The annual swapping of garbage has been completed in the Brewster. But as they say, one man's trash is another man's treasure and the Portland front office hopes they can find another diamond in the rough off the trash heap that is the Rule 5 draft.
Coming to Portland via the Rule 5 draft from Twin Cities is outfielder Edgar Barron. Barron is a 27 year old, lefty hitting and lefty throwing outfielder who can play all 3 outfield positions rather well. He's doesn't provide much in the way of a bat but does have speed. In his career, he has played in 300 BBA games and accumulated 1,028 at-bats. In that span, he's hit just .244/.288/.371 with 21 career homeruns and 124 RBI. Last season he played in 18 games with Twin Cities and posted a -0.1 WAR.
"It's uncertain whether he'll stick around with us this year or not at this point" chimed assistant GM Sandy Mounds. "We like Barron's flexibility in our outfield as a potential 5th outfielder. We currently have about 4 guys we want to see this Spring as to who can win those last few roster spots. If Barron can show any ability to hit this spring he may very easily earn a spot because he's such a good glove man all around in the outfield. It will depend on whether we want to keep a bench bat or a bench glove at the end of the roster."
As for who Portland lost, they aren't sweating either player. In the first round with the 20th overall pick, Omaha selected Uthman Amir. Amir is a 33 year old pitcher who has no BBA experience. He spent 5 years in the GBC with mixed results. He's spent the last 3 seasons with Portland's AAA team in Quincy. In round 4, Des Moines selected Ricardo Correa. Correa is a 28 year old 1B who has no big league experience in either the BBA or GBC. Correa has spent his entire professional career with the Lumberjacks in their minor leagues, having been a former 14th round draft pick back in 2057.
"We aren't worried about either of these guys and wouldn't be shocked if they were given back to us at some point" added Mounds. "Granted, both were taken by Heartland teams and these guys may be key starters on their weak, feeble rosters. All in all, we are far more excited about what we gained in the Rule 5 draft than what we lost."
