very sad news. i'm wondering if the mariners could make an appeal to mlb regarding the upcoming rule 5 draft on 8 december. halman was on the 40-man roster at the 18 november deadline to protect players for the rule 5 draft. he could have been using a spot that the mariners might have otherwise used to protect an additional prospect. because of these unfortunate circumstances, could the mariners add to their 40-man roster another prospect that was in their organization at the rule 5 draft deadline, and have him protected from the rule 5 draft? i'm not aware of any 40-man roster players dying (at least in recent years) after the conclusion of the world series but before the start of spring training, so this might be the first time such an exception could be made.