Arlington, Texas— The Texas Rangers selected right-handed pitcher Brett de Geus (pronounced duh-GUS) from the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Triple-A roster in the Major League phase of Thursday’s Rule 5 Draft, which was conducted via teleconference. No players were selected by other teams from the Texas organization in the MLB phase of the draft.

Texas also selected three players in the Minor League (Triple-A) phase of the draft:

• RHP Matthew Wivinis selected in first round from New York-AL’s High-A roster
• C Yohel Pozo selected in second round from San Diego’s Double-A roster
• RHP Justin Marsden selected in third round from Tampa Bay’s High-A roster

Additionally, four players from the Rangers organization were selected by other clubs, with two picked in the first round, one in the second round and another going in the fifth round. The selections of Texas players by other clubs:

•  1B Tyreque Reed was selected in first round by Boston off the Rangers’ Double-A roster
• SS Brendon Davis was selected in first round by Los Angeles-AL off the Rangers’ Double-A roster
• RHP Dylan Bice was selected in the second round by Miami off the Rangers’ Double-A roster
• RHP Wes Robertson was selected in the fifth round by Cincinnati off the Rangers’ Double-A roster

 Texas held the second selection in the draft order, which is based on each club’s 2020 finish. With the addition of de Geus, there are now 39 players on the Rangers’ Major League roster.

The 23-year-old de Geus did not see game action in 2020, although he went 0-1 with a 2.57 ERA (2 ER/7.0 IP) over 7 relief appearances in Spring Training, including an exhibition outing on July 21 vs. Los Angeles-AL at Dodger Stadium. He spent a brief stint on the Dodgers' Alternate Site roster this summer until the regular season began in late July, and did not participate in the club's fall instructional league camp. de Geus was rated among Dodgers top prospects in recent rankings by MLB.com (27). He split the 2019 campaign with Great Lakes (A) and Rancho Cucamonga (High-A), combining to go 6-2 with a 1.75 ERA (12 ER/61.2 IP) over 39 relief appearances with 13 walks, 72 strikeouts, a 0.941 WHIP, and opponent slash line of .205/.258/.215/.473, averaging 10.5 strikeouts per 9 innings without allowing a home run the entire year. He also pitched for Glendale in the Arizona Fall League in '19, posting 9.1 scoreless innings.

Wivinis, 27, has gone 8-8 with a 2.23 ERA over 101 relief appearances spanning three seasons in the Yankees organization. The right-hander, who began his professional career in the independent Frontier League in 2016, has averaged 11.7 strikeouts per 9 innings with New York-AL and topped out at Double-A Trenton in 2019.

Pozo, 23, returns to the Rangers after signing with San Diego as a minor league free agent on November 13. Prior to the brief stay in the San Diego organization, the Venezuela native spent his entire professional career in the Texas system from 2014-20, batting .246 with 9 home runs and 43 RBI over 107 games with Down East (High-A) in 2019.

Marsden, 23, owns a career 6-7 record and 4.46 ERA across 50 games/2 starts in the Tampa Bay farm system. The 6-foot-4, 175-pound right-hander was selected by the Rays in the 22nd round of the 2015 June draft, and the highest level he has reached with the organization is High-A Charlotte in 2019.

The 23-year-old Reed owns a career .281 batting average with 41 home runs and 149 RBI in 232 games across three seasons in the Texas organization, topping out at High-A Down East in 2019. Davis had been in the Texas organization since he was part of the Yu Darvish trade to the Dodgers on July 31, 2017. Davis batted .202 in 109 games with Frisco in 2019. Bice, 23, combined to post a 1.31 ERA over 13 games/one start with three Texas affiliates in 2019. Robertson was originally signed as a non-drafted free agent in 2017, and combined to go 3-0 with a 4.33 ERA over 14 relief appearances with Hickory (A) and Down East in 2019.

The Rule 5 Draft allows clubs without a full 40-man roster to select certain non-40-man roster players from other clubs. Clubs picking a player in the Major League phase must pay $100,000 to the team from which said player was selected. Rule 5 draftees that are not kept on the 26-man active roster for the entirety of the 2021 season must be placed on outright waivers, and, if the player clears waivers, must be offered back to his previous team for $50,000. Players selected in the Minor League phase of the Rule 5 draft remain with their new club, which makes a $24,000 payment to the draftee’s former team.