Padres Dominate Rule 5 Draft

Allen Cordoba will have a shot to stick in the majors in 2017. (Photo by Tony Farlow)

SEE ALSO: Rule 5 Draft Preview

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SEE ALSO: Full Rule 5 Draft list

SEE ALSO: Rule 5 Archive

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md.—No one has ever dominated a Rule 5 draft like A.J. Preller and the San Diego Padres just did. But then, maybe no one has ever tried.

The Rule 5 draft is an opportunity for teams to take a chance on a high-risk developmental prospect or find a low-cost, low-ceiling addition to the 25-man roster. San Diego used it to restock for winter.

San Diego arrived at Thursday’s Rule 5 draft with a wide-open roster (only 33 players on the 40-man roster), needs and the draft’s third pick. But they had also already lined up deals with the Twins and Reds to trade for the top two picks in the draft.

It’s an unprecedented move. For the first time in at least 50 years, and likely for the first time ever in the Rule 5 draft, one team had the top three picks in the draft.

“I think the biggest thing was we had a scouting group that had done the homework and believed in really a number of players in the Rule 5 class,” Padres general manager A.J. Preller said late Thursday night after the final trade for a player taken in the top three had been completed, “but we definitely felt like those top three guys had separated themselves a little bit.”

And San Diego didn’t go for immediate help. There were Triple-A starting pitchers such as Red Sox righthander Justin Haley and Astros righthander Michael Hauschild who could be picked and expected to pitch reasonably respectable big league innings in 2017. In fact, both players were taken later in the Rule 5 draft, and Haley was involved in one of the Padres’ deals.

The Padres went for upside instead. None of the three players the club acquired have played a game above low Class A. If all three stick, it will leave San Diego with a roster that could rival the 2003 Tigers or the early 1960s Mets.

By the quirks of Rule 5 draft rules, picks themselves cannot be traded, but the players can be dealt as soon as the draft is over.

So Minnesota announced that it was taking Brewers righthander Miguel Diaz first overall, but it was the Padres who were adding to their haul. The same held true for Reds pick Luis Torrens, a very talented Yankees catcher whose career has been slowed by shoulder issues.

San Diego followed up by selecting Cardinals’ shortstop/second baseman Allen Cordoba, a well-regarded prospect but one who has never played above Rookie-ball.

The Padres officially announced they had acquired Diaz shortly after the draft concluded, and finalized the deal to acquire Torrens later that evening to complete their unprecedented acquisition of the top three picks in a Rule 5 draft.

“A number of our pro scouts have been following these guys for the past year and we felt like it was an opportunity to add talent,” Preller said. We obviously have the roster spots and rather than take a chance on whether a certain guy would be there at a certain pick, we were able to work out some deals to try to ensure those top three guys that stood out a little bit, that we were able to land all three.”

The Padres also selected or acquired four players in last year’s Major League Rule 5 draft. No team in modern history has ever taken seven players in back-to-back drafts in the MLB portion of the Rule 5 draft.

From last year’s Rule 5 draft, the Padres ended up keeping righthander Luis Perdomo. They also managed to retain outfielder Jabari Blash after originally offering him back to the Mariners.

Rule 5 picks costs the team who picked them $100,000. They then must be kept on the major league roster all season or offered back to their original team. The player’s original team can take the player back by paying back $50,000, half of the original $100,000 Rule 5 fee.

If San Diego manages to keep all three, it will be playing 2017 with a very limited roster as both Torrens and Cordoba will be asked to make dramatic leaps in level of competition. Even Diaz, with only one year of full-season ball, faces a steep task.

“I think we tried to look at it on the individual level—look at the their skill set, look at the tools, look at their makeup, kind of see how they handle the competition they’ve been at so far,” Preller said. “I think obviously when you get to the major league level that’s the ultimate, the best of the best, and they’re going to get tested here over the next few months. But we felt like they had the tools and skill sets that can translate . . . These guys, we believe in their ability and I think we’re going to get a chance to see how quickly they can accelerate to get to the level they have to be.”

Cordoba is one of the better infield prospects in the St. Louis system and he has a significant track record of success. He was the Gulf Coast League batting champ in 2015 and arguably had a better year in the Appalachian League this season. But he’s yet to play a game of full-season baseball. Now he’ll be asked to try to handle the five-level jump to the majors.

Torrens was ranked as high as ninth in the Yankees system just two seasons ago. But he missed all of 2015 with a shoulder injury. He returned to action in 2016, playing 62 games split between short-season and low Class A. Rule 5 catchers normally have a tough time sticking on rosters under the best of circumstances. In Torrens’ case, he’ll be trying to do it after playing 40 games above short-season ball in his career.

Diaz, the first pick in the draft, is the most likely to stick. San Diego’s starting rotation is very thin and Diaz has both stuff (93-95 mph fastball, solid slider) and advanced control for his age. But even in his case, Diaz will be trying to jump from low Class A to the big leagues.

Scouts from other teams cited all three of the Padres’ picks as three of the best talents in this year’s Rule 5 draft. All have significant upside. But there’s much more skepticism about how easy it will be for them to stick.

“We talked about guys who were closer to the big leagues and stuff like that, could fill more of a hole for us, and then guys who were bit of a higher ceiling but were further away and if it clicks might end up being more regulars or potential plus players,” Preller said. “In Rule 5 this year, ultimately looking at how many guys we could actually carry and wanted to give opportunities to, we came away feeling a shortstop who can really play the infield for us, a young catching prospect we’ve always though highly of, and a very talented power arm was the mix we wanted to devote to.”

Kyle Glaser gathered and contributed quotes from A.J. Preller.