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2020 Mock Expansion Draft

Check Out The Rosters From Our Mock Expansion Draft

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The mock expansion draft at MLBTR was a blast!  Connor Byrne ran the Las Vegas Vipers, pitted against my Portland Lumberjacks.  Click here to see how the picks went down, and here to see the transcript of our live event.  Which roster do you prefer?

Portland Lumberjacks

Jonathan Loaisiga
Bobby Bradley
Michel Baez
Peter Lambert
Joe Palumbo
Edwin Rios
Bryan Abreu
Derek Fisher
Jorge Alcala
Austin Adams
Tyler Mahle
Raudy Read
Kelvin Gutierrez
Rowan Wick
Tyler Alexander
Diego Castillo
Jake Cave
Dennis Santana
Huascar Ynoa
Yonathan Daza
Anthony Alford
Aramis Garcia
Skye Bolt
Josh Rojas
Tres Barrera
Jorge Lopez
Mike Shawaryn
Gregory Soto
Cionel Perez
Corey Oswalt
Javy Guerra
Daniel Gossett
Thairo Estrada
Michael Hermosillo
Matt Magill
Jeff Brigham
Joely Rodriguez
Conner Menez

Las Vegas Vipers

Randy Arozarena
Genesis Cabrera
Zack Collins
Luke Jackson
Josh Taylor
J.B. Wendelken
Alex Young
Colin Moran
Wilmer Flores
Tanner Scott
Jaime Barria
Vìctor Arano
Orlando Arcia
Robert Dugger
Drew Smith
Mike Tauchman
Lane Thomas
Jonathan Hernandez
Adam Plutko
Danny Mendick
Ty France
Cole Irvin
Robel Garcia
Yimi Garcia
Noe Ramirez
Michael Feliz
Tyrone Taylor
Cody Reed
Nick Margevicius
Paul Fry
Jose Martinez
Edmundo Sosa
Christian Arroyo
Dylan Floro
Ryon Healy
Yennsy Diaz
Seby Zavala
Rogelio Armenteros

(Poll link for app users)

Get Ready For The MLB Trade Rumors Mock Expansion Draft!

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As we wait to see whether MLB and the players will come together to play a shortened 2020 season, why is this the right time to hold a mock expansion draft here at MLBTR?  Well, lots of reasons!

A mock expansion draft serves an interesting thought exercise.  If each MLB team were allowed to protect only 15 players, who would be left exposed?  Thousands of MLBTR readers have participated in polls over the last few weeks in an attempt to answer that question for each of the 30 teams.  Click here to see who’s available in the draft – and be sure to check out both the “By Team” and “By Player” tabs in this Google Sheet.  Who would be your top picks?  Let us know in the comments.

The current MLB transaction freeze presents a unique opportunity, as team rosters have remained stable to allow us to spend weeks creating protected lists.  The unprecedented transaction freeze and lack of games and also means we have less to write about here at MLBTR, and the mock expansion draft helps fill the void.

Also, consider the possibility that MLB might actually be driven to expansion within the next several years as a result of revenue lost to the coronavirus.  Mike Axisa of CBS Sports wrote about this recently, noting that the Rockies and Marlins were born in part as a way for the existing 28 teams to raise cash, speculating that MLB could charge expansion teams a billion dollar entry fee or more per each new team.

MLB’s last expansion draft took place in 1997, with the Diamondbacks and Devil Rays.  Those were simpler times, both in terms of player evaluation and fan interest in the hot stove.  Consider this nugget from Pedro Gomez of The Arizona Republic back in ’97.  “The biggest cheer in the [Diamondbacks draft war] room came after Tampa Bay selected outfielder Bobby Abreu with its third selection. There were slaps on the back and high-fives passed out. ’Our first break,’ one of them said.”  The Diamondbacks’ front office actually high-fived because the Devil Rays took Abreu, allowing catcher Jorge Fabregas to get to them.  Not so fast with accolades for Tampa Bay, though – they had an agreement in place to immediately trade Abreu to the Phillies for Kevin Stocker.

