The final date that teams can add internal players to the roster to protect them from the Rule 5 Draft is set for November 18th, just a few days away.

Last year, Toronto decided to protect nobody and selected Angel Bastardo, who spent the entire season on the IL while he rehabbed from Tommy John surgery. The only casualty from the Jays’ side was Garrett Spain, who was taken in the Minor League portion by the Milwaukee Brewers.

The Blue Jays currently have 37 players on the 40-man roster, giving the Jays some wiggle room for adding players, whether that’s via free agency or protection for internal players. Additionally, some bubble roster players could be DFA’d, but that’s a route the Jays need to consider at the current moment, given the three open spots.

Thomas Nestico has put together an extensive list of every eligible player for the Rule 5 Draft this year. Let’s take a look at four names the Jays should consider protecting.

When it comes to sure bets, the Jays adding Ricky Tiedemann seems like one of them. The former Top 100 prospect was working his way up the minor league ladder before an elbow injury in 2024 saw him land on the IL, eventually undergoing Tommy John surgery. He missed all of 2025 while rehabbing and should be good to go in the new year.

Over the course of three seasons in the minors, Tiedemann owns a 3.02 ERA and a 1.079 WHIP across 140 innings, with injuries limiting his time on the mound since being drafted in 2021. When healthy, he’s a strikeout artist, crafting a 14.5 K/9 with 226 strikeouts across all four levels in the Jays system.

Tiedemann should be in the mix for a rotation spot next spring if the Jays don’t add a new arm, but if anything, he will be one of the next arms on the list in Triple-A Buffalo in 2026.

Acquired at the 2024 trade deadline in exchange for Nate Pearson to the Cubs’, outfielder Yohendrick Pinango posted strong numbers in his first full season under the Blue Jays banner. Starting the year in New Hampshire, Pinango posted a .298/.406/.522 slash line with eight home runs and 10 doubles, earning him a promotion to Buffalo in early June.

From there, Pinango finished the campaign with a .235/.335/.379 slash line, seeing a decrease in his power output (seven home runs and 19 doubles) compared to his Double-A numbers. He was still an effective bat to the tune of a .714 OPS and was a solid arm in left field, but he will be a bat-first type of player at the next level.

The Jays are currently stacked in the outfield, including numerous players on the bench in Nathan Lukes, Joey Loperfido, and Myles Straw, so keeping Pinango might not be high on the Jays’ priority list for protection. However, he has been a solid everyday player down in the Minor Leagues and could be in the conversation for the Rule 5 Draft this winter, so protecting him and keeping him as depth in Triple-A next season and beyond might be enough to convince the front office.

The 2025 season was a tough year for infielder Josh Kasevich. He started the year on the IL due to a stress reaction in his back and then found himself landing back on the IL in mid-August, limiting him to just 42 games this past year, split across three levels. Through 136 at-bats, he mustered a .228/.331/.243 slash line with a .574 OPS, and he just wasn’t himself this season. He did get some at-bats in the Arizona Fall League and bounced back with Glendale to the tune of a .255/.419/.255 slash line with 17 walks and a .673 OPS.

Flashback to 2024, and you can see why Kasevich is on this list. Through 128 games, he amassed a .296/.348/.385 slash line with six home runs, 28 doubles, and 64 RBIs with a .733 OPS. He spent most of that season in New Hampshire but kicked things up a notch in Buffalo, producing a .815 OPS with 23 RBIs through 41 games and 157 at-bats.

He’s a contact bat through and through, and should be starting next season in Buffalo with the potential for some Major League at-bats later in the year as a depth piece. He also has a strong eye at the plate, consistently putting up strong walk numbers.

Protecting him from the Rule 5 Draft makes even more sense if Bichette doesn’t return, as Kasevich could be an option for the Jays’ bench if they don’t find a replacement on the open market. They will have to make that decision before Bichette makes his, but overall, having Kasevich in the system seems like a strong idea, and he could be picked up this winter if left unprotected.

A fourth-round pick of the Jays in 2022, Ryan Jennings has been a very underrated arm in the Toronto Blue Jays system. He earned the Jays’ internal Pitcher of the Year Award in 2024, amassing a 1.93 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP across 60 2/3 innings, and made his way to Triple-A last year in a new role.

Previously used as a starter, Jennings was strictly a reliever in 2025, and pitched to a 3.72 ERA across 58 innings and 45 appearances. He was doing well in Double-A New Hampshire, but struggled a bit with the Bisons, seeing his ERA climb to 4.25 across 36 innings. He got hit a bit harder against more advanced bats (8.9 H/9), and he finished with an elevated 1.690 WHIP.

Protecting Jennings makes sense because of his high strikeout numbers, putting forth a 12.7 K/9 across both levels this past year. Even when he got hit harder with Buffalo, he still punched out 54 bats, showing that he can be an effective arm when he keeps his command in check (6.7 BB/9). Jennings is still a bit raw, but giving him another year in Buffalo could produce some really strong results that could see him in the big leagues sometime in 2026. His command issues may see him pass through without getting claimed, but there’s a strong argument to be made that the strikeout stuff warrants a 40-man roster spot.

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