Biggest prospect protection risk Guardians took at 40-man roster deadline

Yesterday served as the roster deadline for teams across baseball to add eligible prospects to their 40-man roster to protect them from the 40-man draft, and, as such, the Guardians added prospects RHP Austin Peterson, OF Khalil Watson, INF Angel Geano and RHP Yorman Gómez to their 40-man roster.

They also designated reliever Nic Enright for assignment to free up space for them to save four prospects instead of three.

Although those additions were necessary given the Rule 5 deadline, it doesn’t mean those moves don’t come without risk. 

The Guardians took a swing by adding Yorman Gómez to their 40-man roster 

The biggest risk comes with the addition of Gómez, who is a bit less proven compared to some of the other prospects the Guardians saved. 

Although Gómez has been in the Guardians’ system since 2021, he spent his first season pitching in the Dominican Rookie League before spending 2022 with the Arizona Complex League. 

He pitched almost exclusively at Single-A in 2023 and ‘24 (outside of 18 innings at High-A), and made it to Double-A at the end of last season. He had a 2.96 ERA in 121 2/3 innings last year in High-A and Double-A while also leading the Guardians’ minor league system in wins (12) and strikeouts (139). 

Even though he hasn’t made it to Triple-A Columbus yet, he’s a bit older than some other prospects (23), so it wouldn’t be surprising to see him fast-tracked to the bigs as a reliever. 

The risk here comes with the flip side of the moves in the prospects that the Guardians didn’t protect in the form of Wuilfredo Antunez and Milan Tolentino, among others. White none of those prospects are surefire slam dunks, they all could be scooped up by a lesser franchise. 

Antunez had a solid showing in 2025 and was raking in the Arizona Fall League prior to getting hurt and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see someone scoop him up to see what he can do in spring training. Additionally, Tolentino led Columbus with 21 home runs while Huff posted a .484 slugging percentage. 

If a team claims a player in the Rule 5 Draft, they have to keep him on their 26-man roster all year and must be placed on waivers in order to be removed from the roster. If they clear waivers, they're offered back to their original club.

The other part is the DFA of Enright, who will be out for all of 2026 after undergoing Tommy John surgery. Enright impressed in his first taste of MLB action in 2025 and is one of the best stories in all of baseball, but was on the wrong side of the roster bubble due to the fact there’s no 60-day IL in the offseason. 

Every team in baseball will now have a chance to claim Enright, but they may not have a ton of interest in acquiring him since they’d need to add him to the 40-man roster if they acquire him.

It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Enright end up back in Cleveland on a two-year minor league deal that would allow for him to rehab ahead of a (hopeful) 2027 return.