And then the Rays decided they’d really rather have Kevin Stocker than Abreu
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And Hunsicker decided he’d rather protect Operation Shutdown than Abreu
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Heard him say several times Abreu was his biggest regret as GM
It wasn’t quite that. He wanted to protect Abreu, Bell, and Richard Hidalgo, but only had two spots. He wanted to keep all three, and it was common belief that losing Bell, an established Major Leaguer who also happened to be from Tampa, was the biggest risk. So it came down to protecting either Abreu or Hidalgo. He chose Hidalgo, who was considered the better prospect at the time.
And yes, he’s said many times that losing Abreu was his biggest regret.
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That expansion draft was rough!!
They were only able to protect 15 players. 40 man roster and any player who had MLB experience or had been in the minors 3 years if signed age 19+ and 4years if signed Age 18-
Each round is set up for 1 player from each team to be taken ( # of picks = # of teams and no team can lose more than 1 player)
Then 3 more players can be protected after each rd.
What players would be left unprotected if that happened now?
I would assume that any player with no trade protection would be required to be protected.
I think Altuve is required to be protected ( would anyway)
Younger players crucial to 2022 and/or beyond:
Alvarez, Tucker, Luis Garcia, Urquidy, Framber, McCullers, Javier, Abreu, Pressly, Bregman,
That’s 11 only get 4 more from:
Starters and primary roles: Maldonado, Gurriel, Brantley, McCormick, Diaz, Odorizzi, Stanek.
Top prospects eligible to be lost if not protected: Pena, Nova, Ivey, Dubin, Solomon, etc.
Other players who have value that you do not want to lose for nothing: Meyers, Maton, Yimi Garcia, Blake Taylor, Montero, Baez, Paredes
Who did I miss?
Correa?
Correa will be a free agent