The minor-league phase of the Rule 5 Draft went on as scheduled Wednesday, with the Yankees losing one player and gaining two.
The Yankees selected RHP Steven Jennings in the first round from Pittsburgh’s High-A roster and RHP Manny Ramírez in the second round from Houston’s Low-A roster, and lost RHP Brian Keller from their Double-A roster, as he was selected by the Boston Red Sox in the second round.
Keller, 27, was the Yankees’ 39th-round pick in 2016, and he was 2-2 with a 2.77 ERA in 26 games (11 starts) at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in 2021, with 65 strikeouts but 46 walks in 55 1/3 innings. Over his five seasons in the minors, Keller has a 3.16 ERA in 441 1/3 innings pitched.
From the Yankees’ release on the new additions:
Jennings, 23, has gone 19-19 with one save and a 4.75 ERA (295.2IP, 315H, 187R/156ER, 97BB, 240K, 30HR) in 79 career appearances (51 starts) over four minor league seasons (2017-19, ’21). A native of Brush Creek, Tenn., the right-hander combined to go 9-1 with one save, a 4.99 ERA (74.0IP, 41ER) and 59K in 29 appearances (one start) between Low-A Bradenton, High-A Greensboro and Double-A Altoona in 2021. He was originally selected by Pittsburgh in the second round (42nd overall) of the 2017 First-Year Player Draft.
Ramírez, 22, has gone 3-5 with a 4.33 ERA (95.2IP, 73H, 58R/46ER, 77BB, 126K, 0HR) in 35 games (14 starts) over three minor league seasons (2017-19). The right-hander did not appear in a game in 2021. The Santo Domingo, D.R., native was originally signed by the Houston Astros as a non-drafted free agent on July 2, 2017.
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