Arizona Diamondbacks select catcher in Rule 5 Draft

The Rule 5 Draft also took place at the Winter Meetings on Thursday. Mandatory Credit: David Manning-USA TODAY Sports

Catching help is on the way for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Just a few days after trading Miguel Montero to the Chicago Cubs for a pair of prospects, the D-Backs grabbed catcher Oscar Hernandez with the first overall selection of Thursday’s Rule 5 Draft. Arizona was given the first pick due to having the worst record in the league during the course of the 2014 season.

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A 21-year-old out of Venezuela, Montero’s home country, Hernandez comes over from the Tampa Bay Rays organization. Having been with the Rays since 2010, the youngster is said to be a “toosly” catcher who has a big arm behind the dish and has some pop in his bat. During his minor league career, Hernandez has thrown out an impressive 42 percent of guys attempting to steal.

Hernandez’s best season in the minors so far came in 2011 with the Rays Venezuelan Summer League club. In 239 at-bats, Hernandez had a .402 batting average with 21 home runs and 66 RBI. Since then, he has struggled in terms of hitting for average and getting on base, but he just turned 21 in July and the raw talent is certainly there.

What remains to be seen though is whether Hernandez will remain in the Diamondbacks organization for the long term.

According to the rules of Rule 5 Draft, Arizona must keep him on their 25-man roster for the entire 2015 season and Hernandez must stay off the disabled list for a minimum of 90 days. If a selected player doesn’t stay on the big league roster, they are offered back to their original team for $25,000.

For now, Hernandez is one of only two catchers along with Tuffy Gosewisch on the D-Backs 40-man roster, but that could change. The club is said to be looking for a veteran backstop option now that Montero is in the Windy City.

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