Mets add Nimmo, Lugo, Gsellman, and Walters to 40-man roster ahead of Rule 5 draft

In a move designed to protect several minor league players in the Rule 5 draft, the Mets have added outfielder Brandon Nimmo and right-handed pitchers Seth Lugo, Robert Gsellman, and Jeff Walters to their 40-man roster. With that, the Mets have 39 players on their 40-man roster.

Last week, Chris Walendin recently took a look at the Mets' minor league players who were eligible for the Rule 5 draft this year. Of the notable names on the list, the Mets chose to leave outfielder Wuilmer Becerra, who they acquired in the trade that sent R.A. Dickey to the Blue Jays and brought back Noah Syndergaard and Travis d'Arnaud, unprotected.

To take a player in the Rule 5 draft, a team must have a vacancy on its 40-man roster. If they do draft an eligible, unprotected player, the team must keep him on its active roster for the entire following season in order to keep him for the long term. If the team does not keep the player on that roster, the player has to be offered back to his original team after clearing waivers. The Mets took advantage of the Rule 5 draft to acquire and keep left-handed pitcher Sean Gilmartin, as they kept him on their roster for all of the 2015 season.