Today was an important day on the baseball offseason calendar as today at 6:00 PM ET marked the deadline for teams to add players to their 40-man roster to protect them from selection in the upcoming Rule 5 Draft. Many teams were busy making moves and additions to their 40-man rosters, but one team that didn’t was the Atlanta Braves. The deadline came and went and Atlanta’s 40-man roster remained unchanged.
There are a few names that come to mind here. One of those is Ian Mejia, who MLB.com named after Atlanta’s “Toughest Rule 5 Decision” before today’s deadline. Here’s some of what they had to say about the young pitcher:
…He’s had a very good year, spent almost entirely at Double-A Mississippi, finishing third in the Southern League in ERA (2.62) and WHIP (1.06). He’s also racked up 120 innings in each of his three seasons, but he doesn’t miss many bats and throws his slider more than his fringe fastball, giving him a lower ceiling.
The next name in my opinion is Blake Burkhalter, who has had a very productive 2025 season on the farm. Burkhalter posted a 3.32 ERA this past season in addition to a 3.53 FIP over 103 innings pitched and 32 appearances in the minors. He spent most of his time at Double-A Columbus, where he posted a 3.13 ERA and 2.98 FIP over 14 starts and 72 innings. Once he made the jump to Triple-A Gwinnett, he was used more as a reliever (and even got a save), but things got a little tougher for him as he posted a 3.77 ERA and 4.82 FIP over 31 innings with the Stripers.
Still, getting 100 innings under his belt with that kind of production was pretty impressive, and it was understandable to think the Braves could have decided to protect him (and Mejia, too). Instead, they are now rolling the dice, with one of these players potentially being drafted in the upcoming Rule 5 Draft. There is always a possibility that if selected, they may end up coming back if the team that selects them decides they are not keen on keeping them on their active roster, but that is something that will be decided in the future.
For now, the Braves have made sure this particular deadline has been quiet for them and now they will continue with their offseason activities, leaving their 40-man roster unchanged for the time being.
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