Phillies select Nick Burdi in Rule 5, then flip him to Pittsburgh
The Phillies participated in Thursday's Rule 5 draft by selecting pitcher Nick Burdi with the third overall selection, but immediately traded him to Pittsburgh in exchange for international slot money to be used by next June.

Burdi, 24, was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in 2014 but has battled health issues throughout his young career. He's only thrown 20 innings since 2015, but his stuff can be electric with a fastball topping out in the high-90s.

It was unlikely the Phillies were going to keep Burdi on the big league roster throughout the 2018 season, and according to a source the Pirates sent $500,000 in international pool money to the Phillies to make the deal happen.

Burdi is still rehabbing from Tommy John surgery and would have had to of occupied a slot on the 40-man roster until the start of the season before the Phillies could move him to the 60-day disabled list.

As of now, the Phillies have $7-million available in international bonus pool funds, the third largest figure behind the Yankees ($8.25-million) and Red Sox ($8-million).
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Follow Patrick on Twitter: @PGordonPBR

BY PATRICK GORDON
Managing Editor
pgordon@philadelphiabaseballreview.com

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