19 players were taken in the Major League phase of the Rule 5 draft in December. Rule 5 picks are often returned to their original teams, as it's challenging to keep these players in the Majors all year. Another option is for the two clubs to work out a trade. The latest on this year's group:
- Pirates took infielder Josh Rodriguez from Indians. The Pirates are seriously considering trying to work out a deal with the Tribe, reported MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch on Saturday. Rodriguez is still in the mix for the Pirates' backup middle infield job, but Langosch says Pedro Ciriaco appears to be the favorite.
- Mariners took reliever Jose Flores from Indians. Flores has yet to pitch above Low-A ball, and his spring stats (five runs, four hits, and four walks in 3 2/3 innings) haven't helped his case. Even in the Mariners' unsettled bullpen it would be tough to keep Flores up all year.
- Diamondbacks took reliever Joe Paterson from Giants. As of March 10th the sidearming southpaw was a leading candidate to make the D'Backs. His spring numbers are strong, and he has Triple-A experience.
- Orioles took reliever Adrian Rosario from Brewers. He's only made two appearances this spring, and one of them resulted in a walk-off home run. As of Friday, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com wrote that Rosario "isn't making the team."
- Royals took starter Nathan Adcock from Pirates. Though he's only struck out three, Adcock is unscored upon in nine innings this spring. He seems to have a good shot at making the team, a dream come true for a guy who was in High-A ball last year.
- Nationals took reliever Elvin Ramirez from Mets. Back on March 13th, Adam Kilgore explained how arm trouble was preventing the Nationals from evaluating Ramirez. Barring an amazing, healthy week Ramirez will be offered back to the Mets.
- Cubs took starter Mason Tobin from Angels; traded to Rangers. With 5 2/3 scoreless innings, Tobin is "in the mix" for a bullpen job according to GM Jon Daniels.
- Astros took pitcher Aneury Rodriguez from Rays and starter Lance Pendleton from Yankees. Neither pitcher won the fifth starter job, but Astros manager Brad Mills says they're both in the running for the bullpen. Both have had control problems this spring.
- Brewers took reliever Pat Egan from Orioles. He's tossed 6 1/3 scoreless innings and has Triple-A experience, so he appears to be in the running for a bullpen job.
- Mets took second baseman Brad Emaus from Blue Jays. He's still in the Mets' second base mix with Luis Hernandez and Daniel Murphy. Emaus' spring performance hasn't helped, though the release of Luis Castillo did.
- Padres took reliever George Kontos from Yankees. He was returned on March 14th.
- Twins took starter Scott Diamond from Braves. A trade appeared possible earlier this month. Diamond has allowed one run in six spring innings, though his strikeout and walk numbers aren't pretty.
- Yankees took reliever Robert Fish from Angels; claimed off waivers by Royals. The Royals claimed the hard-throwing lefty six days ago, so clearly they're considering him for their bullpen.
- Rays took reliever Cesar Cabral from Red Sox. The Blue Jays got involved at one point, which requires its own explanation. Cabral remains in the mix for the Rays.
- Phillies took infielder Michael Martinez from Nationals. Castillo affects another Rule 5 pick, as Martinez's chances are hurt by the Phillies' acquisition of the veteran. Even without Castillo, Martinez did not appear to be a frontrunner at second base.
- Nationals took starter Brian Broderick from Cardinals. On Friday Nationals manager Jim Riggleman said Broderick was "forcing the issue" in competing for a long relief job. He's allowed one run in 10 2/3 innings, though he's only struck out four.
- Mets took reliever Pedro Beato from Orioles. The strikeouts aren't there, but Beato still appears likely to make the team.
- Yankees took reliever Daniel Turpen from Red Sox. He was returned to the Red Sox on March 13th.
- So far, only two of the 19 Rule 5 picks have been returned. Expect plenty more this week.
Great post Tim!
Agreed, this is why MLBTraderumors is my go to for everything baseball.
Anyone know the chances of Emaus staying with the Mets? As a Jays fan I have allways like him and hope he gets returned.
atm, pretty good
Even if he gets returned, he’s so far behind in the depth charts it would take multiple injuries just to see him in the utility spot.
Definately didn’t mean for him to get returned and be in the Bigs this year. But for a young kid he seems to be a pretty decent player with good numbers at all minor league levels so could be a contributor in the future.
if he was better defensively I would agree with you
He is a good defender at 2B and from what I hear that is where he is going to be staying for the rest of his career. It’s at 3B that he has some trouble defensivly.
I would be surprised if Emaus isn’t the STARTER for the Mets.
I feel like the Twins will try to keep Diamond. His minor league track record seems pretty good and he could be a starter or reliever. His spring numbers definitely need improvement, but he might be too valuable to give back.
We will see; They may work out a trade. I think I’d be surprised if Diamond is up with the Twins all year long. In addition to his numbers, he apparently pissed Gardy off by working slow on the mound. For better or worse, not being one of “Gardy’s Guys” is a good way to see yourself out of Minnesota.
Yeah, if they work out a trade we’ll probably put him in the minors. I don’t think he’s ready yet, but I feel like he could be a good starter/great reliever in the future. I’m not sure if the Braves would be willing to trade though. They probably would rather have him back.
He complains the same way about Baker and Slowey, they’re both still here, though they have shifted down to fighting for the last rotation spot and a bullpen spot. He’s still complained about them doing that for years. I get what you’re saying though, it does lean that way at times. I haven’t heard anything since Anderson and Gardy mentioned that, so maybe he’s improved. I think it was more of just the way the Twins expect certain things and that’s one of them (one thing they teach from the lower levels on up).
I dont understand how a rule 5 can be claimed off waivers like Robert Fish was for the Royals. I was under the impression that they either make the team or get offered back to the team in which they were claimed from. Do they have to pass through waivers too? How did that work?
The picks have to go through waivers prior to being offered back to the original club. If the player is claimed then they must follow the same rule 5 draft rules as if they had picked the player themselves.
Hope that helped.
wow. never knew that. thanks for clearing that one up.