A look at the Rule 5 draft and which players O's might add to 40-man roster

The Rule 5 draft is the last event of the Winter Meetings and will take place on Dec. 11. Any player selected in this draft must remain on the selecting team's 25-man roster for the entire 2015 season or be offered back to his original club.

This is the draft where the Orioles got Ryan Flaherty three years ago and pitcher T.J. McFarland two years ago. The Orioles selected Michael Almanzar from Boston last year, sent him back and reacquired him, but he is now a minor league free agent.

Players are eligible for selection in the Rule 5 draft who are not on their major league organization's 40-man roster and:

* were signed at 19 or older and have been in the organization for four years; or

* were signed at 18 or younger and have been in the organization for five years.

All big league teams have until midnight Thursday to add players to their 40-man rosters. Any player not added by then will be eligible to be taken in the Rule 5 draft.

Here is a lengthy list of O's minor leaguers currently eligible to be taken in that draft:

Jeffries Almonte
Roderick Bernadina
Parker Bridwell
Bobby Bundy
Michael Burgess
Glynn Davis
Jason Esposito
David Freitas
Mychal Givens
Luis Gonzalez
Ivan Hernandez
Alvin Herrera
Matt Hobgood
Oswill Lartiguez
Ronarsy Ledesma
Williams Louico
Greg Lorenzo
Jason McCracken
Alexander Mercedes
Tanner Murphy
Bennett Parry
Jerome Pena
Pedro Perez
Jake Pettit
Marcel Prado
David Richardson
Garabez Rosa
Jose Rosario
Johnny Ruettiger
Alexander Santana
Wynston Sawyer
Janser Severino
Sammy Starr
Matt Taylor
Ashur Tolliver
Sebastian Vader
Brian Ward
Brenden Webb
Tyler Wilson
Mike Wright
Suk-min Yoon

The Orioles seem to be focusing on a list of as many as four or five players to add to their 40-man roster this week. That list includes Bridwell, Givens, Ward, Wilson and Wright.

The O's 40-man roster is at 33 right now and Chris Davis currently does not count against it. They have room to add several players.

In handicapping it, I would rank the list of five from most to least likely to get added this way: Wright, Wilson, Bridwell, Givens and Ward.

Wright was the O's minor league Pitcher of the Year in 2013. He struggled for a lot of this season at Triple-A Norfolk, but had a stunning finish, one where he pitched to an ERA of 0.76 with an average against of .176 in five August starts. He's got a power arm that could play in the future in either the rotation or in the late innings.

Wilson just keeps progressing and impressing, and this year he was the minor league Pitcher of the Year. Wilson's fastball gained some velocity this season, touching 94 mph and his secondary pitches improved. He pitched well at Double-A and Triple-A. Wilson combines talent with a tremendous work ethic and he has a lot of fans among the O's minor league staff. I expect to see him on the 40-man later this week.

Bridwell's stats were modest this year - he went 7-10 with a 4.45 ERA at Single-A Frederick - but he continues to have games that wow you. Like his late-season eight-inning one-hitter with 13 strikeouts and no walks for the Keys. With a fastball that touches the mid-90s and a changeup that is now a clear plus pitch, he could also find his way to the 40-man.

Givens is interesting, throwing a fastball that can touch the mid-90s from a low three-quarters arm slot that is almost sidearm. He converted from shortstop and this was just his second year on the mound. He pitches with heavy sink and the O's can envision a future late-inning groundball machine that will be very tough on right-handed batters but has enough potential with his secondary pitches to be more than a matchup, one-batter guy.

Ward has been the best defensive catcher in the O's minors for the last couple of years. He is considered plenty good enough to catch in the majors right now. But what about the bat? He is a career .237 minor league hitter and he turned 29 last month. But Ward has hit .355 in 15 winter ball games in the Dominican Republic. He is doing all he can to get 40-man consideration from the O's. Would another team take a chance on him as their backup catcher?

Three players that are among the Orioles' top prospects but do not yet have to be protected are pitchers Zach Davies and Branden Kline, and outfielder Dariel Alvarez. So they won't yet make the 40-man because they don't need to be added.

Several players that have been in the organization are currently minor league free agents. The O's may soon announce some minor league free agent signings. Anyone they would add would be eligible to be taken in the Rule 5.

Left-hander Chris Jones, who went 8-8 with a 3.61 ERA at Norfolk this year, is a player the Orioles are working to retain. They could announce his signing later this week. He is versatile and pitched as a starter and reliever for the Tides last season.

Yoon is still an Oriole, but was taken off the 40-man roster late last season. The Orioles signed Yoon to a three-year, $5.575 million deal in February, but he has yet to pitch in the majors and went 4-8 with a 5.74 ERA at Norfolk.

Yoon is scheduled to earn $1.75 million next season and $2.4 million in 2016, and the O's remain on the hook for that money. Another team could take Yoon in the Rule 5 draft, but it would inherit those same contract terms, so Yoon is unlikely to be taken in that draft.