Dodgers Team News

Dodgers Adjust 40-Man Roster Ahead Of Rule 5 Draft

With the deadline to protect players from the Rule 5 draft upon us, the Dodgers added Dennis Santana and Trevor Oaks to their 40-man roster. To make room on the roster, Grant Dayton was claimed off waivers by the Atlanta Braves and Josh Ravin was designated for assignment, then traded to the Braves for cash considerations.

Santana, a 21 year old right handed pitcher, was originally signed in as a shortstop in 2013 out of the Dominican Republic but was moved to the mound full time after struggling at the plate in his first professional season. He was an All-Star in both 2016 and 2017 at Low A and High A, respectively. Santana made it as high as AA in 2017, putting up a 6.34 ERA in 32.2 innings pitched.



While he may have had his struggles, he shows great potential with a fastball that sits in the low 90s and tops out at 96, as well as a solid slider and changeup. He may have a ways to go, but he’s way ahead of expectations and a guy who fits well into the Dodgers’ future plans.

Oaks, a 24 year old right hander, was drafted by the Dodgers in the 7th round of the 2014 draft. Oaks missed two months with an oblique strain towards the end of 2017, but was solid when healthy. He had a 3.64 ERA over 84 innings in AAA. Similar to Santana, Oaks’ fastball sits in the low to mid 90s and can top out at 96. His other weapons consist of a high 80s cutter, along with a slider and changeup. A big part of his success is his ability to create ground balls and limit walks. He profiles as a back-end starter in the Major Leagues.

Alex Anthopoulos, who was recently hired by the Braves as general manager, didn’t waste any time acquiring some new talent from his former employer. Grant Dayton was a solid contributor in the Dodgers bullpen in 2016, but had failed to replicate that success in 2017.

He had 4.94 ERA before being sidelined due to injury, and would eventually require Tommy John surgery in August. He will likely spend all of 2018 on the shelf so, despite his potential, this isn’t a huge loss for the Dodgers.

Josh Ravin always left more questions than answers in his time with the Dodgers. He was solid during spring training in 2016 and looked as though he’d be considered for the big league roster, but a broken arm suffered in a car accident followed by a failed test for PEDs delayed his arrival until September.

When he was eventually brought up in 2016 he was nothing short of dominant, putting up a 0.93 ERA in 9.2 innings. However Ravin was also unable to recreate his past success in 2017, racking up a 6.48 ERA during sporadic call ups throughout the season.

It’s exciting to see two good prospects in Dennis Santana and Trevor Oaks continue to get closer to reaching their dream of pitching in the big leagues! Best of luck to both Dayton and Ravin in their new home in Atlanta!

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Hunter Thompson

Born in Pennsylvania but comes from a long line of Dodger fans from their Brooklyn days. Extremely passionate about the Dodgers and baseball in general. News writer and Twittercaster for Dodger games. Follow me on Twitter @Officialism27 for more Dodgers talk!

2 Comments

  1. Can someone tell me why teams make a trade for a player who has been dfa’d? Can’t they just claim him anyway for the minimum? Or do they make a deal so some other team can’t claim him too?

  2. If you noticed… Atlanta got “Reamed” for screwing up Rule 5 and the international Rule for choosing foreign players.. Tried to pull off a “Tricky”. Ha!

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