Three have new teams after Rule 5 Draft

SAN DIEGO — The Astros lost three players in the Rule 5 Draft on Thursday.

“We woke up this morning thinking we’d lose one or two, and three is one more than that,” said special assistant Kevin Goldstein, who oversaw Houston’s Rule 5 Draft operations. “We knew that we had some guys off the roster who had some selection risk and you saw what happened.”

Righthander Brandon Bailey went second overall to the Baltimore Orioles, who are now led by former Astros assistant general manager Mike Elias. The Mariners made righty Yohan Ramirez the sixth overall pick before Boston chose shortstop Jonathan Arauz with the 17th selection.

All three players were automatically added to their new club’s 40-man roster. They must remain on the 26-man active roster throughout the 2020 season. If they are removed at any point, the players must be returned to the Astros.

“I don’t use the word ‘lost,’” Goldstein said. “I think we had three guys taken and I don’t think we count them as lost until they stick to the roster all year on the big league team.”

Houston added four players to its 40-man roster in November to protect them from Rule 5 selection — pitchers Cristian Javier, Enoli Paredes and Nivaldo Rodriguez along with first baseman Taylor Jones. Goldstein said the team considered adding “15 or 16” players but, obviously, made difficult decisions to leave some at risk.

Considered “the most big league ready” of the Astros’ departed players, Bailey spent the entire 2019 season at Class AA Corpus Christi, striking out 103 in 92⅔ innings. His changeup is a plus pitch, Goldstein said, one that could immediately thrive in the major leagues. Houston acquired Bailey from Oakland in exchange for outfielder Ramon Laureano in

November 2017.

Ramirez and Arauz project as more fringe major leaguers. Ramirez is a 24-year-old Dominican righthander with an electric, high 90s fastball but startling command issues. He struck out 13.4 batters per nine innings as a minor leaguer last season while issuing 74 walks and hitting 15 batters.

Arauz is still only 21, a young former Phillies prospect who was paired with Ken Giles in the team’s 2016 trade with the Astros. He split equal time at second base, third base and shortstop last season. His versatility is ideal for teams looking to add another bench player for the 2020 season — the first with 26-man rosters.