As it turns out, the Winter Meetings were all about the Rule 5 Draft for Pittsburgh Pirates general manager Neal Huntington.
With the 10th pick of the Rule 5 Draft, the Pirates elected 26-year old reliever Jordan Milbrath from the Cleveland Indians.
Milbrath had a 3.02 ERA and 1.29 WHIP in 56.2 frames between High-A and Double-A.
His fastball tops out at 99mph, which was attractive to the Pirates. He averaged 10 strikeouts and four walks per nine innings pitched.
He will have to spend all season on the Pirates roster or be returned the Indians.
There was already a ton of right-handed relief options in the Pirates bullpen, so you have to wonder if a move is coming or if a young arm or two that got a taste of MLB action last season will be ticketed for the minors.
The Bucs also made a minor trade when they acquired Rule 5 pick Nick Burdi from the Philadelphia Phillies for $500K of international bonus pool money.
Phillies turned a $100,000 Rule 5 pick into $500,000 in international slot money from Pittsburgh. That concludes the winter meetings.
— Matt Gelb (@MattGelb) December 14, 2017
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Burdi was selected by the Phillies from the Minnesota Twins.
The former second-round pick is recovering from Tommy John surgery and is expected to miss most of the season. He can be stashed on the DL without the risk of having to return him or keep him on the active roster all season.
In the Triple-A portion of the Rule 5 Draft, the Pirates selected 26-year old right-handed pitcher Damien Magnifico from the Angels.
And in the Double-A portion of the Rule 5 Draft, they selected 20-year old catcher Rafelin Lorenzo from the Rays.
The Pirates did not lose any players in the Rule 5 Draft. Complete results can be found here.
With the two major league additions, the Pirates now don’t have any empty spots on the 40-man roster.
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