November 18th, 2016 at 5:21 pm 
by Ron Cervenka Much to the relief of Dodger fans who closely follow the team’s minor league affiliates, the Dodgers added 17th-ranked right-handed pitching prospect Chase De Jong, 19th-ranked right-handed reliever Jacob Rhame and 24th-ranked catcher Kyle Farmer to their 40-man roster late Friday afternoon a mere half-hour before the 5:00 pm PT deadline to protect them from being taken in the upcoming Rule-5 Draft, which will be held on December 8 – the final day of the 2016 MLB Winter Meetings at Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center near Washington, D.C.
“I’m very happy to be staying with the Dodgers,” De Jong said, after learning the news on Friday afternoon. “Playing for a team with such a rich history and pride in their legacy is something I think any player would love to be a small part of.”
The 22-year-old Long Beach, California native was initially selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in the second round of the 2012 MLB First-Year Player Draft out of Woodrow Wilson High School in Long Beach. He was traded to the Dodgers on July 2, 2015 along with infielder Tim Locastro in exchange for three international bonus pool slots which, in essence, means that the Dodgers acquired De Jong and Locastro without costing them any money or prospects.
De Jong has moved up quickly through the Dodgers minor league system. He is expected to begin the 2017 season with the Triple-A OKC Dodgers. (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)
Ironically, the Blue Jays used one of those bonus pool slots just last week to sign highly touted 23-year-old Cuban infielder Lourdes Gurriel to a seven-year / $22 million contract. Lourdes is the brother of infielder Yulieski Gurriel, who was signed by the Houston Astros on July 16, 2016 to a five-year / $47.5 million contract.
De Jong made 25 starts for the Dodgers Double-A affiliate Tulsa Drillers and one for the Triple-A Oklahoma City Dodgers in 2016 posting an outstanding combined 15-5 record and 2.82 ERA while striking out 133 and walking 40 in his 147.0 innings of work – the most innings pitched by any Dodgers minor leaguer in 2016. His 14 Texas League wins were tops in the league and his 2.86 Texas League ERA second best.
Rhame was selected by the Dodgers in the sixth round of the 2013 MLB First-Year Player Draft out of Grayson County College in Denison, Texas. The 23-year-old Atlanta, Georgia native spent the entire 2016 season at Triple-A Oklahoma City where he posted a somewhat deceiving 1-7 record with an impressive 3.29 ERA. He also picked up seven saves while striking out 70 and walking 28 in his 63.0 innings of work.
Jacob Rhame
(Photo credit – David Minton)
Farmer was an eighth-round draft pick by the Dodgers in 2013 out of the University of Georgia. The 26-year-old backstop, also an Atlanta native, spent the 2016 season at Double-A Tulsa (and four games rehabbing with the AZL Dodgers) posting a combined triple-slash of .256 / .323 / .395 for an OPS of .718. He also slugged five home runs and collected 35 RBIs in the 78 games in which he appeared.
Kyle Farmer
(Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)
De Jong, Rhame and Farmer will each be attending their second major league spring training camp, for which they will report on February 15, 2017 with the rest of the Dodgers pitchers and catchers. The first workout is scheduled for the following day.
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I think Dodgers will regret not protecting Tim Locastro. With teams looking for middle infielders and minimum salaried utility infielders I think Locastro will be selected in the draft.
There were only there roster spots available. I believe that Locastro and Scavuzzo will both survive the Rule 5 Draft. I’m not convinced that De Jong, Rhame or Farmer would have.
I am also not convinced that all five of these guys will make it through this off-season as Dodgers.
Hello, hopefully Scavuzzo does survive the draft, can’t go too wrong with one of the few RH bats we have in our system. however during this year, I didn’t here too much talk about him.
I would not be surprised to see O’Koyea Dickson selected in the Rule 5 Draft.
It’s certainly possible, Harold, but taking a guy in the Rule 5 is a HUGE gamble. As you are very well aware, a selected player MUST be on the drafting team’s 25-man roster for the entire season. I definitely agree that O’Koyea is MLB-ready – especially after his phenomenal season at OKC this past year – but is he worth taking up an active roster spot?
That being said, I hope that he is taken so that he will finally get to the bigs. He is a great guy.
Ron, based on last year’s dismal performance by Kike Hernandez, hopefully he could be moved to open up a roster spot for someone who just might hit above .190
No argument there. Worst fall from grace I’ve seen in quite some time.
It’s not a big gamble if there is a spot on the active roster and a team’s prospects still have an option year left. It’s a look-see and he can be waived and if not claimed he is returned to the team from which he is drafted. I think that was the case with Seth Rosin who was claimed by the Rangers when the Dodgers waived him and then waived by Texas and not claimed so he was returned to Philadelphia.
I still see it as a very big gamble.
That said, I fully expect to see A LOT of movement between now and Dec 8 – possibly even including those just added to the 40-man and (in my opinion) O’Koyea Dickson. He is certainly worth a lot more that $50K.