Padres Give Up on Offseason Addition Ahead of Opening Day

The Rule 5 Draft is an interesting initiative set by MLB that gives minor leaguers more opportunities to see the diamond in the big leagues. It takes place annually at the Winter Meetings.

The eligibility requirements are for players that started at 18 or younger who haven't been added to the 40-man roster within five seasons — hence the name of the draft — or players who signed at 19 or older and haven't been protected within four seasons.

After a player is drafted, they are assigned directly to the team's active roster who drafted them. In a case like with Nuñez where the team that selected him want to waive that player, he must be offered back to the previous team.

Nuñez is a 24-year-old right-hander who has logged a mix of starts and relief appearances across his minor league tenure.

Last season, spent solely in High-A, Nuñez threw 29.1 innings with an ERA of 2.45. He added 38 punchouts to 10 walks and a 1.09 WHIP.

As he makes his way back to the Orioles' minor league track, he hopes to soon make his debut in MLB, even though it will not be in San Diego.

As for the Padres' roster, they are freshly out of spots as both their pitching and position player rosters were essentially finalized by manager Mike Shildt Monday evening.

For more Padres news, head over to Padres on SI.