Reliever Gomez added in Rule 5 draft

The team didn’t make any moves to bolster their bullpen during the first three days of the Winter Meetings, but they did take a reliever from the Yankees in the Rule 5 draft Thursday, a player they believe has a chance to stick on the major league roster.

They selected Dominican right-hander Anyelo Gomez, 24, after seeing him pitch several times recently in the Dominican Winter League. The Braves came away impressed by his low90s fastball and above-average change-up.

Gomez had a 1.92 ERA in a combined 38 games (one start) at four minor league levels in 2017, with 87 strikeouts, 21 walks and only two homers allowed in 70⅓ innings, for a strikeout rate of 11.1 per nine innings. He gave up 51 hits and posted a solid 1.024 WHIP.

“We like Gomez. Good arm,” Braves assistant general manager Perry Minasian said after the draft. “One of our major league scouts, Rick Williams, saw him multiple times in the Dominican, really liked what he saw. Plus fastball with a change-up — that plays. He’s got a chance to be a quality reliever. We’ll see how it looks in spring training.”

Teams pay $100,000 to select a player in the major league phase of the Rule 5 draft and must keep that player on their 25-man roster for the entire season or offer him back to the team they took him from for $50,000. The addition of Gomez gives the Braves 38 players on their 40-man roster.