In the minor league portion of last year’s Rule 5 Draft the Pittsburgh Pirates selected right-handed pitcher Nick Burdi from the Minnesota Twins. Burdi, once a highly touted pitching prospect for Minnesota, was set to miss most of 2018 due to Tommy John Surgery. However, this did not scare off Neal Huntington and the Pirates.
17 innings into the 2017 season, Burdi, who at the time was pitching at the Double-A level, found himself in need of Tommy John Surgery. This caused him to miss the rest of the 2017 season, and the Twins to expose him to the Rule 5 Draft.