Orioles don’t take any players in Rule 5 draft; Nuñez selected by Padres

DALLAS—For the second straight season, the Orioles did not make a selection in the Rule 5 draft at the Winter Meetings. They did lose right-handed pitcher Juan Nuñez, their eighth-ranked prospect, according to MLB Pipeline. Nuñez was drafted by the San Diego Padres.

Nuñez, who came to the Orioles in August 2022 from Minnesota in the deal that sent reliever Jorge López to the Twins, must remain on the Padres’ major league roster all season or be offered back to the Orioles.

The 24-year-old right-hander has never pitched above High-A. In 2024, he was 2-1 with a 2.45 ERA in seven games, four starts for Aberdeen.

The Orioles lost six players in the Triple-A phase of the draft:  Right-handed pitchers Tyler Burch (Colorado), Dan Hammer (Tampa Bay), Jean Pinto (Houston) and Zach Peek (Milwaukee) and outfielders John Rhodes (Los Angeles Dodgers) and Elio Prado (Philadelphia).

The Orioles did not select any players. The Orioles and Texas Rangers were the only teams that didn’t select players in either the major or Triple-A portion of the Rule 5 draft.

Burch, who was acquired from Philadelphia in July 2021 in exchange for infielder Freddy Galvis, was injured for most of last season and allowed a run on two hits in four innings for Surprise in the Arizona Fall League.

Hammer was the Orioles’ 13^th-round pick by Pittsburgh in 2019 and went 3-2 with a 4.67 ERA in 32 games for Double-A Bowie and Aberdeen this season.

Pinto was acquired in December 2020 from the Los Angeles Angels in a trade for infielder Jose Iglesias. He did not pitch this season because of injuries and was 3-2 with a 3.10 ERA in 22 games for Bowie and Aberdeen in 2023.

Peek, who came to the Orioles along with Kyle Bradish in the trade for Dylan Bundy in December 2019, was rehabbing from Tommy John surgery had a 4.02 ERA in eight games for Bowie and Single-A Delmarva.

Rhodes was the Orioles’ third-round pick in 2021. Last season, he hit .202 with eight home runs and 47 RBIs in 104 games for Bowie.

Prado came to the Orioles in the July 2019 trade with Boston for starting pitcher Andrew Cashner. He hit .223 with four homers and 31 RBIs for Aberdeen.

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