3:01pm: The O’s announced that both players have cleared waivers and been returned to their prior teams.
1:37pm: The Orioles have decided against carrying both of their Rule 5 selections from the December draft, GM Mike Elias told media members including Jon Meoli of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter). The departures of righties Brandon Bailey and Michael Rucker will open two 40-man roster spots.
It isn’t yet entirely clear whether these two hurlers have cleared waivers. Every other team in baseball will have (or has had) a chance to step into the O’s Rule 5 rights. If nobody places a claim, then they’ll be offered back to their prior teams — where they will not lock up a big-league roster spot unless and until they’re added.
The 25-year-old Bailey came over from the Astros organization after a strong 2019 season in which he pitched to a 3.30 ERA over 92 2/3 innings at the Double-A level with 10.0 K/9 and 4.0 BB/9. He had been selected with the second overall pick in the Rule 5 draft. The Orioles could’ve utilized him as a swingman in the majors this year but evidently didn’t see enough upside to merit the effort.
As for Rucker, who’s also 25, he’d be heading back to the Cubs. Last year, he transitioned into a full-time reliever, throwing 79 2/3 upper-minors innings over 36 appearances. Rucker carried a 4.18 ERA with a healthy combination of 10.5 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 on the season. He also threw five scoreless innings over three appearances in camp, with three strikeouts and a pair of free passes.
i dont think either allowed a run in spring training yet…Boston is probably going to claim at least one though.
whoops…Bailey did allow one in 4 innings.
Why would Boston claim one? It spring stats mattered to them, they wouldnt have cut hector Velazquez when they signed McHugh. Velazquez hadn’t allowed a run
Velazquez is also a 31 year old non prospect with next to no upside. Bailey is 6 years younger and there’s some upside. With Boston’s lack of solid rotation options due to injury and trade—they might just kick the tires. Really small gamble to take.
Funny you should mention Velazquez so soon before BAL gave him one of the Rule 5 pitchers’ roster spot.
While I agree Velazquez lacks much upside, his unspectacular floor will probably serve the Orioles better as they try to cover early- to mid-season innings without rushing their younger, more controllable arms.
Velasquez also has an option. I thought he was actually out of options. I agree with you.
Elias obviously liked our AAA arms (Kremer, Lowther, Akin, Baumann) more (or at least enough) that it didn’t make sense to try to force either rule 5 guy on the roster. Typically when a team like the Orioles has the #2 pick in the rule 5–they do try and keep the guy a little longer though.
With the long man spot in our bullpen up for grabs—I thought Bailey had the inside track prior to ST.
That fast? They must be going with Leblanc/Millone/Hess. That’s a pretty quick give up.
imagine being given up on un favor of that grouping.
I’m surprised. The rule 5 draft hasn’t produced much for us pitching wise over the years. I thought with the 26 man roster that one of those 2 guys would at the least break camp with the O’s. It’s challenging to keep a guy all year with a rotation that doesn’t project to go very deep into ball games but I thought we’d give it a go.
No hess is my guess. Means, Cobb, Woj, LeBlanc, Milone.
Probably not Hess, but Leblanc for sure and Milone fairly likely assuming he comes back from his injury in time to be ready for Opening Day. In the presser Elias talked about how the revised option rules (back to 15 days down instead of ten like the past few years) meant less roster flexibility. My guess is that he and Hyde looked at what pitchers would have to be released to make spots for Leblanc and Milone and decided that they would rather keep whoever they were looking at instead of the two Rule 5ers.
Yeah I get that. I just figured they’d let them throw for the most of ST. There wasn’t much to lose to give them every opportunity to prove that they could be an asset.
We’ve seen Hess get nuked for over a year now and he still occupies a 40 man slot. I thought we may try to keep Bailey or Rucker as a long man.
Hess is rubbish
Bailey has to be hurt; can’t imagine the O’s can’t use him
You’d think that would make him more valuable since they could stash him on the IL.