If an expansion draft were to happen in 2020, it’s easy to imagine a big live event put on by MLB.  MLB Network would broadcast the picks and sites like MLBTR and many others would be obsessively covering the lead-up, rumors, and actual event.  Back in ’97?  “The Rays’ brain trust began the day with a 7 a.m. breakfast with the 70 or so Tampa Bay fans who traveled to the draft,” wrote Marc Topkin and John Romano of the Tampa Bay Times.  More people will follow along live with MLBTR’s mock expansion draft this week than followed along with the last real one!  Noted the Tampa Bay Times writers, “Unlike the NFL draft, which sparks wild cheers and boos from the fans’ gallery, there was little reaction to the lesser-known picks by the 75 supporters from both teams.” 

So get ready: my Portland Lumberjacks will compete with Connor Byrne’s Las Vegas Vipers to put together the best 38-man roster.  The live event will take place here at MLBTR on Thursday, June 4th, at 1pm central time.  We’re not messing around here.  In 1997, Topkin and Romano noted, “The Rays were so serious about keeping their plans under wraps they hired 24-hour security to guard the team’s War Room the past week and had the area searched for electronic bugs each morning.”  Rest assured, I’m taking our expansion draft just as seriously, and I have indeed bugged Connor’s home.  In the coming days, Connor and I will be poring over the list of 438 available players and crafting our strategies.  We invite you to do the same!

Which 15 Players Should The Nationals Protect In An Expansion Draft?

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We’re planning a two-team mock expansion draft here at MLBTR – just for the fun of it!  Currently, we’re creating 15-player protected lists for each of the existing 30 teams.  You can catch up on the rules for player eligibility here.  We’ll have plenty more next week, culminating in a live draft event.

The American League results are in!  Click here to see who’s protected and who’s available for each AL team.

Click here for previous entries in the series.  The Nationals are the last team up for discussion.

First we’ll remove free agents Ryan Zimmerman, Howie Kendrick, Kurt Suzuki, Asdrubal Cabrera, Sean Doolittle, Eric Thames, and Anibal Sanchez from consideration.  Adam Eaton’s $10.5MM club option for 2021 is worth entertaining, so I’ll add him to the poll.  Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg make the protected list due to their no-trade clauses.  We’ll lock down seven players out of the gate:

Max Scherzer
Stephen Strasburg
Juan Soto
Trea Turner
Patrick Corbin
Victor Robles
Carter Kieboom

That leaves eight spots for the remaining 23 players.  You can review the Nationals’ contract statuses and service time here.

Tres Barrera
Aaron Barrett
James Bourque
Starlin Castro
Wilmer Difo
Adam Eaton
Roenis Elias
Erick Fedde
Yan Gomes
Ryne Harper
Will Harris
Daniel Hudson
Kyle McGowin
Jake Noll
Tanner Rainey
Raudy Read
Joe Ross
Adrian Sanchez
Andrew Stevenson
Wander Suero
Michael A. Taylor
Austin Voth
Austen Williams

With that, we turn it over to the MLBTR readership! In the poll below (direct link here), select exactly eight players you think the Nationals should protect in our upcoming mock expansion draft.  Click here to view the results.

Create your own user feedback survey

Which 15 Players Should The Phillies Protect In An Expansion Draft?

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In a few weeks, we’ll be running a two-team mock expansion draft here at MLBTR – just for the fun of it!  Currently, we’re creating 15-player protected lists for each of the existing 30 teams.  You can catch up on the rules for player eligibility here.

The American League results are in!  Click here to see who’s protected and who’s available for each AL team.

Click here for previous entries in the series.  The Phillies are up next.

First, we’ll remove free agents J.T. Realmuto, Jay Bruce, Tommy Hunter, Jake Arrieta, Didi Gregorius, Jose Alvarez, and David Robertson from consideration.  Bryce Harper and Jean Segura will make the protected list due to their no-trade clauses.  As Baseball America Top 100 prospects with a 2020 ETA, Spencer Howard and Alec Bohm will also make the list.  We’ll protect a total of 11 players out of the gate:

Bryce Harper
Jean Segura
Spencer Howard
Alec Bohm
Aaron Nola
Rhys Hoskins
Scott Kingery
Zack Wheeler
Zach Eflin
Adam Haseley
Hector Neris

That leaves four spots for the remaining 19 players.  Check out the Phillies’ contract statuses here.

