Twins lose Jones in Rule 5, don't make pick

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The Twins lost reliever Zack Jones to the Brewers in the Rule 5 Draft, but decided to pass on all phases Thursday.

The Twins are usually active in the Rule 5 Draft, as they've selected several pitchers in recent years such as Scott Diamond, Ryan Pressly and J.R. Graham. But this year with the No. 17 pick, they didn't make a selection.

• Complete Rule 5 Draft results

"We spent the same amount of time on the process and it's something we're usually involved in, but there wasn't really a name we thought would impact the future of our organization," Twins vice president of player personnel Mike Radcliff. "So we didn't go."

The Twins, though, did lose Jones, who was taken by Milwaukee in the second round as the No. 14 overall pick. Jones was ranked as Minnesota's No. 23 prospect by MLBPipeline.com.

Jones, 25, posted a 4.53 ERA with 68 strikeouts in 51 2/3 innings between Class A Advanced Fort Myers and Double-A Chattanooga last season. He was under consideration to be added to the 40-man roster, but was ultimately left off, as the Twins decided to add fellow hard-throwing relievers Mason Melotakis and J.T. Chargois instead.

"Zack has been a part of our organization a long time and is a hard-thrower," Radcliff said. "It's kind of the M.O. of the Rule 5 Draft, the guys who throw hard get taken. So it wasn't a surprise to us."

The Brewers must keep Jones on their 25-man roster all next season or offer him back to the Twins for $25,000.