Time for Orioles to choose in Triple-A phase of Rule 5 draft

Baseball's lockout and the slamming of brakes on offseason business only impacts the major league side. The minors are proceeding as usual, with their Winter Meetings in Orlando going along uninterrupted.

And largely in silence.

If an event is held and no one is there, does it make a sound?

It used to be for the minor league people anyway. The majors crashed the party and took over, with media descending upon the hotel site and crowding the lobby area while team executives worked trades, signed free agents, and waded through reporters and rumors.

The Triple-A phase of the Rule 5 draft will be held this afternoon, finally getting the stage to itself - though a virtual one. The draft will be conducted via teleconference beginning at 2 p.m.

Clubs can't make selections with a full 38-player Triple-A roster. Just as they couldn't participate in the major league portion with a full 40-man.

Don't be fooled by the Triple-A designation. Players eventually can be assigned to any level of the system after the claim, which costs $24,500.

As noted in a recent Baseball America article, five of the 56 players selected in last year's minor league Rule 5 reached the majors and 16 appeared in Triple-A games.

The Orioles made three picks last year - pitchers Rickey Ramirez and Ignacio Feliz and catcher Chris Hudgins. The chose outfielder Cristopher Céspedes and infielder Wilbis Santiago from the Indians in 2019.

Céspedes, 23, hit a combined .241/.306/.432 with 24 doubles, a triple, 15 home runs and 67 RBIs in 99 games between Single-A Delmarva and Aberdeen. He's exposed again in the Rule 5 draft.

Back in 2017, the Orioles selected catcher Martin Cervenka from the Giants and lost catcher Yermín Mercedes to the White Sox. In 2018, they took hard-throwing reliever Taylor Grover from the Reds with the first pick in the Triple-A phase after Rob Friedman, known on Twitter as the "Pitching Ninja," posted video of the right-hander throwing 102 mph over the summer.

A lat injury limited Grover to 12 games with Double-A Bowie in 2019, but he's making a comeback, with Friedman again sharing video of him bringing some serious heat during a recent side session.

The Orioles gave Grover a $10,000 bonus and later covered the cost of his lat surgery, but he became a free agent again and remains on the market. I wrote about him here three years ago.

At the 2016 Winter Meetings in National Harbor, Md., the Orioles selected pitchers Jefri Hernandez from the Reds and Brian Moran from the Braves before returning home - the latter a nephew of former outfielder and minor league instructor B.J. Surhoff. Moran was released four months later and pitched for the Blue Jays and Marlins in 2020.

Moran made 53 relief appearances with Triple-A Durham this summer and had a 2.16 ERA and 0.860 WHIP with 29 hits allowed and 65 strikeouts in 50 innings.

Pitching remains a likely target for the Orioles this afternoon and it's probably a smart idea to check on Astros connections to executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias.

For example, right-handers Nick Hernandez, an eighth-round pick in 2016 out of the University of Houston, and Devin Conn, a 19th-round pick in 2018 out of Nova Southeastern (Fla.) University.

Hernandez, who turns 27 later this month, appeared in 32 games with Double-A Corpus Christi this summer and posted a 1.67 ERA and 1.037 WHIP, with six saves, 28 walks and 68 strikeouts in 54 innings. Opponents batted .147 against him this year, with just 28 hits allowed in 56 innings, including two scoreless frames with Triple-A Sugar Land.

He has a career 2.67 ERA and 1.151 WHIP with 206 strikeouts in 172 innings, making 113 relief appearances and one start.

Conn, 24, attended Stoneman-Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., which also produced Orioles third base prospect Coby Mayo. He registered a 4.91 ERA and 1.091 WHIP this summer in 13 relief appearances with Single-A Asheville and a 2.67 ERA and 1.040 WHIP in 21 appearances with Corpus Christi, and he averaged 9.2 strikeouts per nine innings for the season.

In 80 minor league games, Conn owns a 3.58 ERA and 1.217 WHIP and averages 9.2 strikeouts and 0.7 home runs allowed per nine innings.

The Orioles need to address their catching depth, as well, and the Rule 5 draft is one avenue. They're going to grab a couple via free agency.