Vìctor Arano
Austin Davis
Enyel De Los Santos
Seranthony Dominguez
Edgar Garcia
Kyle Garlick
Deivy Grullon
Deolis Guerra
Cole Irvin
Andrew Knapp
Reggie McClain
Andrew McCutchen
Adam Morgan
Nick Pivetta
Roman Quinn
Robert Stock
Ranger Suarez
Vince Velasquez
Nick Williams

With that, we turn it over to the MLBTR readership! In the poll below (direct link here), select exactly four players you think the Phillies should protect in our upcoming mock expansion draft.  Click here to view the results.

Create your own user feedback survey

Which 15 Players Should The Mets Protect In An Expansion Draft?

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In a few weeks, we’ll be running a two-team mock expansion draft here at MLBTR – just for the fun of it!  Currently, we’re creating 15-player protected lists for each of the existing 30 teams.  You can catch up on the rules for player eligibility here.

The American League results are in!  Click here to see who’s protected and who’s available for each AL team.

So far, we’ve covered the Marlins, Braves, Cardinals, Pirates, Brewers, Reds, Cubs, Diamondbacks, Rockies, Dodgers, Padres, Giants, Rangers, Mariners, Athletics, Angels, Astros, Twins, Royals, Tigers, Indians, White Sox, Rays, Yankees, Red Sox, Blue Jays and Orioles.  The Mets are up next.

First, we’ll begin by removing free agents Jed Lowrie, Rick Porcello, Yoenis Cespedes, Justin Wilson, Michael Wacha, Marcus Stroman, Jake Marisnick, Wilson Ramos, Brad Brach, and Dellin Betances from consideration.  The latter three have 2021 options, but we will consider them free agents for this exercise.  Robinson Cano and Jacob deGrom will make the protected list by virtue of their no-trade clauses.  We’ll protect a total of a dozen players out of the gate:

Robinson Cano
Jacob deGrom
Pete Alonso
Jeff McNeil
Noah Syndergaard
Michael Conforto
Amed Rosario
Brandon Nimmo
J.D. Davis
Steven Matz
Edwin Diaz
Seth Lugo

That leaves three spots for the following 12 players.  Be sure to check out the Mets’ contract statuses here.

Tyler Bashlor
Jeurys Familia
Robert Gsellman
Luis Guillorme
Walker Lockett
Tomas Nido
Corey Oswalt
Jacob Rhame
Paul Sewald
Dominic Smith
Drew Smith
Daniel Zamora

With that, we turn it over to the MLBTR readership! In the poll below (direct link here), select exactly three players you think the Mets should protect in our upcoming mock expansion draft.  Click here to view the results.

Create your own user feedback survey

Which 15 Players Should The Marlins Protect In An Expansion Draft?

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In a few weeks, we’ll be running a two-team mock expansion draft here at MLBTR – just for the fun of it!  Currently, we’re creating 15-player protected lists for each of the existing 30 teams.  You can catch up on the rules for player eligibility here.

The American League results are in!  Click here to see who’s protected and who’s available for each AL team.

So far, we’ve covered the Braves, Cardinals, Pirates, Brewers, Reds, Cubs, Diamondbacks, Rockies, Dodgers, Padres, Giants, Rangers, Mariners, Athletics, Angels, Astros, Twins, Royals, Tigers, Indians, White Sox, Rays, Yankees, Red Sox, Blue Jays and Orioles.  The Marlins are up next.

We’ll start by removing free agents Jonathan Villar, Matt Joyce, Francisco Cervelli, and Brandon Kintzler from consideration.  Sixto Sanchez and Jesus Sanchez will make the protected list as Baseball America Top 100 prospects with 2020 ETAs.  Here’s the initial protected list of ten players:

Sixto Sanchez
Jesus Sanchez
Brian Anderson
Sandy Alcantara
Miguel Rojas
Jorge Alfaro
Isan Diaz
Caleb Smith
Pablo Lopez
Jordan Yamamoto

That leaves five spots for the remaining 17 players.  Check out contract statuses and team control here.

Jesus Aguilar
Jon Berti
Jeff Brigham
Lewis Brinson
Adam Conley
Garrett Cooper
Corey Dickerson
Robert Dugger
Yimi Garcia
Elieser Hernandez
Harold Ramirez
Magneuris Sierra
Ryne Stanek
Drew Steckenrider
Stephen Tarpley
Jose Urena
Chad Wallach

With that, we turn it over to the MLBTR readership! In the poll below (direct link here), select exactly five players you think the Marlins should protect in our upcoming mock expansion draft.  Click here to view the results.

