SAN DIEGO -- Despite leaving some highly ranked prospects up for grabs in the Rule 5 Draft Wednesday, the Pirates ended up losing just one player in the major-league portion, catcher/outfielder Blake Sabol, and they wound up taking a player as well, left-hander Jose Hernandez.
They did pay for not using all of their available Class AAA roster spots in the minor-league portion of the draft, losing 11 players, but they were able to hang onto prospects like first baseman Malcom Nunez, outfielder Matt Gorski and right-handers Cody Bolton and Tahnaj Thomas despite not putting them on the 40 man roster last month.