Jabari Blash of St. Thomas

OAKLAND – Jabari Blash of St. Thomas wasn’t a “Bash Brother” for very long.

The Athletics picked him up as their sixth selection in the Rule 5 draft, but quickly dealt him to the Padres so they could add Yonder Alonso and Marc Rzepczynski to their roster.

The Rule 5 draft tries to prevent teams from stockpiling too many young players on their minor league affiliate teams when other teams would be willing to have them play in the majors. The name “Rule 5” comes from its place in Major League Rules.

After the Milwaukee Brewers selected Oakland Athletics second baseman Colin Walsh with the fifth selection of the Rule 5 draft, the A’s chose the 26-year-old outfielder Blash.

The St. Thomian is the player to be named in the deal that sent Drew Pomeranz and Jose Torres to the San Diego Padres for first baseman Yonder Alonso and left-handed reliever Marc Rzepczynski.

Blash sacrifices plate discipline for power: he has 614 strikeouts and 109 home runs in 2,269 minor league plate appearances, a 27 and 4.8 percent rate, respectively. He hit 32 home runs between Double-A Jackson and Triple-A Tacoma in 2015, good for a .271/.370/.576 batting line.

This is often a point of confusion when a Rule 5 draft selectee is chosen, but note that the A’s do not have any special rights to Blash if the Padres elect not to carry him on their active roster.

If Blash is waived, the A’s can claim him on Rule 5 terms in order of waiver priority (this is how the A’s obtained Nate Freiman in 2013), but he ultimately would be offered back to the Mariners if he cleared waivers.

http://www.foxsports.com/san-diego/story/padres-acquire-of-jabari-blash-from-oakland-athletics-121015

http://www.seattletimes.com/sports/mariners/rule-5-draft-results-mariners-lose-jabari-blash-and-three-others-select-reliever-isaac-sanchez/

http://www.scout.com/mlb/athletics/story/1621610-a-s-busy-in-the-rule-5-draft-lose-walsh