Mariners 2024 Rule 5 Draft: Full details, roster deadline, players who are eligible

We're right in the thick of things when it comes to events, hot stove talk and transactions going down during the 2024-25 MLB offseason. One of the upcoming happenings is the Rule 5 Draft, which is going to take place on Wednesday, Dec. 11.

The Rule 5 Draft was put into place to prevent teams from keeping their promising young prospects in the minor leagues too long. Any player drafted at 18 or younger is eligible after five years in the minors while players drafted at 19+ are eligible after four.

In the draft, other teams have the option to swipe eligible players from each other, but the only catch is that they must pay $100,000 and then keep said player on their big-league roster for the entire upcoming season. If they can't do that, they must send the player back to their original team and pay $50,000.

Mariners Rule 5 Draft: When is the 40-man roster deadline?

While the Rule 5 Draft itself isn't going to take place until next month, teams must select any eligible players they wish to protect to their 40-man roster by Tuesday, Nov. 19.

For a club like the Mariners, this is complicated by the fact that their 40-man roster is currently at capacity. If there are any prospects they want to keep away from potentially being lost in the R5D, they'll need to free up spots on the current roster by trades or DFAs.

Of course, the only reason the Mariners would need to make any of these additions to their roster is if they feel any of their prospects are truly at risk of being taken by another organization. Sometimes teams don't feel the need to shift around their roster, because their very best eligible prospects are too raw for any other club to risk carrying on their big-league roster all of the following season.

Mariners Rule 5 Draft: Which players are eligible?

From MLB Pipeline's Mariners top 30, the only players that are eligible this year are RHP Taylor Dollard (No. 21), RHP Jimmy Joyce (No. 23) and OF Carlos Jimenez (No. 28). It remains to be seen if these young guns have done enough to force their way onto the Mariners' 40-man, but Dollard has the best chance of the bunch.

Outside of Seattle's top 30, a number of other, less notable minor leaguers are eligible this season. Here's a look at the rest of the list:

• C Jose Caguana
• 1B Milkar Perez
• 2B Nick Dunn
• 3B Ben Ramirez
• 3B Luis Suisbel
• SS Morgan McCullough
• SS Axel Sanchez
• OF Spencer Packard
• OF Kaden Polcovich
• OF Victor Labrada
• RHP Jordan Jackson
• RHP Pedro Da Costa Lemos
• RHP Jason Ruffcorn
• RHP Travis Kuhn
• RHP Reid Morgan
• RHP Leon Hunter Jr.
• RHP Kyle Hill
• RHP Jimmy Kingsbury
• RHP Juan Burgos
• RHP Nick Davila
• RHP Anyelo Ovando
• RHP Gabriel Sosa
• LHP Peyton Alford

Tuesday's deadline will reveal what the Mariners are planning to brace for, so stay tuned for their official 40-man roster update.