TORONTO -- For the second offseason in a row, Blue Jays right-handed pitching prospect Dany Jiménez has been selected by another organization in the Rule 5 Draft.

The Oakland A’s selected Jiménez in the second round of the MLB portion of the Rule 5 Draft on Thursday, which took place on the final days of the virtual Winter Meetings. Last winter, it was the Giants who selected Jiménez.

• 2020 Rule 5 Draft results, pick by pick

After appearing in a pair of games for San Francisco last season, Jiménez was returned to the Blue Jays on Aug. 2. This time, Jiménez will have the option to refuse an outright assignment and become a free agent, meaning that he could choose free agency over being returned to Toronto.

Jiménez’s brief stint with the Giants in 2020 saw him allow one run on one hit and three walks over 1 1/3 innings, but that’s not much of a sample size. What the A’s are betting on is the same thing the Giants did, which is a power arm who enjoyed a very strong '19 season in the Minor Leagues.

Jiménez, who’s a late bloomer and turns 27 on Dec. 23, posted a 2.59 ERA between Class A Advanced Dunedin and Double-A New Hampshire in 2019. With 93 strikeouts in 59 innings (14.2 strikeouts per nine innings) and no red flags with his walk or home run rates, Jiménez was -- and still is -- a sensible Rule 5 Draft pick for another club to bet on.

• Every Rule 5 Draft pick in Blue Jays history

Jiménez signed with Toronto in 2015 and he made his professional debut at 21. He worked as a starter earlier in his career, but by the time he reached full-season ball, the Blue Jays had converted him to a reliever. It’s a role that’s suited Jiménez, too, as he throws a heavy fastball that has reached into the upper-90s. Jiménez has yet to pitch at the Triple-A level, but it’s very likely that’s where he would have pitched in '20 if he had been returned to the Blue Jays during an active Minor League season.

Toronto did not make a selection in the Major League portion of this year’s Rule 5 Draft, as its 40-man roster is full. Any Major League free-agent signings or trade additions will require a corresponding move to free 40-man roster space.

• History of the Rule 5 Draft

More action in the Minor League portion
In the Minor League portion of the Rule 5 Draft, the Blue Jays lost a larger group of players that includes right-handers Justin Dillon and Zach Jackson, left-hander Jake Fishman and catcher and first baseman Yorman Rodriguez.

Dillon was a 10th-round pick of the Blue Jays in the 2017 Draft and he pitched to a 3.63 ERA over 124 innings in '19, which he split between Class A Advanced and Double-A. Jackson, a third-rounder in '16, has struggled with control in the Minor Leagues, but he offers a big fastball and a hammering curveball. Jackson spent '19 in Triple-A, where he showed signs of improving his control and pitched to a 3.97 ERA.

Fishman, the 25-year-old lefty, has put up strong numbers in the lower Minors and he posted a 3.45 ERA over 42 Double-A relief appearances in 2019. He was particularly hard on lefties, holding them to a .223 average and a .540 OPS. Rodriguez is the youngest of the group at 23, and spent 2019 between Class A Short-Season Vancouver and Class A Lansing. He put up an impressive .360 average over 62 games with an .889 OPS.

Also in the Minor League portion, the Blue Jays selected Sebastian Espino, 20, from the Mets, their lone addition of the day. Playing Rookie ball for Kingsport in the Appalachian League in 2019, Espino hit .251 with two home runs and a .635 OPS.