Phillies lose Carlos Tocci in Rule 5 draft; trade their selection
The Phillies lost Carlos Tocci in the Rule 5 draft as he was selected by the White Sox. They also traded their selection to the Pirates for slot money.
The Phillies were forced to leave several prospects exposed in the Rule 5 draft, and one of them got snatched Thursday in the Rule 5 draft. Outfielder Carlos Tocci was selected by the White Sox with the fourth overall pick in the draft before being traded to the Rangers.
Philadelphia used their selection on Twins pitcher Nick Burdi, then traded him to the Pirates for 2017-18 international signing money. Matt Gelb of Philly.com reports that they received $500,000 worth of signing money.
#Phillies have selected RHP Nick Burdi in the Rule 5 draft and have traded him to the Pittsburgh Pirates for international slot money.
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) December 14, 2017
Phillies turned a $100,000 Rule 5 pick into $500,000 in international slot money from Pittsburgh. That concludes the winter meetings.
— Matt Gelb (@MattGelb) December 14, 2017
Tocci had a strong offensive season in 2017 in Double-A Reading, hitting .307/.362/.398 in 113 games with a 6.1 percent walk rate and 13.9 percent walk rate. His numbers dropped off when he reached Triple-A, posting a .449 OPS in 17 games.
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Tocci had been in Philadelphia’s farm system since 2012, signing when he was 16 years old. He spent two and a half seasons in Low-A before finally reaching High-A Clearwater in 2015. Tocci spent all of 2016 at Clearwater and was Rule 5 eligible last season as well. However, teams weren’t willing to take a risk on Tocci when he hadn’t played above High-A.
With a year of Double-A under his belt, it appears the Rangers are willing to take a risk on Tocci. He has the glove to be in the majors and he should be employed as a fourth outfielder if he manages to stick on the major-league roster.
How his hitting will translate to the majors remains to be seen, but he at least had a strong enough season in Double-A to warrant at least some interest in the Rule 5 draft.
Burdi made 14 relief appearances in Double-A this year with a 0.53 ERA in 17 innings. His season was cut short by an elbow injury and he underwent Tommy John surgery. He will likely miss most, if not all, of the 2018 season, so the Pirates are in it for the long haul with this move.
Next: Phillies rumor: Cesar Hernandez a fit for Dodgers
Philadelphia passed on the minor-league phase of the Rule 5 draft.