A's Lose Former First Rounder to Twins— Then Watch Him Get Flipped to the SF Giants

Former A's prospect and first round selection was selected by the Twins during Wednesday's Rule 5 Draft.

Lugnuts' Daniel Susac shows the ball to an umpire in the eighth inning during the game against the Whitecaps on Tuesday, April 11, 2023, at Jackson Field in Lansing. | Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK

On Wednesday, the A's were able to land right-hander Ryan Watson with their first selection in the Rule 5 Draft. The 28-year-old has lots of experience pitching in Sutter Health Park, the A's home field, and home to the Giants' Triple-A affiliate. Unfortunately, once again, the A's have lost a prospect to the draft, and this time it was former first-rounder, Daniel Susac. He was selected by the Minnesota Twins.

The A's selected Susac with the 19th overall selection in 2022. The catcher joined the A's farm system as the potential catcher of the future. However, the Matt Olson trade with Atlanta would land the team Shea Langeliers, and with Langeliers' success with the A's, Susac has been held to Triple-A as he has continued to develop, and he'd likely be stuck behind Shea for a while in the A's system.

Because the 24-year-old Susac has been in the A's organization for 4 years without making the team's 40-man roster, he became Rule 5 eligible. Teams will usually carry just two catchers, so selecting a catcher in the Rule 5 Draft is quite uncommon. However, the Minnesota Twins couldn't pass up on the former highly regarded prospect.

Shortly after the pick was announced, it was reported that the San Francisco Giants would be trading for Susac, who would be joining his brother's former club.

Susac is coming off a hot year with the A's Triple-A squad, where the catcher posted a .275 batting average and an .832 OPS with 18 home runs. While the counting stats were solid, he finished with a 94 wRC+ (100 is league average) while playing in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League.

Since Daniel Susac has gone pro, he's only appeared in games at catcher, first base, and designated hitter. In those spots in the big leagues are Shea Langeliers, Nick Kurtz, and Brent Rooker—literally the three best hitters on the team.

On the surface, losing a former first-rounder who is only 24 seems like a tough blow. However, for the Giants to retain Susac past the 2026 season, he will have to stay in the big leagues with them for the entire year. If the Giants wish to remove him from their active roster, he will be offered back to the A's and would likely to be accepted.

Last offseason, the Cincinnati Reds selected the A's prospect Cooper Bowman in the Rule 5 Draft. Bowman didn't end up making it to the regular season with the Reds, and was returned to the A's organization. This exact scenario could certainly be possible for Susac, which could bring him back to the team that drafted him.

While Susac isn't officially with the Giants just yet, a source has told Athletics on SI that the rumor is "very much so" real, though it's "not confirmed, but looking like it."