Toronto Star Referrer

No George Bell in this draft

Jays let Rule 5 pick pass quietly, but did lose prospect Warmoth

MIKE WILNER TWITTER: @ WILNERNESS

S AN DI E GO Blue Jays fans of a certain vintage have a special place in their heart for the Rule 5 draft.

The concluding event of baseball’s winter meetings is a chance to take a shot at players who are eligible for the 40-man roster, but for whom there’s no room. Instead of holding on to them in perpetuity, clubs are forced to expose them.

If a player is chosen, the team that picks him has to pay his old team $100,000 (U.S.). But there’s a catch. The player selected has to remain on the active major-league roster for the entire season, or be offered back to the team from whence he came for $50,000.

Why do Jays fans love this event so much? (OK, well, Gen X and older Jays fans.)

Because under Pat Gillick in the 1980s, it was an absolute treasure trove.

George Bell. Willie Upshaw. Kelly Gruber. Manny Lee. Jim Acker. Jim Gott.

All of them were taken in the franchise’s first decade of existence. All but Gott were major contributors to Jays playoff teams, and the reliever was traded before the 1985 season for Gary Lavelle, brought in to fortify a leaky bullpen.

There hasn’t been all that much success since Lee was drafted in December of 1984 (along with Lou Thornton) and in the wake of the first Rule 5 draft since 2019 — the first with major-league rosters expanded to 26 — that’s not going to change.

With only one spot available on their 40-man roster, all we heard was “Toronto will pass” when the Jays’ turn to pick came around.

“We had a list,” said assistant general manager Joe Sheehan, indicating the Jays had interest in at least one of the 13 players chosen before they had a chance. “We had a list and ultimately passed. There’s always good players coming out of that, though.” Indeed. See above. To be fair, there were only two players taken after the Jays passed: right-handed pitchers Wilking Rodriguez (by the St. Louis Cardinals) and Zach Greene (by the New York Mets), both from the Yankees system. So, most other teams didn’t see much value in what was left by the time things got to the Jays, either.

It was a little surprising, though, with that extra major-league roster spot, that the Jays chose not to take at least a springtime look at somebody.

“That was some of our discussion,” said Sheehan, “trying to get a player that you can kind of take advantage of that spot with. I think that the 40-man spot is the other piece that you’re trying to balance and some of the restrictions that are on that pick (having to keep the player up all season).

“I think you’ll see some different ways teams use that spot. You saw it last year with how teams can be a little more creative with one leverageable skill set.”

As the Jays did last season with outfielder Bradley Zimmer.

The Jays didn’t lose anybody in the major-league phase of Wednesday’s draft. There had been concerns that 22-year-old left-hander Adrián Hernández — who notched 44 strikeouts in 32 2⁄ innings at 3 Triple-A Buffalo last season with a 1.26 WHIP, despite pitching to a 4.96 ERA — might get snapped up.

In the minor-league phase, though, Logan Warmoth went to the Seattle Mariners.

The first of the Jays’ two firstrounders in 2017 (Nate Pearson was the other), Warmoth was a shortstop converted to the outfield after the pandemic shut down the minor-league season in 2020. The 27-year-old struggled in the high minors, hitting .221 above Class-A ball with 16 home runs in just over 1,000 at-bats. He struck out 305 times.

Players chosen after Warmoth in the first round in 2017 include current major-league pitchers Tanner Houck, Alex Lange and Drew Rasmussen.

There are no restrictions in the minor-league phase, so the Mariners don’t have to offer Warmoth back if he doesn’t make their team.

The Jays added catcher Kekai Rios in the minor-league portion. The 25-year-old Hawaiian has hit .232 over four seasons in the minors with eight home runs, having played nine games above Class-A.

SPORTS

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2022-12-08T08:00:00.0000000Z

2022-12-08T08:00:00.0000000Z

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