Phillies Add and Lose a Player in Rule 5 Draft

Image Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports

For those fans who were upset about the Phillies lack of activity during the Winter Meetings…this news probably won’t be all that exciting for you. But the Phillies have made a move, selecting pitcher Kevin Munson with the 4th pick in the Rule 5 draft.

Per the rules of the Rule 5 draft, Munson must remain on the Phillies’ roster throughout the entire 2014 season or be offered back to the Diamondbacks.

The Phillies have a precedent of keeping Rule 5 guys around, as major league roster spots have been spent on David Herndon and fan favorite Michael Martinez in recent seasons. It will be exciting to see if Munson can match the long-term success experienced by those two.  In Herndon’s defense, it looked like he was developing into a solid reliever before injuries derailed his career.  As for Martinez, he must have incriminating photos of Ruben Amaro, because there’s no other explanation for his continued presence on the Phillies roster.

The Phillies greatest Rule 5 success story was Shane Victorino. The Phillies drafted Victorino from the Dodgers organization in 2004, and actually chose not to keep him on the roster. However, the Dodgers didn’t want him back, so the Phillies were able to keep him in the minor leagues. This came a year after Victorino was taken in the Rule 5 draft by the Padres and then returned to the Dodgers.  Apparently, the Dodgers really weren’t too high on him back then.

In other news, the Rule 5 draft giveth, and the Rule 5 draft taketh away. The New York Mets selected AAA pitcher Seth Rosin with their pick:

Rosin was originally acquired by the Phillies when they traded Hunter Pence to the San Francisco Giants. Considering that one of the players in that deal was non-tendered (Nate Schierholtz), and another has a questionable future as a prospect (Tommy Joseph), that Pence deal isn’t looking too great for the Phillies.

In the minor league phase of the draft, the Phillies have also lost SS Jonathan Roof:

Roof was not considered to be a top level prospect.