40-Man Shuffle

The Expos Nationals made several moves yesterday to shuffle the players on their roster.

They purchased the contracts of LHP Michael Hinckley, 1B Larry Broadway and RHP Darrell Rasner from Double-A Harrisburg, and the contracts of RHPs Josh Karp and Danny Rueckel from Triple-A Edmonton.

The also designated RHP Roy Corcoran for assignment.

The contract purchases place these minor leaguers on the team's 40-man roster. The 40-man roster consists of all the players on the team's 25-man major league roster, the DL, and minor leaguers who have played more than 3 season (with some exceptions).

In general, players who are not added to the 40-man after 3 years are then eligible for the Rule 5 draft, and can be selected by other teams. (See here for more information)

Essentialy, with these moves, the Expos were trying to protect the few minor league prospects they have. Hinckley is the player to watch.