More on the Perkins Call-Up

There was more going on behind the scenes with the addition of Glen Perkins to the 40-man roster (and his subsequent call-up) than at first met the eye. Perkins had a so-so season, and so the decision to add him to the roster seemed a little unusual at first. Looking a little more closely, however, shows why the Twins added him.

When players are drafted, the clock starts ticking on their Rule 5 Draft eligibility. The Rule 5 Draft is conducted in December at the GM meetings. Players are protected either if they are on the 40-man roster, or if they haven't yet been in the system for long enough to be eligible. If players are 18 or younger when they are signed, they become eligible in the 4th draft after they sign (so an 18 year old signed in 2003 will be eligible for the draft in 2006). Meanwhile, a player 19 years or older when signed becomes eligible in the 3rd draft after they sign (so a 19 year old signed in 2004 would be eligible for the draft in 2006).

There are a series of complicated rules regarding Rule 5 Draftees, the most important being that a team drafting a player in the Rule 5 Draft has to keep that player on the active 25-man roster all season, or else offer the player back to the team from which the player is drafted.

How does this relate to Perkins? Simple: he was 21 years old when he was signed, in 2004. The upcoming Rule 5 Draft is the first in which he would be able to be selected, and as a lefty starter with upside, some team such as the D-Rays or Royals would almost certainly draft him, hide him in the bullpen (much as the Twins did with Johan Santana after picking him up in a Rule 5 Draft situation). The Twins added him to the roster now because they decided they could use the protection of having him on the roster for the remainder of the year, and because they were going to add him anyway after the season was over to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft.

Who else is likely to be added to the 40-man roster before the Rule 5 Draft in December? I'll go more in depth on this when the season is over, but for now, here are some of the names that you may see added to the roster in November.

Kyle Aselton - SP
Matt Tolbert - IF
Deacon Burns - OF
Danny Santiesteban - OF
Matt Moses - 3B
David Winfree - 1B/3B
Eli Tintor - OF
Denard Span - OF (eligible as of 2005)
Brock Peterson - 1B (eligible as of 2005)
Daniel Matienzo - 1B (eligible as of 2004)
Garrett Guzman - OF (eligible as of 2004)

No predictions as of yet as to which of these names is going to be added, but all of them are possibilities.