Dodgers add Gerardo Carrillo, Andre Jackson, Edwin Uceta, and Zach Reks to 40-man roster

The Dodgers added four prospects to the 40-man roster on Friday, with pitchers Gerardo Carrillo, Edwin Uceta and Andre Jackson, plus outfielder Zach Reks getting the nod.

The move prevents those players from being chosen in the Rule 5 draft, which will take place on December 10. All four spent time on the Dodgers’ player pool in 2020, getting at least some development time at the alternate training site at USC in a year without a minor league season.

Carrillo, who turned 22 in September, was signed out of Mexico in 2016. His highest level reached in 2019 was Class-A Rancho Cucamonga, where he struck out 86 in 86 innings with a 5.44 ERA. He’s ranked the 11th-best prospect in the Dodgers’ system by Eric Longenhagen at FanGraphs, and 16th by MLB Pipeline.

Between his three minor league seasons and Arizona Fall League stint in 2019, Carrillo has started 46 of his 57 games, though Longenhagen thinks he’s better suited for the bullpen. “In my opinion, his posture, violent delivery, and the way it impacts his command make it likely that Carrillo’s destiny lies in high leverage relief,” Longenhagen wrote. “From a pure stuff standpoint, he’s comparable to many of the top college prospects slated to go in the top 20 of June’s draft.”

Jackson was drafted in the 12th round out of Utah in 2017. The right-hander, who had Tommy John surgery in his final year in college, was ranked 14th among Dodgers prospects by FanGraphs, with an ETA in the majors of 2021. MLB Pipeline ranked Jackson the 28th-best prospect in the system. His last minor league season was split between two levels in 2019, ending with a 3.66 ERA in 15 starts for Class-A Rancho Cucamonga with 91 strikeouts in 66⅓ innings, a 31-percent strikeout rate. Jackson turns 25 in May.

Reks was drafted in the 10th round in 2017 out of Kentucky, and hit .291/.385/.536 between Triple-A Oklahoma City and Double-A Tulsa in 2019. His 28 home runs were second among Dodgers minor leaguers that year, trailing only Edwin Ríos.

Reks is the oldest of the new 40-man roster additions, having turned 27 last week.

Uceta in his last minor league season posted a 2.77 ERA in 26 games, including 24 starts across Class-A Rancho Cucamonga and Double-A Tulsa, and his 141 strikeouts were tied for second-most in the Dodgers minors in 2019, tied with Jackson and trailing only Josiah Gray (147 strikeouts). The right-hander, signed out of the Dominican Republic in 2016, began the season in the Dodgers’ player pool, but was reportedly suspended and sent home in August for breaking COVID-19 protocols.

He turns 23 in January.

For these players on a 40-man roster for the first time, their minimum salary while in the minors in 2021 is $46,600. For others on the 40-man roster, their minimum salary in the minors is $93,000.

The major league minimum salary in 2021 will be $570,500, up from $563,500 in 2020. Per the collective bargaining agreement, this was determined by comparing the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) in October 2020 (254.076) to October 2019 (250.894). That 1.27-percent increase year over year was rounded to the nearest $500 to determine the minimum salary.

With these additions, the Dodgers have 36 players on the 40-man roster.