The Rule 5 Draft isn’t until December 8th, but the deadline to set the 40-man roster prior to it was Friday evening. For the San Diego Padres, this meant that they needed to make some roster moves.
Javier Guerra, Walker Lockett, Jose Ruiz, and Franchy Cordero were each protected from the upcoming draft. This is a very clear indication of which minor league players the organization envision as their future core.
Guerra is the biggest name to be protected, the team’s seventh ranked prospect. Despite struggling a little since coming to the organization as a result of the Craig Kimbrel trade, Guerra is a flashy shortstop that the Padres do not wish to risk losing.