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Bard was selected by the Angels with the 12th pick in the Rule 5 draft Thursday.
A 27-year-old righty reliever who has never pitched in the majors, Bard makes sense as a Rule 5 pick, as he is close to big-league ready. Last year he logged a 2.76 ERA, 1.33 WHIP and 99 strikeouts in 65.1 innings between Double-A and Triple-A. Despite those gaudy strikeout totals, Bard was left unprotected for a reason, so don't expect him to see any high-leverage work in 2018. He will need to be kept on the active roster all season, otherwise he will be exposed to waivers and offered back to the Twins.
