San Diego Padres: Getting to Know Rule 5 Additions
The Rule 5 draft served as a very productive way for the San Diego Padres to fill some holes on their roster. We break down the team’s three additions and their possible roles.
To say that the San Diego Padres were busy on Thursday morning during the Rule 5 draft would be an understatement. Coming away with each of the top three picks, General Manager A.J. Preller proved to the baseball world that San Diego is not afraid of making a splash to bolster their roster.
With their selection, the Padres took Allen Cordoba, an infield prospect formerly in the St. Louis Cardinals organization. They also traded for the top two picks, made by the Minnesota Twins and Cincinnati Reds.
For catcher Luis Torrens, San Diego gave the Reds 2013 draft pick Josh Van Meter. This 21-year-old infielder ended 2016 in Double-A San Antonio, but now heads to Cincinnati.
To top it all off, the Padres ended up with the top pick, right-hander Miguel Diaz. With three roster additions, San Diego’s 40-man roster now has only four empty spots.
The following slides take the team’s three additions to the major league roster and go into a little bit more detail regarding their backround and possible role in 2017.
Apr 11, 2015; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Padres general manager A.J. Preller (left) talks with vice president of scouting operations Don Welke in the dugout before the game against the San Francisco Giants at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports
Miguel Diaz, RHP
At 22 years old, Diaz already has five seasons of baseball under his belt. As a highly touted prospect in the Milwakee Brewers organization, the right-hander never quite panned out as hoped. Taking four seasons to get out of rookie ball, it was only last season that the native of the Dominican Republic truly began his ascension through through the system.
But now, everything changes dramatically for Diaz. Though his career ERA is a mediocre 3.51, and he has just eight wins in his professional career, the youngster will jump straight to the majors.
Diaz started 35 out of 72 games that he appeared in during his career, proving that he is a capable starter and reliever. But for the Padres, his role will most certainly be in the bullpen. This addition gives the pitching staff a versatile option who can go multiple innings, or serve as a matchup guy.
Diaz seems to be built as more of a reliever, walking just 90 and striking out 222 in his career. But whether or not this will translate to the big leagues is the question. The problem is, there is nowhere to put Diaz if he struggles. However, with the Padres’ pitching staff in need of a few more arms, this was a logical acquisition to make.
Apr 28, 2015; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Padres general manager A.J. Preller (left) and ceo Ron Rowler talk before the game against the Houston Astros at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports
Luis Torrens, C
In order to add Torrens, the Padres had to give up infield prospect Van Meter. So there is definitely something in the young catcher that caught the organization’s eye.
His stats are not stellar, but Torrens has shown consistency. Steadily rising through the New York Yankees organization for four seasons, the 20-year-old finished 2016 in Single-A Charleston.
Hitting .250 in his professional career, Torrens is not going to be a huge bat in San Diego’s lineup. But consistency continues to be a theme, as he has only struck out 123 times and walked 73 times. As a reliable hitter and one that can make very solid contact for a catcher, Torrens will not be an offensive liability.
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Defensively, it is safe to say that the Venezuelan excels. With 1126 innings under his belt, Torrens has only committed nine errors. With a fielding percentage of .993, Torrens also manages to throw out 41% of would be base stealers.
With Austin Hedges and Christian Bethancourt currently on the roster, there won’t be a whole lot of opportunity for this addition to play in 2017. But getting this third catcher on the roster most certainly puts the position to rest for the offseason.
Nov 8, 2016; Scottsdale, AZ, USA; San Diego Padres general manager A.J. Preller during the MLB general managers meeting at the Omni Scottsdale Resort. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Allen Cordoba, SS, 2B, 3B
The actual player the Padres selected in the draft was former St. Louis Cardinal prospect Allen Cordoba. As the third overall pick, the front office and scouting team clearly did a lot of research on the 21-year-old.
After spending four years in the rookie leagues, Cordoba will now have a spot on the 40-man roster. This is quite an epic promotion. Obviously, the Padres felt that they really needed another infielder, and that the Panama native could handle the jump.
Hitting .309 and striking out just 109 times in 869 plate appearances reveals that Cordoba is a contact hitter. Also, with 52 stolen bases, the speedster can provide a spark in the running game that San Diego has been missing the past few seasons.
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Whether or not the versatile infielder will play a whole lot though during the season is a legitimate question. He figures to play the role of Alexi Amarista, who was non-tendered and is now a free agent. But for a utility infielder utilized mostly for defensive purposes, Cordoba is not a very good defensive player. Committing 60 errors in 1310 career innings, the youngster earned himself an alarming .946 fielding percentage.
It seems that San Diego is hoping for a surprise year from Cordoba that will put him in the mix to play shortstop in the long term. They are hoping that his promising bat and blazing speed will translate to the major league level, and that they can work on his glove to reduce his errors.
Whether or not Cordoba will end up working out will not be known until long after the season gets underway. But with the way the roster was constructed when the winter meetings began, the Padres had no choice but to pursue a middle infielder in some form. Doing this through the Rule 5 draft was certainly the cheapest way, as the team did not have to give up anything. Now, San Diego hopes to be rewarded for their investment in these young and talented additions.
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