PADRES DO VERY LITTLE IN RULE 5 DRAFT
General Manager A.J. Preller’s 2020 trades cost the Padres some of the organizational depth at catcher and in the outfield. Preller used the Triple-A portion of Thursday’s Rule 5 draft to continue replenishing those areas.
After neither selecting nor losing anyone in the major league phase, the Padres added catcher Yorman Rodriguez and outfielder Brett Ruta to their minor league system.
The 23-year-old Rodriguez was plucked out of the Blue Jays system and added to Triple-A El Paso’s roster. He signed in July 2014 out of Venezuela and hit .360/.387/.502 with five homers, 40 RBIs and four steals in 62 games in the low minors in 2019. He is a high-contact hitter who can also play first base.
Meantime, Ruta was a 30thround pick of the Yankees in 2016. The left-handed-hitter had a .260/.330/.396 batting line to go with eight homers, 55 RBIs and 25 steals in 2019 at Double-A Trenton. He can play all three outfield spots and is beginning to show more power.
The Padres also lost three players in the minor league phase: right-handers Martin Carrasco ( White Sox) and Ignacio Feliz (Orioles) and catcher Yohel Pozo ( Rangers).
The Padres had signed Pozo away from the Rangers last month.
More baseball
JEFF SANDERS
Pittsburgh took righthander Jose Soriano from the Angels’ organization with the first of 18 picks in the major league phase of Thursday’s winter meeting draft of players not protected on 40-man rosters.
The Phillies hired longtime baseball executive Dave Dombrowski as president of baseball operations, according to sources.
Infielder Nate Lowe was traded from the AL champion Tampa Bay Rays to the Texas Rangers for minor league catcher and outfielder Heriberto Hernandez.
• Outfielder Adam Eaton and the Chicago White Sox reunited, finalizing a one-year contract that guarantees $8 million.
Local colleges
The San Diego State women’s basketball team (2-4, 0-2 Mountain West) lost in double overtime at Colorado State (5-1, 3-1) 84-77. Téa Adams finished with 24 points for the Aztecs.
The USD women’s basketball has added a home contest against San Diego Christian today at 2 p.m.
The Big West Conference board of directors, which includes UC San Diego, announced fall sports competition will not be conducted in 2020-21. Cross country, soccer and indoor volleyball are the sports affected.
Soccer
The San Diego Loyal SC announced the signing of forward Corey Hertzog, pending league and federation approval. Hertzog, 30, boasts 64 goals and 18 assists in the 155 appearances of his USL career.
• The Major League Soccer Players’ Association says nearly 20 percent of the league’s players tested positive for the coronavirus over the course of the season.
• Napoli and Real Sociedad both advanced from a tightly contested Europa League group after a 1-1 draw, with Willian Jose netting a crucial equalizer for the Spanish team in the 90th minute.
Death
Paolo Rossi, who led Italy to the 1982 World Cup title and later worked as a soccer commentator in his home country, died. He was 64. State-run RAI, where Rossi worked after his playing career, said he died of an incurable illness.
• Alex Olmedo, who won the Wimbledon and Australian Championships singles titles in 1959 and was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1987, died. He was 84.
Also
The U.S. figure skating pair of Tarah Kayne and Danny O’Shea, who won the national championship in 2016, announced that they were ending their partnership.
• Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton has recovered from the coronavirus and will race at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix this weekend, the Mercedes team said.