Arizona Diamondbacks get back prospect Deyvison De Los Santos

Arizona Diamondbacks prospect Deyvison De Los Santos has returned to the organization after the Rule 5 selection by the Cleveland Guardians did not make their roster and also cleared waivers.

De Los Santos was originally not on Arizona’s 40-man roster near the end of 2023, leaving him open to getting picked in the Rule 5 draft. He was ranked as the D-backs’ fifth-best prospect by MLB Pipeline and was picked by Cleveland.

“We love Deyvison. He’s a young power hitter, he’s got huge power,” D-backs general manager Mike Hazen said prior to the draft. “When you’re talking about adding to the roster coming off the season we had, where the roster stands, it becomes harder, your roster gets deeper. Everybody wants that at the major league level as you’re competing. The downstream effect of that is over protecting your minor league system, you have to take more risks to leave guys exposed.

“… Eventually we start calling guys up like (Andrew) Saalfrank, like (Slade) Cecconi, like (Bryce) Jarvis as we go through the season. We have to add those guys to the 40 and the 26 at the same time. Those are spots and if you outright Deyvison De Los Santos during the year, you’re basically handing him away while he has options. He’s 100% getting taken by the first team that can claim him, now it just becomes harder. So it’s more of a strategic move.”

De Los Santos first signed with Arizona as a 16-year-old in 2019.

The 20-year-old had a rocky start to the 2023 season with Double-A Amarillo and was placed on the development list on July 1 to work on his game in Arizona away from competition. After his return two weeks later, he caught fire with a .313/.333/.573 slash line and 13 homers in 51 games down the stretch.

He earned the organization’s Minor League Player of the Month award for July after winning the award twice in 2022. De Los Santos helped Amarillo capture the Texas League crown with an OPS over 1.000 in the playoffs.

Follow @AZSports