Every Twins Rule 5 Draft pick since 1970

MINNEAPOLIS -- The Twins were again idle in the Major League phase of the virtual 2020 Rule 5 Draft on Thursday, continuing their recent trend of standing pat despite a relatively active history of selections at the annual event that serves as the conclusion of baseball's Winter Meetings.

• How the Rule 5 Draft works | History of the Rule 5 Draft

In fact, the Twins have uncovered some strong talents in the Rule 5 Draft in recent history, including one of the Majors' more dominant relievers and one of the most talented starters who has ever worn a Minnesota uniform.

Though the format and eligibility rules have changed at times, let's take a look at every player the Twins have selected over the last 50 years.

2017: RHP Tyler Kinley from Marlins
Allowed nine earned runs in four games for the Twins before he was returned to Miami. He most recently pitched for the Rockies in '20.

2016: RHP Miguel Diaz from Brewers
The Twins flipped Diaz to the Padres for Justin Haley, who made 14 MLB appearances for Minnesota and Boston from '17-18.

2014: RHP J.R. Graham from Braves
Made 40 appearances for the Twins from '15-16 before joining the Yankees' organization. He was released by New York in '18.

2012: RHP Ryan Pressly from Red Sox
Developed into a core piece of the Twins' bullpen, posting a 3.75 ERA across six seasons, including an American League-leading 77 appearances in '18. He was dealt to Houston at the '18 Trade Deadline for Gilberto Celestino and Jorge Alcala, who are both currently on the Twins' 40-man roster. Pressly has been one of the AL's best relievers with the Astros and was named to his first All-Star team in '19.

2011: RHP Terry Doyle from White Sox
Was returned to the White Sox and pitched in Japan, Mexico, Venezuela and the Dominican Republic. He never cracked the Majors.

2010: LHP Scott Diamond from Braves
The Canadian was one of those pitch-to-contact arms during the Twins' dry years who induced a ton of ground balls and posted low strikeout rates. He recorded a 3.54 ERA in '12, his best season, but otherwise had a 4.50 ERA in parts of three seasons with the Twins before resurfacing with the Blue Jays in '16.

2008: RHP Jason Jones from Yankees
Pitched an ineffective season for Triple-A Rochester and never made it to the Majors.

2006: SS Alejandro Machado from Nationals
Came to the Twins in the Rule 5 Draft after a 10-game cameo with the Red Sox in '05. He left the organization after the '09 season and never returned to the Majors.

2005: OF Jason Pridie from Devil Rays
Was returned to the Rays in '06 but came back to the Twins in the deal that also brought Delmon Young and Brendan Harris to Minneapolis. He played parts of seven seasons in the Majors.

2004: LHP Ryan Rowland-Smith from Mariners
The Australian was returned to Seattle and pitched three solid seasons with the Mariners from '07-09 before struggling in '10.

2002: SS Jose Morban from Rangers
Never appeared with the Twins and played 61 games for the Orioles after moving to Baltimore on a waiver claim.

2000: RHP Brandon Knight from Yankees
Was returned to the Yankees and pitched ineffectively from '01-02 before spending lengthy stints in Japan and Korea.

1999: RHP Jared Camp from Tribe
Camp was, without question, the biggest Rule 5 selection in Twins history. That's not because he made an impact for the Twins (he never even pitched in the Majors), but because Minnesota and Florida immediately swapped Camp and a young left-hander named Johan Santana, who needed two years before he became one of the most dominant front-end starters of his era. Santana led the AL in strikeouts in three straight seasons from 2004-06 and won AL Cy Young Awards in two of them (and likely should have won all three). He racked up the fourth-highest strikeout total in Minnesota Twins franchise history before his trade to the Mets.

1998: SS Joe Espada from Athletics
Was returned to the A's and never played in the Majors, but he has carved out a lengthy coaching career as third-base coach for the Marlins, Yankees and Astros.

1995: RHP Joe Jacobsen from Dodgers
Was returned to the Dodgers and never played in the Majors.

1994: OF Brian Kowitz from Braves
Was returned to the Braves and appeared in 10 games for Atlanta in '95.

1993: LHP Keith Garagozzo from Yankees
Made seven relief appearances for the Twins before he was returned to the Yankees. He never returned to the Majors.

1991: RHP Jesse Cross from Blue Jays
Was returned to the Blue Jays and never played in the Majors.

1990: OF Pat Howell from Mets
Was returned to the Mets and appeared in 31 games in '92.

1989: OF Shane Mack from Padres
Mack has to be the most impactful Rule 5 player who actually ended up staying with the Twins -- not only because he immediately established himself as a regular and topped out at 6.5 WAR in '92, per Baseball-Reference, but also because he posted a 5.0 WAR season in '91, when the Twins won their most recent World Series championship. He hit 67 homers with an .854 OPS in five seasons with Minnesota as part of a nine-year MLB career.

1988: LHP Gary Wayne from Expos
Stuck around the Twins' bullpen for parts of four seasons, posting a 3.44 ERA, but he struggled with walks and left for the Rockies in a '93 trade.

1985: RHP Tom Burns from Mets
Was returned to the Mets and never played in the Majors.

1984: C Mark Salas from Cardinals
Stepped in as the Twins' starting catcher and finished eighth in AL Rookie of the Year Award voting in '85. He was traded to the Yankees in June '87 for veteran knuckleballer Joe Niekro, who held down a rotation spot for the eventual World Series champion Twins but didn't really factor into the postseason.

1982: LHP Paul Gibson from Tigers
Never appeared with the Twins and later returned to Detroit to begin an eight-year MLB career with the Tigers, Mets and Yankees, posting a 4.07 career ERA. He later had a productive scouting career and now serves as director of pitching performance for the Royals.

1981: RHP Paul Boris from Yankees
Was initially returned to the Yankees on April 2, 1982, but he made it back to Minneapolis only eight days later when he was traded to the Twins with Ron Davis and Greg Gagne in exchange for Roy Smalley. Boris only appeared in 23 games, but Gagne went on to anchor both the '87 and '91 World Series championship teams.

1980: RHP Don Cooper from Yankees
Posted a 5.14 ERA in two seasons with the Twins before he was traded to the Blue Jays. He later went on to enjoy a lengthy career as a pitching coach in the White Sox organization and was the longest-tenured pitching coach in MLB when he was let go following the 2020 season.

1980: LHP Jack O'Connor from Expos
Owned a 4.99 ERA during four seasons in Minnesota before he was traded to Montreal and finished his career with Baltimore.

1979: INF Guy Sularz from Giants
Was returned to the Giants and played four seasons for San Francisco.

1979: RHP Dave Moore from Reds
Spent one season in the Twins' organization before moving on to the Dodgers' system. He never pitched in the Majors.

1979: RHP Doug Corbett from Reds
Notched 23 saves and a 1.98 ERA in 73 appearances en route to a third-place finish in AL Rookie of the Year Award voting in '80. He made his only All-Star team in '81 before he was traded to the Angels in '82 with Rob Wilfong for Tom Brunansky and Mike Walters. Corbett last pitched in the Majors in '87.

1977: RHP John Sutton from Cardinals
Made 17 relief appearances with a 3.45 ERA in '78 and didn't return to the Majors.

1976: OF Rich Chiles from Astros
Had a .685 OPS in 195 games with the Twins over two seasons, finishing out a six-year MLB career.

1973: INF Sergio Ferrer from Dodgers
Posted a .648 OPS in two seasons before he was traded to the Phillies and later resurfaced with the Mets.