The Athletics have some big decisions to make in the coming week
The deadline to protect players from the Rule 5 Draft is approaching. On Tuesday at 3 p.m. (PT), it will be pencils down for all 30 front offices, as they will have to hand in their 40-man rosters before the deadline.
The Rule 5 Draft is one of the more fun activities of the offseason, as it occurs on the final day of the Winter Meetings, and has landed the A’s some decent talent in the past. In recent years, the A’s have grabbed Mark Canha (via trade), Ryan Noda, Mitch Spence and Noah Murdock. Some have been hits, while others have been misses.
The whole goal is to provide a path forward to the big leagues for prospects that could be blocked on the roster in their current organizations. Basically, this exists so that a team like the Dodgers can’t just hoard even more talent.
So with all of that said, here are the five ranked prospects that the A’s will have to make decisions on next week, plus one more un-ranked prospect that could also be a tough call for the front office.
Braden Nett, RHP, No. 4
Acquired in the Mason Miller trade, Nett is the second-biggest piece of the deal after Leo De Vries. The right-hander has four plus pitches and decent command, and over the course of the 2025 season he put up a 3.75 ERA in Double-A with the A’s and Padres across 105 2/3 innings.
He is the one player that is seemingly guaranteed to be added to the 40-man roster next week. Nett is expected to start the year in Triple-A Las Vegas, and could become an option for the A’s in the second half of the season.
Daniel Susac, C, No. 11
This is a very interesting case. Susac, the A’s first-round selection in 2022, seems to be in the A’s plans following the team’s decision to DFA Willie MacIver and bring back veteran Austin Wynns last week. The path seems to be clear for Susac to take the backup catcher spot for the club, when he’s ready.
That said, this doesn’t necessarily mean that he’ll be added to the 40-man on Tuesday. A rookie catcher is a tough position to have on the roster for an entire season, since you only get two of them in most cases. Because of his position, Susac could be left off the 40-man, just because the A’s feel confident that he’ll go unselected in the Rule 5 Draft.
It does appear as though he is in the team’s plans, however. He hit .275 with a .349 OBP and 18 home runs in Vegas last year, but that all came out to a 95 wRC+ (100 is league average). He was also sitting on an 86.9 mile per hour average exit velo with an 11.4 degree launch angle, so he wasn’t necessarily smoking the ball.
Kenya Huggins, RHP, No. 23
This will be another interesting decision for the A’s to make. Huggins was acquired by the club in exchange for Miguel Andujar at the Trade Deadline, and in his 14 2/3 innings with the A’s, he struck out 23.8% of the hitters he faced, and walked 9.5%.
That said, this was in Hi-A Lansing. Huggins, 22, is not likely to be placed on the 40-man roster, since he’s not likely to be selected in the MLB phase of the Rule 5 Draft. The hope is that he’ll be able to move up to Double-A to begin next season, and potentially be an arm to watch for next winter. His heater sits 96-97 and he also offers a hard slider.
Brennan Milone, 3B, No. 26
The A’s sixth-round pick in 2022, Milone has been making the steady climb through the organization the past few years. After spending 2024 in Midland, he began 2025 there as well, batting .246 with a .349 OBP and 12 homers (113 wRC+) in 88 games.
He earned a promotion to Triple-A Vegas at the end of May, and hit .230 with a .367 OBP and two homers in 30 games (84 wRC+) before being sent back to Midland. It’s not likely that he is protected in the Rule 5 Draft.
Chen Zhong-Ao Zhuang, RHP, No. 29
The 25-year-old righty from Taiwan has really only had the past two seasons in the A’s system, after debuting in 2022 and then missing the entire 2023 campaign. Last year he pitched for three affiliates, from Stockton to Midland, and held a 2.09 ERA (2.96 FIP) across 86 innings of work.
This past season he racked up 145 2/3 innings in Double-A and held a 4.08 ERA with a 4.19 FIP. His command of the baseball has been terrific at every stop, with his 5.7% walk rate this season seen as a down year for him. He also struck out 23.5% of the hitters he saw, which is a solid number of a control pitcher.
This could honestly be a tough call for the A’s, and could come down to whether they think another team would take him in the Rule 5. He’s certainly someone the team has plans for in the future, but the 40-man deadline is also a bit of a chess match that’s not solely about talent.
One Final Name to Consider
In the second half of the season, Aviators outfielder Junior Perez was getting some big-time comps from the A’s coaches. He’s not ranked highly, but has a good power and speed combo and can play some good defense.
A’s manager Mark Kotsay compared Perez to Seattle’s Julio Rodríguez. Not a bad comp to put on a guy, and certainly not the kind of comp you make if you think he’s not sticking around. At least hopefully they’re not out here saying that they have the next J-Rod when Perez could be had for a song this winter.
While he struggled in Midland this season, batting .201 with a .318 OBP and 14 home runs in 95 games (101 wRC+), he surged big time when he joined the roster in Las Vegas, batting .298 with a .412 OBP and 12 homers in 42 games. That was good for a 144 wRC+.
On the one hand, he did have a .363 BABIP in that stint with Vegas. At the same time, he was up at .347 in 116 games in 2022, .332 in 117 games in 2023, and .337 last year in Midland. If anything, his .255 BABIP in Midland this season was the outlier, not the one in Vegas. If he’s left unprotected, there is a pretty good chance that one team will take a chance on him.