Create your own user feedback survey

Which 15 Players Should The Braves Protect In An Expansion Draft?

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In a few weeks, we’ll be running a two-team mock expansion draft here at MLBTR – just for the fun of it!  Currently, we’re creating 15-player protected lists for each of the existing 30 teams.  You can catch up on the rules for player eligibility here.

The American League results are in!  Click here to see who’s protected and who’s available for each AL team.

So far, we’ve covered the Cardinals, Pirates, Brewers, Reds, Cubs, Diamondbacks, Rockies, Dodgers, Padres, Giants, Rangers, Mariners, Athletics, Angels, Astros, Twins, Royals, Tigers, Indians, White Sox, Rays, Yankees, Red Sox, Blue Jays and Orioles.  The Braves are up next.

First, we’ll start by removing free agents Marcell Ozuna, Cole Hamels, Nick Markakis, Mark Melancon, Shane Greene, Tyler Flowers, Adeiny Hechavarria, and Darren O’Day from consideration.  Freddie Freeman gets a spot on the protected list by virtue of the no-trade rights he’ll earn this year.  We’ll also add Cristian Pache and Kyle Wright as Baseball America Top 100 prospects with a 2020 ETA.  Here’s the initial list of nine protected players:

Freddie Freeman
Ronald Acuna Jr.
Ozzie Albies
Max Fried
Mike Soroka
Mike Foltynewicz
Dansby Swanson
Kyle Wright
Cristian Pache

That leaves six spots for the remaining 19 players.  Be sure to read up on their contract statuses and team control here.

Johan Camargo
Travis d’Arnaud
Grant Dayton
Adam Duvall
Ender Inciarte
Alex Jackson
Luke Jackson
Chris Martin
A.J. Minter
Sean Newcomb
Austin Riley
Will Smith
Chad Sobotka
Touki Toussaint
Jeremy Walker
Jacob Webb
Bryse Wilson
Huascar Ynoa

With that, we turn it over to the MLBTR readership! In the poll below (direct link here), select exactly six players you think the Braves should protect in our upcoming mock expansion draft.  Click here to view the results.

Create your own user feedback survey

Which 15 Players Should The Cardinals Protect In An Expansion Draft?

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In a few weeks, we’ll be running a two-team mock expansion draft here at MLBTR – just for the fun of it!  Currently, we’re creating 15-player protected lists for each of the existing 30 teams.  You can catch up on the rules for player eligibility here.

The American League results are in!  Click here to see who’s protected and who’s available for each AL team.

So far, we’ve covered the Pirates, Brewers, Reds, Cubs, Diamondbacks, Rockies, Dodgers, Padres, Giants, Rangers, Mariners, Athletics, Angels, Astros, Twins, Royals, Tigers, Indians, White Sox, Rays, Yankees, Red Sox, Blue Jays and Orioles.  The Cardinals are up next.

First, we’ll remove free agents Yadier Molina, Adam Wainwright, Matt Wieters, Brett Cecil, and Brad Miller from consideration.  Andrew Miller has a $12MM club option for 2021, and we’ll consider him a free agent for this exercise.  In the case of Kolten Wong and his $12.5MM club option, we’ll assume the Cardinals exercise it and protect him.  Outfield prospect Dylan Carlson will be protected out of the gate given his 2020 ETA.  Paul Goldschmidt, Dexter Fowler, Matt Carpenter, and Miles Mikolas will be protected due to their no-trade clauses.  Here’s the full list of 11 players we’ll lock down right out of the gate:

Paul Goldschmidt
Dexter Fowler
Matt Carpenter
Miles Mikolas
Dylan Carlson
Jack Flaherty
Paul DeJong
Tommy Edman
Dakota Hudson
Giovanny Gallegos
Kolten Wong

That leaves four spots for the following 19 players.  Be sure to check out their contract statuses and team control here.

Harrison Bader
John Brebbia
Genesis Cabrera
Austin Dean
Junior Fernandez
John Gant
Ryan Helsley
Jordan Hicks
Kwang Hyun Kim
Andrew Knizner
Carlos Martinez
Tyler O’Neill
Daniel Ponce de Leon
Rangel Ravelo
Alex Reyes
Edmundo Sosa
Lane Thomas
Tyler Webb
Justin Williams

With that, we turn it over to the MLBTR readership! In the poll below (direct link here), select exactly four players you think the Cardinals should protect in our upcoming mock expansion draft.  Click here to view the results.

