ATLANTA -- Though the Rule 5 Draft primarily provides teams an opportunity to simply take a chance on Minor Leaguers who are seldom considered significant prospects, the Braves are hopeful they satisfied an immediate need via the acquisition of left-handed reliever Evan Rutckyj.
Atlanta selected Rutckyj with the third pick in the Major League phase of Thursday morning's Rule 5 Draft with the hope that he will prove himself in Spring Training and spend the upcoming season as the left-handed specialist it has been seeking.
"[Rutckyj] was a guy who checked a lot of boxes for us," Braves general manager John Coppolella said.