The Oakland Athletics and San Francisco Giants both felt the impact of the Rule 5 Draft on the final day of the 2010 winter meetings. The Athletics lost pitchers Daniel Sattler and Justin Friend to the Angels and Phillies respectively in the minor league portion, while the Giants lost relief pitcher Joe Paterson to the Arizona Diamondbacks in the major league portion. Rule 5 Draft procedures described HERE.
The A’s did add a player in the minor league portion of the draft. They claimed 23-year-old relief pitcher Jeiler Castillo from the Astros. Castillo will be entering his sixth minor league season. Two of the seasons were in the Venzuelan summer league. Castillo got up to A ball this past year, but he hasn’t shown the spark to take his game to the next level. He could very well suddenly figure things out, but more than likely this is just a matter of filling up a roster spot.
The Giants lose a pitcher who split time between single A San Jose and AAA Fresno. He showed some stuff this past year and it will be interesting to see how long he lasts with the Diamondbacks' 25-man roster. The Giants were also able to add thee pitchers in the minor league phase, snagging pitchers Justin Dowdy and Matthew Sartor and catcher Dashenko Ricardo.
Dowdy is 26 and now entering his 11th year of minor league baseball. Sartor is 26 and entering his fifth season of minor league baseball. Ricardo will be 21 at the start of next season and also entering his fifth season of minor league ball. Dowdy should definitely start at AAA, while Sartor might start at AAA or AA and Ricardo will likely be at AA or A.