DBacks lose slugging prospect Deyvison De Los Santos in Rule 5 draft

NASHVILLE — The Arizona Diamondbacks lost one of their better prospects in the Rule 5 draft on Wednesday as Deyvison De Los Santos was selected by the Cleveland Guardians, who will have to keep the slugger on their major-league roster all season in order to retain his rights.

De Los Santos, 20, is a hulking, power-hitting infielder. He swings and misses often, he expands the strike zone and he has questions about his defensive home. However, he also has produced at the plate for most of his professional career with the exception of the first half of last season, when he struggled badly at Double-A Amarillo.

General Manager Mike Hazen said there were a variety of reasons that factored into the club’s decision not to add him to the 40-man roster last month, all of which boiled down to the fact that the Diamondbacks did not think De Los Santos was close to being ready to play at the major league level.

Hazen was asked if De Los Santos’ swing decisions were a strong consideration.

“Yeah,” he said. “(There is) swing and miss. Where is he at defensively? Where is that position going to be for us? They were all factors. We felt like he’s a really good prospect. We didn’t think he was ready to jump onto the major league scene right now or start in Triple-A, either. Those were probably the two biggest factors. We may be wrong. We’ll find out.”

De Los Santos has played primarily third base as a professional; evaluators are doubtful he will be able to stick at that position long-term, seeing him more likely shifting to first base.

With star Jose Ramirez entrenched at third, the Guardians likely will give De Los Santos a chance at first base or designated hitter. They have Josh Naylor as their primary option at those spots with prospect Kyle Manzardo seemingly close to being major league ready.

De Los Santos, who hit 20 homers in Double-A last season, has tremendous power potential, which holds obvious appeal to a Guardians team that finished last in the majors in homers this past season.

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Hazen said it was a “calculated risk” to leave De Los Santos exposed given the difficulty of position players to stick on a major league roster for a full season.

“We love the kid,” Hazen said. “He’s got really good tools and this is a good opportunity for him. I feel good for that part of it. He’ll get a chance to show what he can do, so we’ll see.”

De Los Santos ranked as the organization’s No. 5 prospect according to MLB Pipeline. Baseball America had him ranked ninth in the system.

Quiet meetings wrapping up for Diamondbacks

With many executives leaving town on Wednesday evening, the winter meetings appeared likely to conclude with the Diamondbacks unable to conduct any meaningful business on the transaction front.

Hazen had no concerns on that front, noting that most of the players they have been targeting in free agency or discussing in potential trades remain available in those markets.

That is to say, the lack of movement is not limited to the Diamondbacks.

That this week would be quiet is not unusual for the club. In Hazen’s tenure, the team’s most memorable winter meetings move was signing closer Fernando Rodney in December 2016.

Last year, Hazen said the club engaged in discussions with the Toronto Blue Jays about the Gabriel Moreno deal but did not finalize it until a few weeks later. It is possible, he said, that the seeds for a future deal were sown this week.

“The majority of a lot of these deals are going to happen as we move into the next couple of weeks,” Hazen said.