In the major-league portion of the Rule 5 Draft on Thursday, the Pirates selected infielder Gustavo Nunez from the Detroit Tigers. They also lost pitcher Brett Lorin to the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Nunez hasn’t really hit much even in the minors, so while he’s supposed to be a wizard with the glove, it’s hard to see how the Pirates will manage to keep him on their active roster all year. They need to do so in order to keep him, or else he’ll be subject to waivers and offered back to the Tigers. The Pirates did keep the non-hitting Pedro Ciriaco on their bench most of last season, so Nunez might be an even worse hitter, so it’s hard to see what the Bucs are thinking here.
Lorin is a tall pitcher who doesn’t have outstanding stuff. He has put up good numbers in Class A, but it would be somewhat surprising if he stuck all year with the Diamondbacks. I would rather have him than Nunez, however.
The Bucs also selected Aaron Poreda, a pitcher who came to San Diego in the Jake Peavy trade, from the Padres in the minor-league portion of the draft.
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