Padres add Orioles right-hander in Rule 5 draft – elcajon newson Elcajon News only

The Padres continue to shop in the Rule 5 draft as contenders, too.

With an eye on staying below the luxury tax, the Padres on Wednesday plucked right-hander Juan Nuñez out of the Baltimore Orioles system in the Rule 5 draft.

The 24-year-old Nuñez struck out 38 in 29⅓ innings (2.45 ERA) at high Single-A Aberdeen, pairing a .212 opponent average with a 1.09 WHIP. He missed time with a shoulder injury, but the Padres, according to a team scout, like the combination of upside, stuff and feel.

Nuñez sits 92-98 mph with a slider, a cutter and a change-up. He’s been a starting pitcher to date, but has not advanced past high A

The selection of Nuñez makes it the third year in a row the Padres have taken a player in the Rule 5 draft. The swiped reliever Jose Lopez from the Rays in 2022, but he did not make it out of spring training with the team. Last year, the Padres took reliever Stephen Kolek from the Mariners and kept him on the active roster until he hit the injured list with forearm trouble after the Padres’ deadline moves to add Tanner Scott, Jason Adam and Bryan Hoeing to the bullpen.

Kolek did not pitch again in 2024.

Teams must pay $100,000 to select a player in the big-league phase of the Rule 5 draft and keep the player on the active roster the entire season. The player can be returned to the original team for half of that Rule 5 fee.

The Padres were heavily active in the Rule 5 draft early in General Manager A.J. Preller’s tenure, coming away with three players in 2017 (Miguel Díaz, Luis Torrens and Allen Cordoba) and four players in 2016 (Luis Perdomo, Jabari Blash, Josh Martín and Blake Smith).

They did not pick again until selecting Lopez in 2022.

Nuñez is ranked No. 8 in Baltimore’s system by MLB.com and No. 20 by Baseball America.

The 5-foot-11 Venezuelan originally signed with the Twins in November 2019 for $25,000 and was traded to Baltimore in 2022 for reliever Jorge Lopez.

Here are links to scouting reports at MLB.com and Baseball America.

The Padres also added right-hander Eiker Huizi (Tigers High-A), outfielder Jake Snider (Rockies High-A) and catcher Andy Thomas (Giants Double-A) in the minor league phase of the Rule 5 draft and lost Double-A reliever C.J. Widger (Giants).