Tuesday (5 PM CST) is the deadline to set the 40-man roster for 2025, and that means adding eligible prospects that they don’t want to lose in December’s Rule 5 Draft. There are a considerable amount of players eligible for the Rule 5 Draft this winter. The Minnesota Twins won’t protect all of them, but three should be considered a lock.

Prospects the Minnesota Twins will likely add to 40-man roster by deadline

Kala’i Rosario put up another strong Arizona Fall League season that resulted in his team winning a championship. His .813 OPS was nearly a match to the .816 OPS he posted last fall. The 2020 5th round pick could play the bulk of his 2025 season at Triple-A St. Paul. In all likelihood, he will be added to the 40-man roster in the next 24 hours.

Congrats to Kala’i Rosario for helping lead his team to a @MLBazFallLeague Championship 🏆#MNTwins https://t.co/giwmh8WXEb

— Twins Player Development (@TwinsPlayerDev) November 17, 2024

Both (RHP) Marco Raya and (C) Ricardo Olivar are likely to join Rosario on the 40-man roster. The former may be the next best pitching prospect in Minnesota’s system. The latter gives the Twins another catching option, although his defensive abilities leave plenty to be desired. It would be pretty surprising if we don’t see all three (Rosario, Raya and Olivar) added to the 40-man roster before tomorrow’s 5 PM deadline.

Related: 3 Prospects Minnesota Twins MUST Add to 40-Man Roster Before Rule 5 Draft Deadline

Minnesota’s 40-man status and next decisions coming

Minnesota’s 40-man roster currently has 35 spots accounted for. Kyle Farmer and Manuel Margot are bother free agents. Alex Kirilloff has since retired. Thus, they have plenty of room to maneuver, but it’s unlikely they fill it with Rule 5 eligible players, but they have that option.

After Tuesday’s deadline, the next date to be aware of on the MLB offseason calendar is the November 22, 2024 non-tender deadline. Minnesota has 11 candidates eligible for arbitration-based raises. Among them, three are legitimate non-tender candidates.

It’s possible that neither Michael Tonkin or Justin Topa return to Minnesota’s bullpen, even at nominal financial figures. Willi Castro is the most intriguing name here, and it’s unlikely he will be non-tendered. The Twins do appear intent on trading him though, as it seems his modest salary of more than $6 million may be too rich for their projected 2025 budget.

If the #MNTwins trade Chris Paddack and Christian Vazquez, while needing to eat no money, and non-tender Willi Castro…

They have roughly $25 million to work with. pic.twitter.com/M2CI2lEYT1

— Ted (@tlschwerz) November 15, 2024

Related: Griffin Jax Floated as a Possible Minnesota Twins Starter Again

As the fall turns into winter, the offseason moves will begin in earnest. Derek Falvey is probably looking to trade multiple veterans, and he’ll need to free up money in order to spend any.

What is the Major League Baseball ‘Rule 5 Draft’?

Any 18+ y/o minor league veteran with 4-5 years of pro experience, who is not on their current team’s 40-man roster by November 19, is eligible for the Rule 5 Draft. These days, the Rule 5 Draft is used to stop teams from burying players in their minor league systems. But its mention dates back to 1941, its use all the way back to 1892.

Those eligible, as defined by Major League Baseball, include: “Players signed at age 18 or younger need to be added to their club’s 40-Man roster within five seasons or they become eligible for the Rule 5 Draft. Players who signed at age 19 or older need to be protected within four seasons.”

Eligible players not on their organization’s 40-man roster become available for other MLB teams to “draft”. The catch: Anyone selected must remain on his new team’s MLB roster (26-man) for the entire season, or they go back to their original team.

Three Minnesota Twins prospects who MUST be added to 40-man roster

The Minnesota Twins have more than a handful of players who are worthy of being selected through the Rule 5 Draft, which takes place during the MLB Winter Meetings, in December. But there are THREE Twins minor leaguers who absolutely must be added to the team’s 40-man roster in the next two weeks, or they won’t be here anymore.

