Cleveland Indians lose Josh Martin, add Brian Moran in Rule 5 Draft

The Rule 5 Draft took place on Thursday at the Baseball Winter Meetings in Nashville. In preparation, the Cleveland Indians made a series of roster moves in the past week: They protected five minor leaguers, claimed Collin Cowgill and Joey Butler, and DFA’d Nick Hagadone and Jayson Aquino. But a number of minor league players still remained vulnerable throughout the system.

Thus, Indians executives like president Chris Antonetti were not surprised to see right-handed reliever Josh Martin taken by the San Diego Padres in the MLB phase of the Rule 5 Draft. Martin, who turns 26 soon, was the team’s 10th-round pick in the 2012 MLB Draft. He has been a very effective reliever in High-A and Double-A over the past two seasons.

In 57 total games for High-A Carolina, he was 5-9 with a 3.66 ERA, 93 strikeouts, and 33 walks in 103.1 innings. He got better with the Double-A Akron RubberDucks, going  8-1 with a 2.21 ERA, 84 strikeouts, and 19 walks in 69.1 innings. Those are impressive numbers, for sure, but the Indians seldom make minor league relievers a high-end organizational priority.

Martin must remain on the Padres’ 25-man roster for the entire season or be offered back to the Indians. Here is how the Indians director of player development Carter Hawkins reacted to the move:

Indians Director of Player Development, Carter Hawkins, on the Tribe's Rule-5 Draft and the loss of RHP Josh Martin. pic.twitter.com/x3MzZeGpCE

— Hayden Grove (@H_Grove) December 10, 2015

Notably, the Indians have only participated in the MLB phase of the Rule 5 draft on three occasions in the last 15 years: 2012 (Chris McGuinness), 2009 (Hector Ambriz), and 2002 (Travis Chapman). Many, many Indians players have been poached away, such as Hector Rondon and T.J. McFarland in 2012. However, the team has been more active with the various minor league phases. That is what led to the Triple-A round selection of left-handed pitcher Brian Moran on Thursday.

Moran, 27, was a seventh-round pick in the 2009 MLB Draft by the Seattle Mariners. Oddly enough, he was a MLB Rule 5 selection by the Toronto Blue Jays (then traded to Los Angeles Angels) before the 2014 season, but underwent Tommy John surgery in April 2014. He was returned to the Mariners organization later that year. He never officially pitched for the Angels besides spring training.

In 96 career Double-A relief appearances, he’s 8-6 with a 3.61 ERA, 122 strikeouts and 46 walks in 124.2 innings. His peripherals were even better in Triple-A before his elbow injury, pitching in 71 games with a 5-8 record, 3.61 ERA, 138 strikeouts and 32 walks in 99.2 innings. But he did not make it back to Triple-A in his comeback season in 2015.

It’s always fun to keep track of some of these minor roster moves as the season moves on. Certainly, Indians fans can keep an eye on Martin as he continues in the Padres organization. Rondon and McFarland both have had success in Chicago and Baltimore, respectively. If Martin doesn’t do as well, he could have another chance back in Cleveland.