Create your own user feedback survey

Which 15 Players Should The Pirates Protect In An Expansion Draft?

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In a few weeks, we’ll be running a two-team mock expansion draft here at MLBTR – just for the fun of it!  Currently, we’re creating 15-player protected lists for each of the existing 30 teams.  You can catch up on the rules for player eligibility here.

The American League results are in!  Click here to see who’s protected and who’s available for each AL team.

So far, we’ve covered the Brewers, Reds, Cubs, Diamondbacks, Rockies, Dodgers, Padres, Giants, Rangers, Mariners, Athletics, Angels, Astros, Twins, Royals, Tigers, Indians, White Sox, Rays, Yankees, Red Sox, Blue Jays and Orioles.  The Pirates are up next.

First, we’ll remove free agents Jarrod Dyson and Keone Kela from consideration.  Chris Archer and Gregory Polanco each have an $11MM club option for 2021.  Polanco also has options for ’22 and ’23.  We’ll leave the decision on whether to protect Archer and Polanco up to you.

Ke’Bryan Hayes will make the list as a Baseball America Top 100 prospect with a 2020 ETA.  Here’s the list of eight total players we’ll protect out of the gate:

Ke’Bryan Hayes
Jameson Taillon
Adam Frazier
Joe Musgrove
Josh Bell
Kevin Newman
Bryan Reynolds
Mitch Keller

That leaves seven spots for the following 27 players.  Click here to read up on the Pirates’ contract statuses and team control.

Chris Archer
Steven Brault
Nick Burdi
Kyle Crick
Michael Feliz
Erik Gonzalez
Geoff Hartlieb
Guillermo Heredia
Clay Holmes
Sam Howard
Kevin Kramer
Chad Kuhl
Luke Maile
Jason Martin
Colin Moran
Dovydas Neverauskas
Jose Osuna
Gregory Polanco
Pablo Reyes
JT Riddle
Yacksel Rios
Richard Rodriguez
Edgar Santana
Jacob Stallings
Chris Stratton
Cole Tucker
Trevor Williams

With that, we turn it over to the MLBTR readership! In the poll below (direct link here), select exactly seven players you think the Pirates should protect in our upcoming mock expansion draft.  Click here to view the results.

Create your own user feedback survey

Which 15 Players Should The Brewers Protect In An Expansion Draft?

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In a few weeks, we’ll be running a two-team mock expansion draft here at MLBTR – just for the fun of it!  Currently, we’re creating 15-player protected lists for each of the existing 30 teams.  You can catch up on the rules for player eligibility here.

So far, we’ve covered the Reds, Cubs, Diamondbacks, Rockies, Dodgers, Padres, Giants, Rangers, Mariners, Athletics, Angels, Astros, Twins, Royals, Tigers, Indians, White Sox, Rays, Yankees, Red Sox, Blue Jays and Orioles.  The Brewers are up next.

First, we’ll remove free agents Ryan Braun, Brett Anderson, Justin Smoak, David Phelps, Eric Sogard, Jedd Gyorko, and Brock Holt from consideration.  Many of those players have club options for 2021, but we won’t make the Brewers use a protected spot on them.  Christian Yelich and Lorenzo Cain will make the list by virtue of their no-trade clauses.  In total, we’ll protect 11 players out of the gate:

Christian Yelich
Lorenzo Cain
Keston Hiura
Brandon Woodruff
Josh Hader
Omar Narvaez
Eric Lauer
Adrian Houser
Luis Urias
Freddy Peralta
Josh Lindblom

That leaves four spots for the following 17 players.  Click here to review contract statuses and team control.  Assume the expansion draft is taking place in November 2020.

Orlando Arcia
Ray Black
Corbin Burnes
Alex Claudio
David Freitas
Ben Gamel
Avisail Garcia
Ryon Healy
Corey Knebel
Jacob Nottingham
Manny Pina
Ronny Rodriguez
Brent Suter
Tyrone Taylor
Bobby Wahl
Devin Williams
Eric Yardley

With that, we turn it over to the MLBTR readership! In the poll below (direct link here), select exactly four players you think the Brewers should protect in our upcoming mock expansion draft.  Click here to view the results.

Create your own user feedback survey

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