Kala’i Rosario, OF – 22 years old

Minnesota picked Rosario out of high school, in the fifth round of the 2020 draft. The Hawaiian suffered through a slow start to his professional career, but that’s not surprising, for a teenager. Since, he has bulked up, which has somewhat transformed him into a legitimate home run threat.

After leading the Arizona Fall League in dingers last year, he returned in 2024, after participating in just 69 regular season games between Single and Double A. There is a lot of swing and miss to Rosario’s game, which can prove frustrating, but his short sting performances at Double-A, late this summer, and now at the AFL, Rosario has shown a lot of scouts that he can play at the highest levels.

Kala’i Rosario stays hot in the @MLBazFallLeague recording his third XBH in the AFL and his fourth straight game with a hit 📈#MNTwins pic.twitter.com/GsB6kWw10K

— Twins Player Development (@TwinsPlayerDev) October 18, 2024

Related: Byron Buxton is Still One of the Minnesota Twins Most Valuable Players

It’s a small sample, which is always the case in the Arizona Fall League. In 14 AFL games this season, Rosario is batting .320 for the Salt River Rafters, which includes a pair of homers and 10 RBI, in just 14 games.

He’s the perfect type of power-hitting prospect that teams like to take fliers on, during the Rule 5 Draft. As long as the Minnesota Twins doe the right thing, Kala’i Rosario will start his 2025 season at Double-A Wichita.

Marco Raya, SP – 22 years old

Taken one round ahead of Rosario, in the 2020 MLB Draft, Raya entered this summer competing with David Festa, as the Minnesota Twins top pitching prospect. Raya scuffled early, at Double-A, but recovered nicely, and worked his way to Triple-A St. Paul, to end the year.

Once a top-100 prospect, Raya’s minor league stock has taken a hit, in recent years, in part because the Twins have played it so carefully with his development (only 3.9 innings per start in 2024). Marco’s 4.27 ERA this summer wasn’t dazzling, but his talent is undeniable, and he undoubtedly got better as the year went on.

In his final 7 starts (34.1 innings), which included a 5-inning shutout appearance for the Saints, Marco Raya finished strong, with a 1.31 ERA, to go with an opponent batting average of just .192 (.515 OPS).

How about that for a Triple-A debut for the #MNTwins number 6 prospect, Marco Raya. He goes 5.0 shutout innings allowing five hits while walking one and striking out four. He throws 72 pitches, 46 strikes and gets 8 swings and misses pic.twitter.com/dNOOw1Y0Rx

— St. Paul Saints (@StPaulSaints) September 21, 2024

Related: Former MLB GM Lists 10 Free Agent Fits for the Minnesota Twins

There’s a reason why the Twins have babied Raya, throughout his professional career. He has triple-digit stuff and there’s a good chance he would be among the first Rule 5 prospects taken, if left unprotected. No matter where he plays next year, I expect Marco to make his major league debut in 2025.

Ricardo Olivar, C/OF – 23 years old

You don’t often see a catcher play centerfield, but Olivar did that three times in 2023. He’s more of a corner outfielder if not behind the plate, but he predominantly settled in at catcher this season.

The bat certainly plays there as he posted an .823 OPS while displaying a nice power and on-base combination. He’s still a work in progress defensively and a career 12% caught stealing rate is laughable. The catching position is not an offensively flush role at the highest level.

Welcome to the @WindSurgeICT, Ricardo Olivar‼️

The 22-year-old showed out yesterday for his new squad:

✅2nd career game in Double-A
✅1st career 5-hit game
✅7th career game with 2 doubles#MNTwins pic.twitter.com/vuNJeNuFbz

— Twins Player Development (@TwinsPlayerDev) August 1, 2024

Related: Ranking: 10 Most Likely Minnesota Twins to be Traded This Offseason

Olivar made it to Double-A last season, and there would be an organization willing to take a chance on him making the jump. Minnesota has just three catchers on the 40-man, and Christian Vazquez is a prime candidate to be dealt. Ryan Jeffers, Jair Camargo, and Olivar present plenty of questions for the position though.

