40 Man Roster

[Shorebirdfan]

Recently the Orioles topped off their 40 man roster adding Britton, Angle and Mahoney. They also left 5 spots on the poster opened. The rule 5 draft is just a week away (December 9th at the winter meetings) and the team left some pretty highly rated prospects vunerable in the draft. What does everyone think of the decision to leave players like Ryan Adams, Pedro Beato, Wynn Pelzer and others out there for the taking?

I read a blog for the Pirates, who have the first pick, stating they weren't sure what the Orioles were thinking in leaving so many players who would gather interest from other organizations out there for the taking.

[hsbaseballcoach]

I think the rules of the rule 5 draft work in the O's favor. I think the players left open by the Orioles would not stick with a big club for the entire year. I would categorize all of them as mid-level prospects at best with Pelzer being the only one that I would have protected. I would not be surprised if any of the players you mentioned were taken, but very surprised if they were not offered back to the O's.

[Don]

Years ago pitchers could get stashed in the bullpen and may or may not have produced in the future as a key player. In today's game of specialized LOOGY, two long men, seven power, setup, and closer, the chance of hiding bullpen arms is slim. It forces teams to go one short and unless you have three starters that eat up 7 innings an outing, those rule 5 stashers have to be used.

I suspect that one or two players gets picked up and barely makes it out of spring training. I give it best of end of May where the player is back in the Orioles system.

[hsbaseballcoach]

I think Pelzer should have been protected and could stick as a middle-long guy with the potential of being the set-up man in an organization. The rest are too far away in my opinion.