http://www.yardbarker.com/mlb/players/tomas_perez/495 Recent articles about Tomas Perez en-us The MLB Rule 5 draft is scheduled for Dec. 6 during the final day of the 2012 Winter Meetings. It’s become a fan favorite over the years but the draft is not as valuable as it used to be for clubs. In the last Collective Bargaining Agreement update roster rules were changed to give organizations one more year of protection for prospects before they had to be added to the 40-man roster and therefore protected from the selection process. The key thing to remember about players chosen in the amateur draft is that they cannot be optioned down to the minors (expect for an injury rehab assignment) and must remain on the big league roster for the entire season. There are basically two approaches for teams to take: 1) Take a very raw player from the low minors and use him sparingly for the year expect perhaps in blowouts, basically spending the year with a 24-man roster, or 2) Look for a player that is MLB ready and can hopefully provide at least league-average production for a league-av... Fri, 30 Nov 2012 11:00:39 -0500 http://network.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/scouting_rule_5_eligible_prospects/12329956 http://network.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/scouting_rule_5_eligible_prospects/12329956 Scouting Rule 5 Eligible Prospects http://www.yardbarker.com/mlb/articles/scouting_rule_5_eligible_prospects/12329956 http://www.yardbarker.com/images/yb_logo_square_grey.png Melvin Mora has reportedly announced his retirement. I will admit that I was a big surprised to find out that Mora is going to turn 40 in February. I knew he was a “late bloomer,” but I not processed how late. Upon his retirement, it is worth reflecting Mora’s curious development as well as taking a look at one of his most exciting in-game moments. Mora actually originally signed with the Astros in 1991 (!) when he was 19 year old amateur free agent, but he never showed much over the next six seasons in the minors, despite making it all the way to AAA. Already in the minors, he was splitting his time between second, third, shortstop, and the outfield, which says something about how he was viewed as a prospect. Indeed, the minor-league pages at Baseball-Reference also record him pitching in part of an inning in 1997. This is hardly the story of someone viewed as a future major league star, and probably not even a future major-leaguer. After the 1997 season, he was granted free agen... Fri, 30 Dec 2011 13:30:01 -0500 http://network.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/memories_of_melvin_mora/9029737 http://network.yardbarker.com/mlb/article_external/memories_of_melvin_mora/9029737 Memories of Melvin Mora http://www.yardbarker.com/mlb/articles/memories_of_melvin_mora/9029737 http://www.yardbarker.com/media/e/c/ec0e6f3730aa33d1df3163bb85d4a061eb117893/mini/MLB_MAY_08_01b6.jpg