Day Four of the Winter Meetings

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. - The finish line is within sight. Get a full head of steam and run through the tape.

The Winter Meetings are almost over, with only the Rule 5 draft standing in the way. The hotel lobby and bar area were half full last night and the place will be deserted later this morning. The sound of crickets will make you think that you're camping in the woods.

The Orioles will leave here with at least one Rule 5 pick. I'm setting the over-under at four, counting the minor league phase of the draft. Otherwise, they probably will have to continue their search for an outfielder, veteran catcher and reliever outside of the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center.

Before you start to vent, this isn't unusual for the Orioles. You have only yourselves to blame for raising your expectations. They have mastered the art of letting the market play out and swooping in late in the process.

A hitter is going to fall to them or they're going to find a way to get one in a trade. They're paying close attention to Mark Trumbo and Edwin Encarnacion, for instance, while resisting the asking price from teams that want too much in return.

The Orioles apparently talked to the Yankees about Brett Gardner, but that one doesn't seem to have legs.

Manager Buck Showalter said he hadn't heard Gardner's name in "the room" this week and wondered if the Yankees would deal him to a division rival.

"They wouldn't trade with us," Showalter said. "Unless it was somebody they wanted to pass off on us. Tried that before."

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman told reporters that he would, in fact, trade within the division and referenced past discussions involving pitcher Ivan Nova.

The Orioles haven't given up on re-signing Matt Wieters, but he's on the clock. They can't wait until January while the rest of the free agent catchers come off the board. Welington Castillo and Nick Hundley, for instance, could be gone before the ball drops in Times Square.

At least we know that the Orioles are interested in Castillo and Hundley. They've been attached via the media to a few other players who, I've been told, aren't on their radar or their interest has been highly exaggerated.

"It's that time of year when there's a lot of rumors," said executive vice president Dan Duquette. "We get linked to a lot of players. We're trying to add to our outfield and catching and we're also looking for pitching depth all the time."

Some of it could come in today's draft. The Orioles pick 23rd, but could move up as other teams pass. Anyone with a full 40-man roster must sit this one out.

Also, the Orioles could prearrange a trade and grab an earlier selection, as they did with pitcher Jason Garcia at the 2014 Winter Meetings.

"That's always a possibility," Duquette said. "I think we're 23rd and if we see somebody we like, we've been able to make some deals where the player gets drafted a little bit higher and sent over via trade."

It's impossible to narrow down which positions the Orioles could address. They're all over the Rule 5 map.

"We're always looking for pitching depth and this year's team, we need catchers and outfielders," Duquette said.

The odds favor them taking more than one player.

"We'll have to see how the draft unfolds," Duquette said. "We have some flexibility in terms of adding some people."

At last check, the Orioles had 12 players who were still on their board.

"I'll take the best one that impacts us," Showalter said. "I know that's cliché, but the offensive player has got to be able to defend and/or run. He's got to bring something. Probably the defensive part of it is going to be big.

"A pitcher, you look at a bunch of them, they all have different risks and rewards. Some have performed at higher levels, some of them you roll the dice. For sure, we'll take somebody."

Among the Orioles minor leaguers left exposed in the draft, I think Triple-A Norfolk catcher Audry Perez is vulnerable. However, there's a buzz here that another catcher, Austin Wynns, could be chosen because he impressed scouts in the Arizona Fall League.