{"id":2482,"date":"2016-12-08T14:03:45","date_gmt":"2016-12-08T19:03:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonbaseball.com\/?p=2482"},"modified":"2016-12-08T15:00:51","modified_gmt":"2016-12-08T20:00:51","slug":"red-sox-select-josh-rutledge-rule-5-draft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2016\/12\/08\/red-sox-select-josh-rutledge-rule-5-draft\/","title":{"rendered":"Red Sox Select Josh Rutledge in Rule 5 Draft"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dave Dombrowski<\/b> wanted to bring in another utility bat to compete with left-handed hitter Marco Hernandez<\/a><\/b>. On Thursday, the final day of the Winter Meetings<\/b>, he used the Rule 5 Draft to do just that. Coincidentally, the Boston Red Sox<\/b> selection in the draft also reunited them with a familiar face: infielder Josh Rutledge<\/a><\/b>, who the club selected from the Colorado Rockies<\/b>. Drafting Rutledge cost the team $50,000. Per the rules of the draft, he must remain on the 25-man roster or be placed on waivers and offered back to the Rockies.<\/p>\n

Red Sox Select Josh Rutledge in Rule 5 Draft<\/b><\/h2>\n

Rutledge, 27, has spent five seasons in the majors. He first came to the Red Sox in exchange for outfielder Shane Victorino<\/a><\/b>, and spent parts of the 2015 and 2016 seasons with the club. After missing most of last season with a knee injury, Boston outrighted his contract, and he signed a minor league deal with the Rockies, the team he first came up with. However, Colorado did not protect him from the draft, and the Red Sox scooped him back up.<\/p>\n

Rutledge has proven to be a useful bat off the bench in the past. In 2015 and 2016, his two seasons with Boston, he hit .284 and .265, respectively. He also collected 13 RBI and a home run in the two years combined (123 total at-bats). His best year offensively actually came back in 2012, his first year in the majors. Then with the Rockies, he recorded a .274 batting average with eight homers, 20 doubles, and 37 RBI, all three career-highs.<\/p>\n

What could make Rutledge useful is his ability to hit lefties. He owns a career .313 batting average against left-handed pitching, while fellow righty utility man Brock Holt<\/a><\/strong> hits just .103 against them. Holt is better than Rutledge against righties, so the two could make for a good pairing. Rutledge is also a superior fielder to Hernandez, giving him a decent shot at winning the second utility man job.<\/p>\n

The Red Sox also lost a couple of players in the Rule 5 draft. The Los Angeles Angels<\/b> selected RHP Justin Haley<\/a><\/b>, and the Baltimore Orioles<\/b> chose outfielder Aneury Tavarez<\/a><\/b>. Haley had a strong campaign\u00a0with Double-A Portland<\/b> last season, posting a 2.20 ERA in 12 starts, with 59 strikeouts and just 19 walks. Though Haley was selected by the Angels, he eventually landed with the Minnesota Twins<\/b> in a three-way deal that also involved the San Diego Padres<\/b>. Tavarez hit well in Double-A last season, to the tune of a .335 batting average, but didn’t continue that in a small sample size with Triple-A Pawtucket<\/b>.<\/p>\n

Main Photo:<\/p>\n

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Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/div>\n