Teams had until 5:00 PM CT on November 14 to meet the MLB 40-man roster deadline for the upcoming Rule 5 Draft. Because of the upcoming Draft, many teams had to place prospects on the 40-man roster and in some cases, move some other pieces out to make room. Now that the deadline has passed, here’s a look at four notable players who were either DFA’d, claimed off waivers, or moved.
Related: Five Pitchers That Stood Out in the 2023 Arizona Fall League
Oliver Dunn
The Phillies claimed infield prospect Oliver Dunn off waivers a year ago from the Yankees. The 26-year-old Dunn proved to be a breakout performer in Reading (AA) this year when he hit .271/.396/.506 with 16 stolen bases and 21 home runs. After the 26-year-old put up strong numbers against younger competition in the Arizona Fall League, Philadelphia flipped the Rule 5 Draft-eligible infielder to Milwaukee.
What was particularly interesting about the Dunn trade was the return the Phillies got for the 26-year-old. Philadelphia received toolsy outfielder Hendry Mendez and infield prospect Robert Moore. Mendez — ranked 27th in the Brewers system prior to the trade — hasn’t put up eye-popping numbers and hit just .216 (8-37) in the AZL this past year, but Moore was a former top college prospect with the University of Arkansas.
Moore — who ranked 15th in the Milwaukee farm — entered the 2022 campaign as a potential top-10 pick but fell to the second round after a subpar junior campaign, The switch-hitter batted just .236/.325/.367 (.692 OPS) over two pro seasons.
Mike Ford
Mariners 1B/DH Mike Ford offered Seattle some pop this past season. However, the 31-year-old is no longer on the M’s 40-man roster after Seattle selected outfielder Zach DeLoach.
Ford has arguably his most productive season as a Major Leaguer in 2023, as he hit .228/.323/.475 (.798 OPS) with 22 extra-base hits over 83 games. No, the New Jersey native didn’t eclipse the .909 OPS he recorded as a Yankee in 2019. But, he did have career-highs in home runs (16) and RBI (34).
After 29 combined home runs between Triple-A and the Majors in 2023, Ford will likely be in an MLB team’s camp come the spring.
Penn Murfee
Former Mariners reliever Penn Murfee already traded places once this offseason, after the Mets claimed the 29-year-old off waivers earlier in the offseason. Now, Murfee already has a new home. Atlanta claimed Murfee off waivers on the 14th and DFA’d Yonny Chirinos.
Murfee put up exceptional results in his rookie season with Seattle in 2022, when he struck out 76 and walked 18 over 69.1 IP (2.99 ERA) with the M’s. He walked 10 batters over 14 innings this past season, but the ex-Mariners reliever struck out 16 and yielded just five hits over 14 innings. There’s not much to Murfee, as he’s a sweeper/fastball pitcher that’s very difficult to pick up.
The problem with Murfee is that the new Braves righty underwent UCL surgery this past summer. Thus, it’s unclear whether Murfee will be available to pitch this upcoming season.
Dominic Smith
The Nationals signed 1B Dominic Smith last winter in free agency, after an up-and-down stretch with the Mets. Smith couldn’t find time at first for much of his MLB career thanks to the presence of Pete Alonso, but the former first-round pick did with Washington in 2023. However, the Nationals DFA’d Smith on the 14th.
Unfortunately for Smith, things did not go well in 2023. The 28-year-old hit .254/.326/.366 (.692 OPS) with 12 home runs, 33 extra-base hits, and 46 RBI across 153 games. While Smith posted above-average Whiff% (19.9%) and Zone Contact (86.2%) rates, the Nationals infielder got under pitches more — and, much of those pop-ups were on fastballs he failed to drive.
Smith’s yet to come close to replicating his career year back in 2020 when he hit .316/.377/.616 (.993 OPS) with 10 home runs and 42 RBI over 50 games. Now, it’ll be interesting to see how Smith adjusts and where he’ll go moving forward.