Winter meetings, Day 3: New Tiger will be protected in Rule 5 draft

That’ll probably it for the Tigers at these winter meetings, Thursday’s small trade to add catching depth to the organization.

Wednesday night, Detroit acquired switch-hitting Ramon Cabrera for left-handed pither Andy Oliver, who never has lived up to the potential he had when the Tigers drafted him in the second round of the 2009 draft.

This is important to know: Cabrera will take Oliver’s spot on the Tigers’ 40-man roster, so he will be be protected in the Rule 5 draft — which takes place early Thursday morning, before baseball executives head for home.

Detroit now has 38 players on its 40-man, and interestingly, general manager Dave Dombrowski said it’s very possible they select in the Rule 5 draft. There are two players they are very high on, and if one is available when they select at No. 20, they’ll grab him.

This is supposed to be one of the premier Rule 5 classes in quite some time, if ever, which is the reason a serious contender like the Tigers — a team coming off a World Series appearnace, and a team favored to get their again — could be participating. That’s not often the case, when you consider a Rule 5 pick must remain on the 25-man roster the entire next season, or be sold back to the original team for half the original price.