Yankees Get Raided In Rule 5 Draft

NEW YORK—The downside of building a robust farm system is that only so many players can be shielded from the Rule 5 draft.

So it wasn’t a surprise when the Yankees lost four players in the major league phase of the 2016 draft.

“We would like to have them all back, and losing four guys hurts,” general manager Brian Cashman said. “It’s a price you (pay) with for the system we’ve got.’’

The Yankees lost three relievers—Double-A righthander Tyler Jones (Diamondbacks), Double-A lefthander Caleb Smith (Cubs) and Triple-A lefty Tyler Webb (Pirates)—though perhaps temporarily if they don’t stick with the clubs that now control their rights.

While the number of players taken from the Yankees wasn’t a surprise, the selection of low Class A Charleston catcher Luis Torrens qualified as one.

The Reds selected the 20-year-old Torrens with the No. 2 overall pick, then traded him to the Padres.

Torrens has battled right shoulder problems and played just 52 games in 2016 after missing all of 2015 after surgery. He hit just .250/.350/.337 in 184 at-bats in his return to action.

Considering his lack of playing time in the past two years and his youth, Torrens could be difficult for the Padres to carry all season on the active roster, as Rule 5 rules stipulate.

The Yankees signed Torrens for $1.3 million out of Venezuela in 2012, and he ranked among the system’s finest prospects after a loud 2014 at short-season Staten Island.

Even with his shoulder problems, Torrens has thrown out 41 percent of basestealers for his career.

The Reds briefly considered keeping Torrens for themselves but passed. Cincinnati wound up selecting Double-A catcher Stuart Turner from the Twins later in the Rule 5 draft.

YANKEE DOODLES

• Twenty-year-old lefthander Alexander Figueredo was shot and killed on Nov. 27 in Guacara, Venezuela. He missed all of 2015 while on the restricted list and went 5-0, 1.89 in 12 games in the Dominican Summer League in 2016.

• The Yankees lost 2012 first-round prep righthander Ty Hensley to the Rays in the minor league phase of the Rule 5 draft. Two hip surgeries and two Tommy John surgeries had limited Hensley to 16 minor league games, none in the past two seasons.