Former Padres’ Prospect Dean Anna Waived By Yankees

It was first being reported by Chris Cotillo of MLB Major Dishon Twitter and written by Billy Brost of Yanks Go Yard that former Padres’ infielder Dean Anna was claimed off of waivers today by the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Anna was traded to the Yankees in the Rule 5 Draft in 2013 for right handed pitcher Ben Paullus. While with the Padres’ he put up some solid numbers hitting .331 with nine homers and 73 RBI while at Triple-A Tuscon before the team’s minor league affiliate moved to El Paso.

It seemed that Anna was heading in the right direction within the Padres’ organization. However, they could not fit him in the 40-man roster, so they subsequently traded him away to New York instead of having to let him go for nothing. Yet, as a Yankee, his career has declined a bit only posting .190 batting average while at Triple-A Scranton and a .136 batting average in 14 games this season with the Yankees.

Paullus is struggling a bit with the Class-A Lake Elsinore Storm posting 1-0 record with a 4.65 ERA, but he has struck 28 batters in 31 innings so there are some upside to him being only 25 year-old. It’s hard to tell at this point whether Paullus will move upwards but it looks like former GM Josh Byrnes and his scouting team did manage to get the best of the Yankees organization this time. Anna will be sent to Triple-A Indianapolis in the Pirate organization while Paullus will continue to provide relief out of the bullpen.