Next week’s Winter Meetings in Orlando conclude on December 10th with the Rule 5 draft. After a two-year absence, the Orioles could again participate.
The Orioles took at least one player in every draft from 2006-2022. (There wasn’t a Rule 5 draft in 2021 because of a lockout.) They passed the last two seasons.
While many of the players they’ve taken never played for the team, they’ve made some good picks. Outfielder Anthony Santander, who was taken in 2016, was one of the best selections. Santander, who was voted Most Valuable Oriole in 2020, hit 155 home runs for the Orioles, 13th most in team history.
Centerfielder Paul Blair, who won eight Gold Gloves was the best Rule 5 selection the club ever made, back in 1962. Blair was taken from the New York Mets.
Another mainstay of champion Oriole teams, catcher Elrod Hendricks, who was bullpen coach from 1978-2005, was a Rule 5 pick from the Los Angeles Angels in 1967.
More recently, outfielder/first baseman Jay Gibbons, who was a useful player from 2001-2007, was taken from Toronto in 2000.
José Bautista, one of the least favorite players in Baltimore, was actually taken in the draft by the Orioles from Pittsburgh in 2003. He played just 16 games for the Orioles in 2004, one of four teams he played for that season. Eventually, Bautista became a six-time All-Star for the Blue Jays, but he made his major league debut with the Orioles.
Mike Elias’ predecessor as head of baseball operations, Dan Duquette, made several solid picks in addition to Santander. Infielder Ryan Flaherty (2011), left-handed reliever T.J. McFarland (2012) and outfielder Joey Rickard (2015) provided depth.
In 2017, Duquette also selected left-handed pitcher Nestor Cortes, who was over his head in four games in early 2018. Cortes was returned to the New York Yankees and was an All-Star for them in 2022.
Elias drafted at least one player every draft from 2018-2022, and only one has helped. That’s Tyler Wells, who’s the best pitcher the team has taken in the Rule 5 draft. Wells was drafted from Minnesota in 2020, and he’s been a dependable starter and reliever.
The Orioles have room to draft a player. Now that closer Ryan Helsley has passed his physical, the Orioles have 39 players on the 40-man roster.
It will be difficult for the Orioles, a team with a win-now mentality after an 87-loss season, to carry a player taken in the Rule 5 draft. Players can’t be optioned to the minor leagues the year after they were drafted and need at least 90 days active service time before they can be freely optioned.
Two players selected in last year’s draft — Chicago White Sox starter Shane Smith, who was 7-8 with a 3.91 ERA in 29 starts, and Miami catcher/first baseman Liam Hicks, who hit .247 with six home runs and 45 RBIs — were worth keeping on the roster all season.
Ten of the 15 players selected, including right-hander Juan Nuñez, who was taken by San Diego from the Orioles, were returned to their original team. Nuñez was again left unprotected by the Orioles.
This year, the Orioles added right-handed pitchers Cameron Foster and Anthony Nunez, and outfielder Reed Trimble, who was left unprotected last year.
Among the better known minor leaguers unprotected by the Orioles are catcher Creed Willems, outfielders Jud Fabian and Hudson Haskin, infielders Max Wagner and Carter Young, starters Trace Bright, Ryan Long and Alex Pham, relievers Keegan Gillies, Carlos Tavera and Peter Van Loon. Recently signed minor league free-agent relievers Jeisson Cabrera, Richard Guasch and Jean Henriquez are also eligible, according to Roster Resource.
Hyde goes to Tampa Bay: Former Orioles manager Brandon Hyde, who was fired by the team on May 17th, has been hired by the Tampa Bay Rays as a senior advisor to the baseball operations department.
It’s a convenient move for Hyde, who lives in Venice, Florida, not far from the Rays’ spring training headquarters in Port Charlotte, Florida.
Hyde, who remains interested in managing again, reportedly interview for several vacant managerial positions.
Call for questions: I answer Orioles questions most weekdays. Please send yours to: Rich@BaltimoreBaseball.com.