The Mets did not lose a player or have the room to select one in the major-league phase of the 2019 Rule 5 Draft, but there was some slight movement in the minor-league portion of the proceedings on Thursday.
Right-handed pitcher Adam Oller was plucked from the San Francisco Giants, while outfielder Jason Krizan was picked by the Oakland Athletics.
Selections made in the minor league phase of the Rule 5 Draft are not subject to roster restrictions, so both players are permanent members of their new organizations.
Oller, 24, joined the Giants at the end of May after beginning the season in the Frontier League with the independent Windy City ThunderBolts. Across 17 starts at Low-A Augusta, he recorded a 4.02 ERA (3.02 FIP) with 93 strikeouts in 87.1 innings.
Oller, originally a 20th-round pick of the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2016, was teammates earlier that year with Nathan Jones, the Mets’ most-recent fifth-rounder, at Northwestern State University.
Oller is likely a candidate to open the 2020 season in the St. Lucie Mets’ rotation.
@FlatgroundApp @PitchingNinja High-A last year / FB 92-95 (96) SL 84-88 CH 83-85 / #FGfreeagent pic.twitter.com/pNyFyD7U7E
— Adam Oller (@adamoller) February 15, 2019
Krizan, 30, was signed by the Mets as a minor league free agent in November of 2018 following eight seasons in the Detroit Tigers organization. He spent the majority of 2019 with Double-A Binghamton, hitting .259/.339/.432, and was promoted to Triple-A Syracuse for the final three weeks of the season.
Brought back to the Mets on a minor league successor contract this winter, Krizan will instead continue his professional baseball journey with the Athletics. He offers solid versatility, with the ability to play first base, left field, and right field. He was also pressed into emergency duty on the mound three times this past season for the Rumble Ponies.
In 2018, the Mets made a trio of minor league selections, bringing Braxton Lee, Chris Mazza, and Mitch Ghelfi into the organization. Mazza became the first such player to reach the major leagues with the Mets since Henry Owens in 2006.
