While Mets fans were relieved that no one took either Paul Sewald or Phillip Evans in the major league portion of the Rule 5 Draft, the Mets did lose a pair of left-handed relievers in the AAA portion of the draft.

The Seattle Mariners selected Paul Paez. Many took notice of Paez with a dominating 2014 season with the Brooklyn Cyclones, but unfortunately, Paez has not been able to build off of that success.

In 2016, he split his time between St. Lucie and Binghamton going 4-1 with a 3.88 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP. Most troubling for him was left-handed batters hit .308 against him in AA.  Still, Paez has a good changeup, and if he can learn how to throw an effective breaking pitch, he may still yet have a future in the majors.

The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim selected Adrian Almeida. The 21-year old Almeida split his time between Kingsport and Brooklyn this season going 0-4 with a 5.92 ERA and a 1.64 WHIP.

Almeida’s main problem is he has trouble with his command, and as a result he walks too many batters. Still, Almeida posts big strikeout numbers because he has a live arm, and he has the ability to throw his fastball in the high 90s. If the Angels are able to harness that arm, they will have a solid prospect on their hands.

Overall, the Mets dodged a bullet in the major league portion of the draft, but the team did lose a pair of talented relievers. Maybe more surprising is that the Mets didn’t select anyone in the minor league portion of the draft.