Top 3 picks of Rule 5 Draft end up on Padres

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — The talk leading into Thursday’s Rule 5 Draft was that the San Diego Padres, with just 33 players on their 40-man roster and having taken four players in last year’s Major League phase, would be active again. That turned out to be true, albeit not in the conventional sense.

San Diego only made one official selection, taking shortstop Allen Cordoba from the Cardinals with the No. 3 pick. But the Padres picked up two other players via trade, dealing with the Twins for top pick Miguel Diaz, a right-hander from the Brewers’ organization, and acquiring catcher Luis Torrens, formerly of the Yankees, from the Reds. That wheeling and dealing left the Padres with the top three players taken in the Major League phase.

“They’re all guys that our scouting group really likes, guys we’ve been tracking for a while now,” Padres general manager A.J. Preller said. “We got three additions today that we liked, and we’re excited about.”

The Baltimore Orioles were the only other team to make multiple picks among the 18 selections made during the Major League phase, getting outfielder Aneury Tavarez from the Red Sox and outfielder/first baseman Anthony Santander from the Indians.

“He was the MVP of the Portland club … this kid is a good offensive player, excellent speed and he’s played in the Dominican,” O’s executive vice president of baseball operations Dan Duquette said of Tavarez. “We need to find a position for him, but he can hit, he can run and he does have some power if you look at the 13 triples that he had. That reflects his power as well as his speed.”

There were other trades in the Major League phase as well. The Padres’ deal for Diaz included a third team. Officially, the Twins sent Diaz to San Diego in exchange for right-hander Justin Haley and cash considerations or a player to be named. Haley had been selected by the Angels, who dealt him to the Padres, also for cash.

“He’s a right-handed starter,” Twins GM Thad Levine said. “He’s going to come into camp competing to be one of our 12 pitchers. What our scouts like about him is that he’s versatile, so we’ll likely stretch him out. He’ll contend for length on our staff but could also be a swingman or a multi-inning reliever.”

The Cubs got lefty Caleb Smith from the Brewers, who took him from the Yankees, who felt the sting of the Rule 5 Draft more than any other team. New York lost four players — Torrens, right-hander Tyler Jones, Smith and lefty Tyler Webb — in the Major League phase alone. It was not something that took the Yankees by surprise.

“It’s just going to get worse moving …

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