The Washington Nationals made headlines earlier this offseason when they lost an MLB-high 34 players to minor league free agency.
They're doing what they can to make up for that.
The Nationals had the chance to replenish depth a little bit on Wednesday, during the minor-league phase of the Rule 5 Draft.
They chose six players in that segment, which is two more than any other team in MLB did.
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The Nationals chose these six guys:
- RHP Sandy Gaston from Angels
- RHP Brady Hill from Rockies
- RHP Dylan Tebrake from Mets
- OF Jack Rogers from Reds
- RHP Eiker Huizi from Padres
- RHP Cesar Rojas from Rays
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Pitching depth is one of the toughest things to have in a minor league system, as arms battle injuries more often now than ever before.
The Nats have done what they can with the above picks to add some stamina to their pitching staffs in the minor leagues.
Rarely are players chosen in the minor league portion of the Rule 5 Draft and then develop into stars.
But for every system to function well, depth is needed, too.
This is the Nationals' effort to start to get their depth back after an odd start to the offseason.
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