The Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday added five players to their 40-man roster in anticipation of the Rule 5 draft, to be held on December 8 at the Winter Meetings in Dallas, Texas. Pitchers Michael Antonini, Stephen Fife, Josh Wall, and Chris Withrow, and outfielder Alex Castellanos were added to the Dodgers 40-man roster.
Pitchers John Ely and Carlos Monasterios were both outrighted to Triple A, removing them from the roster.
Withrow was a first-round pick in 2007 out of high school in Midland, Texas, and has had an inconsistent minor league career. At age 22 in 2011, he was 6-6 with a 4.20 ERA in 25 starts in his second full year in Double A Chattanooga.
Three of the five players were acquired in trades within the last year. The Dodgers got Antonini from the New York Mets for Chin-Lung Hu last winter. They acquired Castellanos from the St. Louis Cardinals on July 31 for shortstop Rafael Furcal, and they got Fife and two others from the Boston Red Sox for Trayvon Robinson, also on July 31.
On November 2, the Dodgers added Double A outfielders Scott Van Slyke and Alfredo Silverio to their 40-man roster to avoid losing them to minor league free agency. The club now have 38 players on their 40-man roster.
For a detailed look at the players added to the 40-man roster by the Dodgers, head over to True Blue LA.