The Detroit Tigers added pitching prospect Franklin Perez to the 40-man roster last week, protecting him from being selected in next month's Rule 5 Draft.
That move was no surprise.
More surprising was that Perez was the only prospect the Tigers elected to protect. One year after they added seven players to the roster -- including a handful who seemingly had little chance of being selected in the Rule 5 Draft -- the Tigers went the opposite direction in 2018.
The decision adds some suspense to draft, which is Dec. 13 in Las Vegas: The Tigers will almost certainly draft someone from another team.