The Arizona Diamondbacks announced via Twitter that they’ve claimed infielder Gustavo Nunez off waivers from the Pittsburgh Pirates. Nunez was the Rule 5 selection by the Pirates last year, but missed the entire year on the 60-day disabled list with an injury that he suffered prior to the Rule 5 draft. The shortstop is regarded as a plus defender, but hasn’t done much with the bat, and has only played as high as Double-A.
Since Nunez spent the year on the 60-day disabled list, he would have still been subject to the Rule 5 restrictions in 2013. The Pirates would have had to keep him on the 25-man roster for 90 days before they’d be able to send him down to the minors. Had he cleared waivers, rather than being claimed by Arizona, they would have had to offer him back to Detroit or worked out a trade to keep him. Arizona will now be under those same requirements.