D-backs select pitchers Marcos Mateo, Michael Lee and Hector Hernandez in Rule 5 Draft
The Arizona Diamondbacks remained busy at the Winter Meetings in Florida Thursday by selecting three pitchers in the Rule 5 Draft.
The team selected right-handed pitcher Marcos Mateo from the Chicago Cubs, then selected right-hander Michael Lee from the Atlanta Braves and left-hander Hector Hernandez from the St. Louis Cardinals in the Triple-A phase.
Mateo is a 29-year-old Dominican native who pitched 44 games out of the Cubs’ bullpen in 2010 and 2011. He missed the 2012 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery, but pitched in 24 minor league games with the Cubs’ Arizona Rookie League team, Double-A Tennessee and Triple-A Iowa, posting a 1-0 record and a 2.74 ERA last season.
Lee, 27, is 6-foot-7, 235-pounder who was an eighth-round pick of the Boston Red Sox in 2008. He split the 2013 season between Double-A Mississippi and Triple-A Gwinnett in the Braves organization, going 9-8 with a 3.77 ERA in 26 games (21 starts).
Hernandez, 22, spent last season in A-ball, split between Peoria of the Midwest League and Palm Beach in the High-A Florida State League. The southpaw went 8-6 with a 3.55 ERA in 22 games, 21 of which were starts.
