The Pirates added minor league outfielder Austin Meadows to their 40-man roster today to protect him from the Rule 5 draft. They also traded shortstop Gift Ngoepe, the first African-born player to reach the major leagues, to the Toronto Blue Jays for a player to be named later or cash.
The Pirates also added right-handers Luis Escobar and Dario Agrazal to their 40-man roster, which is now at 38.
Meadows, 22, had a .311 on-base percentage and .359 slugging percentage in 312 plate appearances with Class AAA Indianapolis this season. He hit .250 with four home runs. The former No. 1 prospect continued to struggle with injuries. He missed almost the entire month of July because of a strained hamstring and suffered an oblique strain near the end of the season for the second year in a row.
The Rule 5 draft takes place Dec. 14, on the final day of the winter meetings in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. Monday was the deadline for teams to protect players from the draft by putting them on the 40-man roster. Unprotected players can be selected for $100,000, but must spend the entire next season on the active roster or disabled list. If they don’t, the selecting team must put the player on waivers, then offer him back to his original team for $50,000 if he clears.
Depending on how old a player was when he signed his first professional contract, they are eligible for selection in the fourth Rule 5 draft (if they signed at 18 or younger) or fifth (19 or older) following their signing. The Pirates took meadows ninth overall out of high school in 2013, meaning he was eligible for the first time this season.
Ngoepe, 27, went 12 for 54 in 28 games with the Pirates this season. He has long been the best defensive shortstop in the system, but his bat could never keep pace.
Agrazal, 22, pitched well enough in Class A Bradenton’s rotation (2.91 ERA, 10 walks in 801/3 innings) to earn a promotion to Altoona in June, but he suffered a strained pectoral and did not pitch again the rest of the year. Escobar, 21, had a 3.83 ERA in 26 games, 25 of them starts, with low-A West Virginia. He struck out 168 batters in 1312/3 innings (11.5 per nine) and represented the Pirates in the Futures Game.
Right-handers Tyler Eppler and Yeudy Garcia and shortstop Adrian Valerio, who were Rule 5 eligible for the first time, did not get roster spots.
Bill Brink: bbrink@post-gazette.com and Twitter @BrinkPG.
First Published: November 20, 2017, 11:34 p.m.
