More from Duquette and the Rule 5 roster deadline

Executive vice president Dan Duquette joked last night at the open of the "Hot Stove Show" on 105.7 The Fan that he'd reveal the Orioles' offseason plans.

"Yeah, I can tell you what we're going to do," he said. "We're going to have another good team next year like we do every year."

You're not getting any specifics on trade or free agent discussions. This will have to suffice.

Duquette mentioned again that he's pleased with the depth of the pitching staff "and a little bit more certainty and quality on the staff going into the season, so that's something that we haven't had here.

"I like the pitching going into the season and that's always a good place to start."

Duquette stated again that catching is "on our shopping list." He's preparing for Matt Wieters to change teams, though the door hasn't slammed shut on a return.

"We do like the depth that we have throughout the organization," Duquette said. "Don't forget that we have Chance Sisco, who's a .322 lifetime hitter and .400 on-base capability who did pretty well at Double-A and went to Triple-A at the end of the year and showed some power to the opposite field.

"We have all them in the organization. We can look for a bridge catcher if you will, but I like a lot of people that we have in-house and I like the fact that we have a couple right-handed hitting catchers in (Caleb) Joseph and (Francisco) Pena. And Audry Perez has been a good organization catcher and has done a nice job with the pitchers."

Duquette also mentioned Austin Wynns, who's playing in the Arizona Fall League. He referred to Sisco, 21, as "the wild card," a left-handed bat that would pair nicely with Joseph if he's ready defensively.

Has Sisco progressed behind the plate to the point where he'd be a serious consideration in 2017?

"I think he's a work in progress with his defense," Duquette replied. "He handles the pitchers pretty well. And what we're finding from the metrics is that your left hand is as important as your right hand and probably more important as you receive the ball and frame the pitches.

"Sisco has good leadership ability. He has quick feet and he's got a good arm, although he's going to need to improve his release times. But his on-base capability, his ability to hit, those are all pluses that he has going into the season.

"Caleb Joseph didn't have a very good year this year. Let's face it. He's always had a good year with the bat, but this year for whatever reason, he didn't produce like he has in the past. He's going to need to show that he can swing the bat like he has."

Duquette closed the catcher discussion by saying again that he'd like to sign or trade for a veteran.

The Yankees traded Brian McCann to the Astros, who no longer are in play for Wieters. Industry speculation has the Braves turning their attention to Jason Castro, which could further reduce the market for Wieters.

"There's a number of teams looking for catching and there are some catchers who are available on the trade market in addition to the free agent market," Duquette said. "There's actually quite a few teams looking for catching, so it will be interesting to see how the catching market shakes out.

"Matt Wieters did a nice job for us for a number of years, but we didn't think it was prudent to make the qualifying offer. I mean, $17.2 million is a lot of money, OK? The top 10 percent of the players get that kind of money and that's a lot of money to invest into a player, and we can use that money elsewhere to staff our team. And the fact that we have catching depth is good. That does gives us some foundation going into the season."

I couldn't resist bringing up agent Casey Close and whether any bridges were burned following his Twitter tirade in the spring aimed at the Orioles and the local media regarding Dexter Fowler.

"I saw Casey Close out in Arizona at the GM meetings last week," Duquette said. "You've got to hand it to him, I think he made the right call for his client. The market was a little soft for his client there. At least, Casey thought it was soft. He went back into the free agent market. The kid had a good year. He has another qualifying offer with him, so it will be interesting to see how the market goes.

"Fowler had a good year and I think Casey felt they made the right call for his client by taking the one-year deal and going back to the Cubs. He had a good year with them, got to play center field. Now he's back out on the market.

"So I didn't answer your question about whether we were going to sign him."

No, but the admission drew a hearty laugh. I had to concede defeat.

Back during his Brewers scouting days, Duquette tried to sign Close out of the Cape Cod League. They have a history besides some harsh words in spring training.

"I got to know Casey," Duquette said. "He's from a good family and he's a bright guy, very competitive. I don't understand why he did last year, say some of the things that he said, but business is business and it's time to move on."

The Orioles have reached the deadline today for protecting their eligible players in the Rule 5 draft. I stress "eligible," because Sisco can stay off the 40-man roster without exposure to the Rule 5. However, the same trio I've written about previously appears the most likely to be added to it - Bowie pitchers Jesus Liranzo, Stefan Crichton and Jimmy Yacabonis.

No other players from the organization can be placed on the 40-man after the deadline. However, the same rule doesn't apply to players outside of it.

MASNsports.com's Steve Melewski recently published a partial list of Rule 5 eligibles:

P - Cristian Alvarado
IF - Ricardo Andujar
OF - Conor Bierfeldt
P - Stefan Crichton
OF - Glynn Davis
P - Joe Gunkel
P - Francisco Jimenez
P - Jon Keller
P - Branden Kline
P - Jesus Liranzo
IF - Adrian Marin
C - Yermin Mercedes
C - Austin Wynns
P - Jimmy Yacabonis
OF - Mike Yastrzemski
P - Michael Zouzalik

Keep in mind that the Orioles could leave players exposed that they really like, but feel won't get claimed or stay on a major league roster the entire 2017 season. Also know that the Orioles will claim someone to maintain their streak.

Kline and Yastrzemski are two of the more interesting names on the eligible list. Kline is a former second-round pick out of the University of Virginia who, at last check, was making a speedy recovery from ligament-reconstructive surgery on his right elbow. Yastrzemski was making a hasty climb up the organizational ladder before batting .221/.312/.369 this summer in 94 games at Norfolk.

Yastrzemski's agent contacted Duquette yesterday in an attempt to get a read on the Orioles' intentions.

The Orioles had 33 players on their 40-man roster after outrighting left-handed reliever Jed Bradley on Nov. 8.

Duquette noted that the deadline is 8 p.m., but he's hoping to have the roster set no later than 5 p.m.