White Sox Add Several Top Prospects to 40-Man Roster Ahead of Deadline
By Michael Luciano
The Chicago White Sox have finally stopped accumulating prospects, and they are ready to start chasing a winning season, propelled by their young core.
Hours ahead of the deadline, Chicago made sure to add several top prospects to the 40-man roster to protect them from the Rule 5 draft, including outfielder Blake Rutherford and right-handed pitcher Dane Dunning.
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) November 20, 2019
The biggest name on this list is Rutherford, who was the centerpiece of the deal that sent David Robertson, Tommy Kahnle, and Todd Frazier to the Yankees in 2017. Rutherford hit .265 with 49 RBI for the Double-A Birmingham Barons last year, still failing to fully live up to his impressive pedigree/develop power.
Dunning was a top five prospect last year for the White Sox, but didn't throw a single pitch, as he worked his way back from Tommy John surgery. In the minds of quite a few White Sox fans, Yermin Mercedes has leapfrogged Zack Collins as the preferred catcher of the future, while Zack Burdi can pump in 102 MPH gas regularly if he manages to stay healthy.
The White Sox have added C Yermín Mercedes, OF Blake Rutherford, LHP Bernardo Flores Jr. and RHPs Zack Burdi, Dane Dunning, Matt Foster and Jimmy Lambert to the roster, protecting them from next month's Rule 5 Draft.
— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) November 20, 2019
Most of the White Sox's treasured farm system is finally on the verge of breaking into the big league club, and they won't allow the Rule 5 draft to undo all that progress.