Rule 5 draft: Yanks lose four; Tigers pick OF Victor Reyes No. 1
The New York Yankees had four players taken from their deep farm system in Thursday's major league portion of the Rule 5 draft, the most players selected from any team.
The only other teams with more than one player taken from their organizations were the Arizona Diamondbacks and Minnesota Twins.
The Detroit Tigers selected Diamondbacks minor league outfielder Victor Reyes with the No. 1 overall pick. The 23-year-old Reyes played in Double-A last season and hit .292 with four home runs, 51 RBIs and 18 stolen bases.
The Houston Astros took the only player with extensive major league experience, left-hander/outfielder Anthony Gose. Gose, 27, has played in 372 major league games as an outfielder but began pitching in the Tigers' minor league system last season. Gose finished 0-2 with a 7.59 ERA in 10 2/3 innings for Class A Lakeland and reportedly threw pitches that clocked as high as 100 mph. Gose had signed a minor league deal with the Rangers this offseason.
The Yankees lost right-hander Anyelo Gomez (to the Atlanta Braves), left-hander Nestor Cortes and right-hander Jose Mesa (both to the Baltimore Orioles) and infielder Mike Ford (to the Seattle Mariners).
Orioles general manager Dan Duquette told reporters that Cortes is a candidate to compete for a spot at the back end of the team's rotation. Cortes advanced to Triple-A last season, finishing 2-4 with a 1.49 ERA in 48 1/3 innings at Scranton Wilkes-Barre.
The Orioles picked three players in all, the most by any team, also selecting right-hander Pedro Araujo from the Chicago Cubs' system.
Besides Reyes, the Diamondbacks also lost right-hander Brad Keller (to the Cincinnati Reds). The Reds then traded Keller to the Kansas City Royals for cash considerations.
The Twins lost right-handers Nick Burdi (to the Philadelphia Phillies) and Luke Bard (to the Los Angeles Angels).
The Phillies then traded Burdi to the Pittsburgh Pirates for $500,000 in international bonus money. Burdi underwent Tommy John surgery last May and is not expected to be ready to pitch until at least the midseason.
That was one of several trades of Rule 5 draft picks. The Chicago White Sox selected outfielder Carlos Tocci No. 4 overall from the Phillies system and then traded him to the Texas Rangers for cash.
The rebuilding Kansas City Royals traded for two drafted players -- Keller and right-hander Burch Smith (taken No. 6 overall by the Mets from the Tampa Bay Rays system). The Royals sent cash to the Mets for Smith, who pitched in the majors for the San Diego Padres in 2013 in his only big league experience.
Teams selecting players in the major league phase of the Rule 5 draft must pay a fee of $100,000. Players selected must remain on the major league roster for the entire season. If a team wants to send a drafted player to the minors it must first offer the player back to the team he was selected from for $50,000.
