Tuesday at 6 p.m. ET was the deadline for teams to add players to their 40-man roster in order to protect them from the Rule 5 Draft, and the Phillies had one notable omission in the form of Carlos De La Cruz.
But De La Cruz, ranked the organization’s No. 10 prospect by Phillies Nation‘s Ty Daubert in July, is far from a guarantee to be selected in December’s Rule 5 Draft — likely the reason the Phillies didn’t protect him.
The 6-foot-8 first baseman and corner outfielder broke out with 17 homers and an .815 OPS across 102 games at High-A Jersey Shore and Double-A Reading in 2022. He hit 24 big flies in 129 games at Reading this season, sporting a .798 OPS.
The big issue with De La Cruz, however, is his swing-and-miss propensity: He struck out 120 times in 2022 before doing so 160 times this season. His 54 walks this year doubled his total from a year ago, but his batting average also dropped to .259.
Those numbers (and his second-half drop-off) aren’t the most encouraging for any team that, upon selecting him in the Rule 5 Draft, would have to keep the 24-year-old on its 26-man roster lest the club risk losing him via waivers; he would also have to be offered back to Philadelphia if he did clear waivers. The Phillies will bet that their gamble pays off (and perhaps they won’t be too heartbroken if it doesn’t) while leaving a couple open spots on the 40-man for other moves.
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