Gus Varland & Ryan Noda, Rule 5 Draft selections from Dodgers, make their new teams

Gus Varland, a Rule 5 Draft pick in December from the Dodgers, made the Brewers opening day roster, the team announced Monday. The right-hander had a 4.15 ERA in 8⅔ innings, allowing three home runs, but also struck out 17 of his 35 batters faced with one walk.

“It was the coolest call of my entire life. The emotions that went through me, it was indescribable,” Varland told reporters Monday morning in Phoenix. “I called them after every bad start, every bad starting, and they just kept supporting me. Even when I didn’t believe in myself, they believed in me. They’re unbelievable.”

Likewise, first baseman Ryan Noda made the A’s opening day roster. Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle has more.

As Rule 5 Draft selections, Varland and Noda have to stay on the active roster or injured list all season. Their new teams can’t send them to the minors this year without first placing them on waivers, then if they clears waivers, offering them back to the Dodgers for $50,000.

The Pirates have not announced yet if left-hander Jose Hernandez, the other player selected from the Dodgers in the Rule 5 Draft in December, has made their roster.