NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. -- The Angels departed the Winter Meetings on Thursday morning, but not before making a few moves to add volume to their Minor League system.
The club was active in the Rule 5 Draft at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center outside Washington, D.C., selecting right-handed pitcher Justin Haley from Boston's Triple-A roster in the first round of the Major League portion of the proceedings, and then announcing afterwards that it had traded Haley to the Minnesota Twins for cash considerations. Haley, 25, went 13-10 with a 3.01 ERA overall while pitching for Double-A Portland and Triple-A Pawtucket in 2016.
The Angels then plucked players from the Minor League portion of the Draft. In the Triple-A phase of the Draft, they selected shortstop Matt Williams from the Cardinals' Double-A roster in the first round, then took left-handed pitcher Adrian Almeida from the Mets in the second round. They selected catcher Mario Sanjur of Detroit's Double-A roster in the third round.
• Hot Stove Tracker
Angels general manager Billy Eppler said Williams will most likely be on the Triple-A roster in 2016.
"He's a good defender, plays second, short and third, and you can move him around," Eppler said. "He's flexible and competent."
Eppler described Almeida as having "big strikeout ability," and said that Sanjur is "a good defender who makes a lot of contact."
• Rule 5 Draft results
Every player taken in the MLB phase of the Rule 5 Draft must remain on the active big league roster for the entirety of the following season, or be offered back to their previous club for half of the $100,000 fee teams pay for each player selected via this process.
Other clubs also took players from the Angels' system.
In the first round of the Triple-A phase, the Rockies nabbed right-hander Anthony Bemboom, the Marlins took outfielder Cal Towey, and the Red Sox picked right-hander Harrison Cooney. The Angels also lost second baseman Alex Yarbrough to the Marlins in the third round of the Triple-A phase.