The best of the rest for Rule 5 Eligible Minnesota Twins prospects

There are substantially more players that the Twins could opt to protect if they so choose. Spots on the 40-man roster are limited though, and the shuffle has to be worth betting on a young prospect. Infielder Rubel Cespedes played 110 games at High-A Cedar Rapids, but he’s 23 and owned just a .777 OPS.

Travis Adams put in good work at Double-A, but he looked overmatched in brief action for the Saints. Anthony Prato had a .990 OPS in 72 games last year for the Saints, but went undrafted. He won’t be protected this time around either.

Related: Minnesota Twins Plan to Shop at Least One Young Infielder This Offseason

Most of the fringe players have replicas throughout other organizations. Beyond Minnesota’s top three, it seems relatively unlikely that anyone else is added. The Twins are likely to be active on the trade market, and those results could have a bearing on their decision making here as well.

We are now just days away from the offseason getting underway. The Twins need to turn the page in the most desperate way, and their opportunity to do so begins soon.

Walker Jenkins inches closer to Minnesota Twins

The Minnesota Twins started Walker Jenkins in the Complex League last year. A .927 OPS across just 14 games earned him a trip across the parking lot. Jenkins finished his season with Low-A Fort Myers. This spring Jenkins experience a bit of a slowplay as he built up, but was ready for Opening Day. Starting again with the Mighty Mussels, Jenkins went down during the first game of the season. That didn’t stop him from coming back and earning a quick promotion to High-A Cedar Rapids.

Guess who’s getting promoted?? Walker Jenkins is moving on up to High-A Cedar Rapids!

Jenkins hit .273 with 10 XBH, 28 BB and 33 RBI in 33 games (.817 OPS), reaching base in 31 of those games.

He was on a tear last week and drove in 8 runs over the last 4 games vs. Dunedin pic.twitter.com/zyQhPJ57sP

— Fort Myers Mighty Mussels (@MightyMussels) July 29, 2024

Jenkins ultimately played in just 33 games for the Mighty Mussels this year. He missed a couple of months due to the hamstring issue, but returned and dominated. His .273/.404/.413 slash line has a clear indication of what he is currently excelling at. Jenkins carried a 17/28 K/BB ratio, and simply spat on pitches that he couldn’t do anything with. Despite being two years younger than the average age for the level, Jenkins looked like a seasoned pro.

At just 19 years old Jenkins will journey to High-A. The Kernels are 54-40 on the year overall, and 17-13 in the second half. 3.5 games back of the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, Cedar Rapids will look to Jenkins for a boost to get them into the postseason.

It remains unlikely that the Minnesota Twins would see Jenkins at the big league level next season. He could definitely push for a look by the end of the year. Otherwise, Opening Day 2026 is a very real possibility.

Related: Minnesota Twins New Top Prospect Puts System in Rarefied Air

Minnesota Twins promote Ricardo Olivar as well

It’s not just Jenkins moving up a level for the Minnesota Twins on Monday. Ricardo Olivar also vacated a spot at High-A to join Double-A Wichita. The catcher/outfielder prospect has seen a consistent rise since being signed as an international free agent prior to 2021. Now 22 years old, Olivar posted a .287/.393/.473 slash line at Cedar Rapids.

We're sending another good harvest up to the Wind Surge 🌽 Congrats to catcher Ricardo Olivar on his promotion to Double-A! The Kernels wish you well in Wichita! #TwinsTerritory pic.twitter.com/2sCBVkgwoo

— Cedar Rapids Kernels (@CRKernels) July 29, 2024

Power is part of Olivar’s game as he hit 11 home runs in 81 games this season. He possesses strong on-base skills, and brings an offensive profile to the catcher position. It will be interesting to see how he handles catching duties at the next level. Each of the past two seasons he has generated just a 13% caught stealing rate while allowing more than 70 stolen bases.

Related: Bleacher Report REALLY Loves the Minnesota Twins Farm System