DETROIT -- The Tigers on Wednesday used the Minor League Rule 5 Draft to bolster the pitching depth in their farm system by selecting a pair of right-handed relievers -- one a hard-throwing converted outfielder who’s a project, the other a more experienced reliever who reached Triple-A last season.

The Rule 5 Draft typically consists of Major League and Minor League phases, but since all Major League transactions are frozen until a new Collective Bargaining Agreement is in place, only the Minor League phase took place. The Major League phase may be rescheduled once a new CBA is in place.

In the Major League phase, any player not on a 40-man roster who needed to be protected can be taken. For this year, international or high school Draft picks signed in 2017 -- assuming the player was 18 or younger as of June 8 of that year -- had to be protected. A college player taken in the 2018 Draft was in the same position.

For the Minor League phase, any player not protected on a 38-man Triple-A roster from that same group can be selected. That doesn’t mean, as it does in the Major League phase, that a player selected has to stick at that level. A team can select a player for $24,500, then send him to any level in its system.

In the majority of cases, Minor League Rule 5 picks aren’t expected to contribute at the big league level any time soon. Former Mariners prospect Elvis Alvarado -- the Tigers’ first pick on Wednesday -- falls into the "long-term project" category, having spent all of last season at Low-A Modesto in the Mariners organization.

Alvarado, who turns 23 in February, was signed by the Nationals out of the Dominican Republic. He entered pro ball as an outfielder in 2017 before converting to full-time pitching. After pitching in 13 games across 2018 and 2019 and jumping to Seattle’s farm system in a trade, he made 31 appearances in 2021 -- 30 in relief and one as an opener.

Although Alvarado reportedly features an upper-90s fastball, his stats reflect a work in progress. The 6-foot-4 hurler allowed 33 earned runs on 60 hits over 45 innings, good for a 6.60 ERA. He posted nearly as many walks (32) as strikeouts (33) while hitting seven batters and throwing five wild pitches.

By contrast, Nick Kuzia -- the Tigers’ second pick -- has 118 appearances and 171 2/3 innings over four Minor League seasons, all in the Padres system. His 2021 season was an eye-opener, in regard to both improved fastball velocity and results: 52 2/3 innings, 35 hits, a 3.42 ERA, 27 walks and 71 strikeouts over 41 appearances between Double-A El Paso and Triple-A San Antonio. The Padres did not keep him on their Triple-A roster at season’s end, allowing the Tigers to select him.

The Tigers also lost a pitcher when the Astros drafted right-hander Ruben Garcia, a Tigers Minor League Rule 5 pick from two years ago who had an encouraging year between High-A West Michigan and Double-A Erie. The 25-year-old allowed 46 hits over 56 1/3 innings with 34 walks, 72 strikeouts, 12 hit batters and four wild pitches.