Dan Duquette’s love for the Rule 5 draft is often joked about – sometimes bitterly – in Orioles’ circles.
The bottom line, though, is that the Rule 5 is an inexpensive way to build depth. And the club has had some success, at least from a depth standpoint, over the years in snagging Ryan Flaherty, T.J. McFarland and Joey Rickard.
On Thursday, with all the Manny Machado rumors swirling, Duquette swerved in another direction and selected three Rule 5 pitchers: left-hander Nestor Cortes and right-handers Pedro Araujo and Jose Mesa Jr.
The Orioles were the only club that took three players in the major league phase of the Rule 5 draft. Heck, only the Miami Marlins selected two.
The organization was then ravaged in the Triple-A phase of the draft, losing six players to other teams – mostly guys who would have played at Double-A Bowie in 2018, such as catcher Yermin Mercedes (pictured above).
So, who better to discuss the impact of what transpired Thursday than Adam Pohl, the voice of the Baysox, and Dean Jones Jr., the minor league writer for BaltimoreBaseball.com?
They talk about the Orioles selections – incidentally, I’ve spoken to several people who think Cortes legitimately could be at the back of the 2018 rotation – and also what the draft meant to the organization’s depth, at Bowie and elsewhere.
This is mainly a minor leaguer podcast, but the three Rule 5 guys – and last year’s selection, outfielder Anthony Santander – have something to prove in big league camp this spring. They’ll definitely be worth watching for fans of the big league team.
So, tune in and listen to what Pohl and Jones have to say.
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Haha. Three players wow. Duquette has to do something right cause everything else he does you wish he did go to the blue jays. He is the biggest reason the O’s are declining ning and have no pitching