It's an exciting day for the newest members of O's 40-man roster

That first call-up to the major leagues is always a very special day in any player's career. But a big day that comes before that is when a player is added to the organization's 40-man roster for the first time.

It happened to three Orioles minor league pitchers today as the club added left-hander Chris Lee and right-handers Parker Bridwell and Andrew Triggs. This means none of the three can be lost in next month's Rule 5 draft and that all three will report with the rest of the big league pitchers to spring training in February in Sarasota, Fla.

While Triggs and Lee were added in trades this year, Bridwell has pitched in the O's organization for six seasons since he was drafted in Round 9 in 2010 out of a Texas high school. He was ranked as the Orioles' No. 22 prospect at the end of the 2014 season by Baseball America.

Bridwell said he found out he was getting added to the roster during a phone call with Orioles director of minor league operations Kent Qualls.

"I thanked him about 10,000 times, I think," Bridwell said. "I honestly don't remember the whole thing. It's kind of a blur - I was so excited. The feeling is indescribable. It's just another step toward my dream coming true. I'm really happy that the Orioles have stuck with me and they believe in me. I'm ready to prove myself more than people think I can."

Bridwell went 4-5 with a 3.99 ERA in 18 starts at Double-A Bowie this year. His season ended a month early due to elbow tendinitis. He got a platelet-rich plasma injection from Dr. James Andrews on Aug. 3 and then rehabbed for about six weeks in Sarasota.

"I'm good," Bridwell said of his elbow. "I'm resting until I start throwing in December. I was on a rehab program down in Sarasota. Right now, it feels great. I'm not worried about it at all."

Lee began the year pitching in the Houston organization and then was traded to the Orioles on May 18 for two international bonus slots. He wasn't moving very fast in the Astros system, but pitched for both Single-A Frederick and Bowie with the Orioles.

With a fastball that touches the mid-90s, Lee went 3-6 with a 3.07 ERA in 14 starts with Frederick and 4-2 with a 3.08 ERA in seven starts for Bowie.

"It is an unbelievable feeling and I'm blessed to have an opportunity to get one step closer to my dreams," Lee said this afternoon. "This is a classy organization. I love the team and there is not one bad thing I can say about this organization. I'm happy to be an Oriole."

Lee said it was a bit jarring at first to be traded by the team that drafted him in Round 4 in 2011.

"At first, it was a little shocking," he said. "But I felt I was moving a little slower than I should have been with Houston. Once I got traded, I put this new jersey on and wanted to make sure to make the best of it and make some strides. They (the Orioles) took me in like I was with them from the start of the year. They made me feel like family from the first day I got to Frederick."

Triggs, who pitches from a low three-quarters arm slot, was also acquired by the club in a trade this year. It was a cash transaction at the very end of spring training with Kansas City.

"It was pretty wild," Triggs said. "It was the last day of spring training and I got a call to come back to the complex. I was just about to head to Northwest Arkansas, the Royals' Double-A affiliate. Then they told me I was traded and heading to Bowie."

He pitched very well for the Baysox as a multi-inning reliever early in the year and a closer later in the season when Mychal Givens was called to Baltimore.

The 26-year-old Triggs went 0-2 with a 1.03 ERA and 70 strikeouts to 11 walks in 61 innings. He went 17-for-17 in save opportunities. He posted the lowest walks per nine innings at 1.48 and ranked fifth with a 10.33 strikeouts per nine innings among Eastern League relievers.

It looks like that trade to Baltimore is working out for Triggs. He joined a Bowie team that went on to the league championship and today joins the O's 40-man roster.

"This is an important next step in my career," Triggs said. "I realize it is not anything close to achieving the goal we are all chasing but it's exciting and I'm thrilled and honored to have the opportunity to keep it going with the Orioles. It is a nice validation of a good year. Thrilled the Orioles have given me this opportunity."

Bridwell photo by Bill Vaughan; Triggs photo by Bert Hindman