The Braves lost one player in this morning's Rule 5 draft. Left-handed pitcher Scott Diamond was selected by the Twins. Diamond would have been ranked 24th overall in Talking Chop's top-25 Braves prospects (being released next week), and he was ranked as the 6th-best left-handed starter in the Braves system. That goes to show you the depth of the Braves pitching in the minor league system. Diamond was a nice prospect, but one the Braves could afford to lost.
The Braves did not select anyone in the Major League phase of the Rule 5 draft, but they did select two pitchers in the minor league phase. They took 28-year old lefty reliever Rowdy Hardy from the Royals and 22-year old righty reliever Eliecer Cardenas from the Twins. Hardy has not pitched above AA, while Cardenas has not pitched above A-ball. A couple of minor players that I guess the Braves have a good feeling about. We'll see.
Too bad the Braves couldn't protect Diamond. There is still a 40-man roster spot being occupied by Billy Wagner, who has yet to file his retirement papers. The Braves will not remove him from the roster until he does so, in order to protect them against another team signing Wags out of retirement. I'd love to know what the hold up is, as it just cost us a promising young pitcher, but if Wagner does somehow decide to return next year I'll give up a dozen Diamonds for that.