A's take OF Tom, RHP Jim¨¦nez in Rule 5 Draft
Martin Gallegos
@MartinJGallegosOAKLAND -- Not expecting to be big players in the free-agent market this offseason, the A¡¯s know they will need to get creative in order to fill their needs. One of those avenues presented itself on Thursday.
With several 40-man roster spots available, the A¡¯s made two selections in the Major League portion of Thursday¡¯s Rule 5 Draft: outfielder Ka¡¯ai Tom from Cleveland¡¯s farm system and right-hander Dany Jim¨¦nez from Toronto. Both players add some much-needed depth for Oakland and will report to Spring Training with a good chance of remaining on the big league roster.
As Rule 5 selections, Tom and Jim¨¦nez must remain on the A¡¯s 26-man roster all season or they can be offered back to their respective clubs for $50,000. The selections each came with an initial cost of $100,000 for Oakland.
There was speculation that this year¡¯s Rule 5 Draft could feature fewer selections than in recent years due to the cancelation of the Minor League season in 2020. But the A¡¯s had enough feedback on Tom and Jim¨¦nez based on their performances in '19 and participation in the instructional league earlier this year to get a good gauge on each player.
¡°It was a different process we went through, but we had enough looks at these guys in 2019 and abbreviated looks in the spring before things were shut down,¡± A¡¯s assistant general manager Dan Feinstein said. ¡°We had objective data from alternate [training] sites. In both Tom and Jim¨¦nez's case, they were both in the instructional league just a couple of months ago, so we were confident in the information we had on both of those guys.¡±
Tom, 26, was a fifth-round Draft pick of the Indians in 2015 out of the University of Kentucky. The left-handed-hitting outfielder split time between Cleveland¡¯s Double-A and Triple-A affiliates in '19, slashing .290/.380/.532 with 23 home runs and 86 RBIs over 132 games.
The A¡¯s are most intrigued by Tom¡¯s batted-ball profile. Though he appears to be smaller in stature -- listed at 5-foot-9 and 190 pounds -- Tom has racked up plenty of hard-hit balls over his Minor League career. He also gets on base at a high clip, which is something the A¡¯s place an emphasis on, with a career .360 on-base percentage over five Minor League seasons. Combine that with his ability to play all three outfield positions, and the A¡¯s might have a strong candidate to replace veteran outfielder Robbie Grossman, who is currently a free agent following a solid 2020.
¡°Ka¡¯ai Tom is a strong, compact left-handed hitter with some defensive versatility. He¡¯s played both corners and center field and we¡¯d be comfortable putting him anywhere in the outfield,¡± Feinstein said. ¡°He¡¯s a patient hitter who makes a lot of hard contact and hits line drives. He¡¯s got enough pull power to occasionally hit a home run, but we¡¯ll expect him to hit the ball hard to all fields.¡±
Jim¨¦nez, 26, was signed by the Blue Jays in 2015 out of the Dominican Republic, briefly reaching the Major Leagues with the Giants as a Rule 5 selection last season. He appeared in just two games then was returned to Toronto. The right-hander split time between Class A Advanced and Double-A in ¡®19, posting a 2.59 ERA in 45 appearances with 93 strikeouts and 21 walks over 59 innings.
With a few key pieces from Oakland¡¯s strong bullpen on the free-agent market, such as Liam Hendriks, Jim¨¦nez will get a good look in Spring Training. His repertoire is impressive -- a 98 mph fastball to go with a hard slider. Feinstein said that the A¡¯s will also look to make some adjustments to Jim¨¦nez's mechanics that they believe could help him advance as a pitcher.
¡°In Dany¡¯s case it was just about adding a really good arm with a plus fastball to the group who is going to come in and compete for jobs this spring,¡± Feinstein said. ¡°We liked what we saw in Double-A in 2019 and were able to see him in the instructional league this year. We think there¡¯s a couple of things we can tweak mechanically to help him really take advantage of the stuff he has.¡±
Oakland also added right-handers Zach Jackson from Toronto and Brett Graves from Miami in the Minor League phase of the Rule 5 Draft, and it lost right-hander Seth Martinez to the Astros. Jackson, 25, posted a 3.97 ERA in 46 relief appearances at Triple-A in 2019. Graves was a '14 Draft pick by the A¡¯s. The 27-year-old righty posted a combined 2.60 ERA in 45 relief outings at Double-A and Triple-A in ¡®19.
The additions of Tom and Jim¨¦nez left Oakland with 37 players on its 40-man roster.