The San Diego Padres selected right-handed pitcher Juan Nuñez from the Baltimore Orioles in the first round of the 2024 Rule 5 draft on Wednesday, the team announced.

Nuñez was ranked as the No. 8 prospect and No. 2 pitcher in the Orioles farm system. He is now ranked as the Padres’ No. 11 prospect and No. 7 pitcher.

The right-hander, who turned 24 last week, spent the entire 2024 season in High-A. He went 2-1 with a 2.45 ERA, 1.091 WHIP and 11.7 strikeouts per nine innings in four starts and three relief appearances, battling a shoulder injury along the way. .

For his minor league career, Nuñez is 4-13 with a 3.32 ERA, 1.249 WHIP and 288 strikeouts in 230.2 innings of work.

The top half of the Padres rotation consists of Dylan Cease, Yu Darvish and Michael King. But with Joe Musgrove out for the 2025 season, Randy Vásquez and Matt Waldron are currently in the running to be San Diego’s fourth and fifth starters.

Nuñez could be in the running to poach one of those spots, considering he has started 45 of his 58 career minor league appearances. As is required for Rule 5 draft picks, Nuñez will need to be on the Padres’ major league roster in 2025, so the move from High-A swingman to big league starting pitcher is not out of the question .

Ironically, reports surfaced Wednesday that the Orioles were interested in trading for Cease. This seemed logical, since San Diego was looking to stockpile prospects for a potential Garrett Crochet trade, but the Chicago White Sox dealt Crochet to the Boston Red Sox instead.

Even with Hook off the board, the Padres went out and added a talented young arm — courtesy of the Orioles — without having to part with Cease. If a cease trade is still on the table, San Diego may be able to add some other top prospects to the Baltimore organization.

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