Not necessarily more valuable. He needs to be on the active roster for a certain number of days. Like Pedro Araujo and Anthony Santander—who missed so much time they needed to be on the roster for parts of 2 separate seasons in order to gain control to their rights. If the injury was really serious—I definitely would not see that as an advantage.
Quick trivia: The A’s traded Bailey to the Astros for Ramon Laureano #ThnxStros
*gasp* but they’re cheaters! you can’t thank them!
Surprised they got rid of Bailey he had good minors numbers. I guess they’d rather have Evan Phillips,Kohl Stewart and Asher Wojciechowski
I think the DJ Stewart recovery changed everything. He was a lock to open up the season on 60 day IL back in December. Now we might be mlb ready in early April
Still will have to add a pitcher to the 40 man. I highly doubt our #4 and #5 is currently on the 40. Unless of course the #4 and 5 choices are Kohl Stewart and David Hess. I wouldn’t expect Akin or Kremer to make the team. In any event I’d expect we will add one— if not two pitchers to the 40 man.
Branden Kline has looked pretty good so far. Maybe they’ll add him back to the 40 man.
Means, Cobb, LeBlanc, Wojciechowski, and Milone.
Milone and Leblanc have looked good too, but we’ll have to see how Stewart looks I guess. I’m sure one of those two will probably get one of these open spots, if not both.
We will also have to have a long man. One of Hess/Leblanc/Stewart/Milone will have to take that role as well.
Two big signings incoming! Boston better watch out. Baltimore wants their 4th place.
I guess the orioles felt that these two guys could actually help them win
I think having 2 young enexperienced pitchers that have to stay all season is big burden to place on your team. Idk why they returned them so soon though unless theres a penalty I’m unaware of
No penalty. They paid 100K to draft the guy. They get 50K if the original team wants the player back. Amount doesn’t change no matter when that player is offered back to his original club.
I agree, I having having 2 young inexperienced pitchers that have to stay on the MLB team all season seems like a big burden on the team and also a burden on the 2 young inexperienced pitchers.
I’d claim Bailey if he hasn’t already cleared. Hope Detroit gives him a chance.
Now is a good time to sign Cashner. Last year he was our best pitcher until he got traded. He was 9-3 with a era of 3.83 and he likes it there.
The Orioles already have 4 x 30+ year olds filling out their rotation. Why spend money on Cashner? Is he what the teams needs to make the playoffs? Or will the handful of extra wins he provide hurt their draft position?
You know something everyone else doesn’t? Because milone is injured, isn’t on the 40 man roster and has thrown 2 innings this spring. I wouldn’t pencil him in as a starter for the full season. Cashner isn’t a crazy idea. I doubt we go down that road but it’s not as if it wouldn’t make sense.
Eh-hem…”Elias cited roster constraints and the 2020 rule changes — the 13-pitcher limit for active rosters, the longer 15-day Minor League option period for pitchers and the new three-batter minimum — as reasons for the club’s decision to return Bailey and Rucker.
“Just in terms of getting down to decision time here in camp, we wanted to boil it down to the pitchers that we think we’re gonna be able to carry all year,” Elias said.”
From https://www.mlb.com/orioles/news/orioles-adley-rutschman-minor-league-camp
One of the worst records in MLB and he’s worrying about “roster constraints’….
Years ago the Pirates were awful for a while, and their GM said his biggest goal for the Winter Meetings was to find a LH backup catcher. To which someone (might have been Gammons, who was a bit more honest back then) wrote “Ya, a LH backup catcher….and 5 starting pitchers, 7 relievers, and 7 hitters”……
Elias obviously knows a lot about Bailey, and wasn’t impressed. And again, these decisions get made often based on stuff that’s not on the back of the baseball card. We’ll know more if anybody claims him.
OOps, guess nobody did.
Angels need pitchers, any pitchers. These guys will do, as long as they are breathing and can throw a ball without pain.
Thought Bailey was in for sure
“Hard No.”
Yours truly,
Orioles