The Yankees’ minor league depth just took a hit.
In the major league portion of the Rule 5 draft in Las Vegas on Thursday, the Yankees said goodbye to Nick Green, a right-handed pitcher who has been a starter through most of his minor league career, as Arizona drafted him. If the 23-year-old remains on the Diamondbacks’ roster all season, he would be lost for good; if he is removed from the roster at any time next season, he would be returned to the Yankees, for whom he rose to Double-A Trenton last season.
In 23 appearances last season between High-A Tampa and Trenton, he struck out 102 in 132 2/3 innings and pitched to a 3.32 ERA.
The minor league portion of the winter meetings draft is where the Yankees got sliced. Catcher Chris Rabago (Royals), pitchers Gilmael Troya (Phillies), Anyelo Gomez (Red Sox) and Alexander Vargas (Cubs) and outfielder Mark Payton (A’s) all were selected in the Triple-A phase of the draft, which makes them the property of their drafted team.
Of the group, Payton, who spent much of last season at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and slashed .259/.368/.401, and Gomez, a high-strikeout Triple-A reliever, may sting.
Their one minor league selection was Adonis De La Cruz, a reliever from Seattle. And possibly to replace Payton, the Yankees traded for Single-A outfielder Tyler Hill, who had been with Boston until Detroit selected him in the draft Thursday, according to The Athletic.
The Mets selected pitcher Kyle Dowdy, a right-hander from the Indians, in the major league phase, meaning he will fight to stay on the roster all season or be returned to Cleveland. The 25-year-old was traded from Detroit to Cleveland at last season’s trade deadline and bounced between the rotation and bullpen. He struggled with Cleveland’s Double-A affiliate as a starter, posting a 6.52 ERA, but had been more effective as a reliever.
In the minor league portion of the draft, the Mets selected outfielder Braxton Lee from Miami, reliever Chris Mazza from Seattle and catcher Mitch Ghelfi from the Angels.
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