role and will likely compete with Bryce Jarvis, Dylan Ray, and Cristian Mena next spring. Bratt isn’t a likely option for Opening Day, but he will begin 2026 with Reno. He’s looking at a late-season ETA, so he’ll use up his first option next season.
Ray’s addition hardly comes as a surprise. The team is short on pitching depth to begin the season, with the sheer number of arms that went under the knife in 2025. He’s not a long-term starter piece, but he has just enough stuff to piece it together as an unimpressive No. 5 starter for a couple of years.
He’s a long-term bullpen conversion candidate, where he can focus on throwing just the four-seamer, slider, and changeup. His changeup is rated as the best in the organization by Nick Piecoro. You can read more on that offering here.
Fernandez’s addition speaks to the lack of shortstop depth in the organization. Geraldo Perdomo is coming off a career year, despite being criminally underrated by the BBWAA in the MVP voting and being snubbed for All-MLB awards. While they have a star at the position, they’re in trouble should he not be available.
Jordan Lawlar is a trade candidate, as he’s struggled to hit MLB pitching or show any consistency defensively at any other position. Blaze Alexander might be a platoon-only bat if he can’t figure out righties. That leaves just Fernandez, a quality shortstop defender, as pretty much the only viable depth in the organization at the position as of November 18th. They’ll likely add more depth through minor league free agent signings.
Notable Players Left Unprotected
LHP Spencer Giesting comes as a bit of a shock, considering I had him as a slam-dunk addition to the 40-man roster. Ultimately, he fell victim to the roster crunch. He sits 90 MPH on his four-seamer and offers the full arsenal, but struggled with walks and struggled to miss bats in Reno. That may ultimately be why the organization elected to risk him getting selected in the Rule 5 Draft.
RHP Alfred Morillo is more or less in the same boat. With the stuff that he has, he’s a candidate to be selected. However, his control numbers in Reno weren’t particularly strong after a great start with Double-A Amarillo. His walk rate climbed up to nearly 15% while only striking out 17% of hitters. He’s a midseason conversion candidate should be not be selected.