DALLASThe Rule 5 draft has been a not-so secret boon to the Phillies over the past few years. Not only did they steal away Shane Victorino from the Dodgers in the 2004 draft, the second time that the speedy outfielder had been selected in the Rule 5.
During the past two winter meetings, the Phillies picked up reliever David Herndon and utility infielder Michael Martinez and were able to keep them on the 25-man roster for the entire season. Better yet, Herndon and Martinez made contributions to the team. Herndon was especially productive during the second half of the 2011 season, posting a 1.55 ERA with a save in 22 games.
This year with 39 players on the 40-man roster, the Phillies made no selections in the Rule 5 draft. There was just nothing out there that made the Phillies want to take a chance.
We felt like at this stage of the gamewe had some success with it the last couple of years, general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said. We take a lot of pride that we have a few players in our organization that have had a positive impact with David Herndon and Michael Martinez and obviously Shane a couple of years back, but it just didnt feel like it was a fit this year.
It was the first time since 2005 that the Phillies did not select a player in the Rule 5.
Meanwhile, the Phillies lost right-handed pitcher Lendy Castillo to the Cubs. Interestingly, Castillo was a middle infielder two years ago and did not become a pitcher until the 2010 season. Last season Castillo advanced as high as Single-A Lakewood where he appeared in 21 games with a 2.54 ERA and 46 strikeouts in 46 innings.
Whether or not Castillo sticks with the Cubs remains to be seen. Chances are he will be offered back to the Phillies.
MLB
In the Triple-A phase of the draft, the Phillies again passed on making a selection, but lost three players. The Reds took shortstop Travis Mattair; the Pirates selected catcher Francisco Diaz; and the Orioles took lefty pitcher Andy Loomis.
The Phillies were worried about losing outfield prospect Jiwan James in the Rule 5 draft, but they got lucky there.