Pirates select LHP Jose Hernandez from Dodgers, lose C/OF Blake Sabol in Rule 5 Draft
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The Pittsburgh Pirates added a left-handed reliever but lost a versatile catcher in the major league portion of the Rule 5 Draft on Wednesday.
The Pirates selected Jose Hernandez from the Los Angeles Dodgers at No. 3 but lost catcher/outfielder Blake Sabol to the Cincinnati Reds with the following pick. The Reds subsequently traded Sabol to the San Francisco Giants for cash and a player to be named later.
Hernandez, who turns 25 on Dec. 31, was 4-4 with a 3.32 ERA and 1.21 WHIP in 51 appearances and averaged 10.4 strikeouts and 3.8 walks per nine innings across two minor league levels last season. Signed as a non-drafted free agent out of the Dominican Republic in 2016, Hernandez missed the 2019 season with an injury and 2020 season because of the covid pandemic.
Dodger fans, always on the lookout for bullpen help, there might be another one down with Great Lakes. Jose Hernandez struck out the last 5 batters of the game to pick up his 7th save, stadium gun had the FB 95-97, t99 multiple times⛽️ pic.twitter.com/x20HsDLf7G
— Josh Thomas (@jokeylocomotive) May 19, 2022
Hernandez was 1-2 with a 2.14 ERA and eight saves in 21 innings over 15 games at High-A Great Lakes and 3-2 with a 3.96 ERA and 1.24 WHIP in 38 2/3 innings over 36 appearances at Double-A Tulsa. Over his final 15 outings for Tulsa, Hernandez had a 2.93 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and .135 batting average against with 26 strikeouts.
Adding Hernandez addresses two bullpen needs: The Pirates were looking for left-handers as well as pitchers with swing-and-miss ability. They agreed to terms Tuesday with lefty reliever Jarlin Garcia on a contract that will pay him $2.5 million in 2023 with a club option at $3.25 million in 2024.
Jose Hernandez was hitting 99 consistently with his fastball in his 1.1 scoreless innings for Tulsa. Hernandez has gone scoreless in 7 of his last 8 outings and 12 of his last 14. Since the beginning of July, he has 28 Ks in 16.2 innings. #dodgers pic.twitter.com/z02P7Yulys
— Dodgers Daily (@dodger_daily) September 17, 2022
Sabol, who turns 25 on Jan. 7, was a seventh-round draft pick out of Southern Cal in 2019 and is a cousin of Steelers Hall of Famer Troy Polamalu. Sabol slashed .284/.363/.497 with 26 doubles, six triples, 19 home runs and 75 RBIs last season, split between Double-A Altoona and Triple-A Indianapolis.
Sabol batted .281/.347/.486 with 23 doubles, five triples, 14 homers and 60 RBIs but also had 107 strikeouts and drew 38 walks in 98 games with the Curve. He batted .296/.426/.543 with five homers and 15 RBIs in 25 games at Indianapolis. Sabol, however, was stuck behind top prospects Endy Rodriguez and Henry Davis on the organizational depth chart at catcher.
In the minor league phase of the Rule 5 Draft, the Pirates selected right-handed pitcher Wei-Chieh Huang, 29, from the San Francisco Giants in the first round and outfielder Joshua Palacios, 27, from the Washington Nationals in the second round.
The Pirates lost 11 more players, including nine pitchers:
In the first round, Oakland selected right-handed pitcher Joelvis Del Rosario, Boston took left-hander Joe Jacques, the New York Mets took right-hander Wilkin Ramos and Atlanta took right-hander Domingo Gonzalez.
In the second round, Miami selected right-hander Austin Roberts, the Los Angeles Angels took outfielder Jared Oliva, the Baltimore Orioles took left-hander Trey McGough and Tampa Bay took right-hander Enmanuel Mejia.
In the third round, Miami took right-hander Christian Charle, Arizona took right-hander Peter Solomon and Minnesota took infielder Yoyner Fajardo.
None of the players the Pirates lost were ranked among their top 30 prospects per MLB Pipeline.