{"id":41605,"date":"2020-12-10T18:01:05","date_gmt":"2020-12-10T23:01:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=41605"},"modified":"2020-12-10T18:37:09","modified_gmt":"2020-12-10T23:37:09","slug":"sly-rule-5-picks-for-the-oakland-as","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2020\/12\/10\/sly-rule-5-picks-for-the-oakland-as\/","title":{"rendered":"Sly Rule 5 Picks For The Oakland A’s"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

Not surprisingly, the Oakland A’s<\/a> snapped up two players in the MLB Rule 5 Draft during the virtual Winter Meetings Thursday. In the first round, David Forst and company selected outfielder Ka’ai Tom<\/strong><\/a> out of the Cleveland Indians<\/a> system. Then the A’s were one of only two teams to make a second-round pick and took Dany Jimenez<\/strong><\/a>,<\/strong> a reliever out of the Toronto Blue Jays<\/a> system.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

Ka’ai Tom<\/h2>\r\n

Tom is 26-years old and was the Indians’ fifth-round pick in the 2015 draft out of the University of Kentucky. The lefty hitter last split the 2019 season between Double-A Akron and Triple-A Columbus. Tom produced a combined .290\/.380\/.532\/.912 slash line in 479 at-bats. He cranked out 23 homers and drove in 86. The native of Hawaii has developed a power stroke in the minors after only hitting eight career home runs in college. Tom also saw appreciable time at all three outfield positions in 2019.<\/p>\r\n

Dany Jimenez<\/h2>\r\n

This is the second time Jimenez has been taken in the Rule 5 draft. He was taken by the San Francisco Giants<\/a> in last year’s draft and then returned to Toronto in August. The right-hander appeared in only two games for the Giants. Jimenez’ last full season in the minors was split between Single-A Dunedin and Double-A New Hampshire. He produced a 2.59 ERA and 1.11 WHIP. The eye-popping quality Jimenez offered from that season is 93 strikeouts in just 59 innings.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

Adding It Up<\/h2>\r\n

It looks to be a solid Rule 5 draft for club General Manager David Forst. He selected a needed depth outfielder and yet another power arm for the bullpen. Robbie Grossman<\/strong><\/a> is out and Ka’ai Tom in. Joakim<\/strong> Soria<\/strong><\/a> is out and Dany Jimenez in. It’s all part of the equation for the economy-minded Oakland A’s. From the looks of it, their money is once again wisely spent.<\/p>\r\n

Main Image Embed from Getty Images<\/a>