What will the Baltimore Orioles do in the Rule 5 draft?

There are all kinds of rumors swirling around the Baltimore Orioles, and luckily not one of them involves Dan Duquette going to Toronto – any longer, that is. With Toronto announcing that their current GM is going to remain in that position for next season, I think that matter has been put to bed – again, for now. Don’t be surprised if it pops up again, potentially next year. The hope of course is that Toronto chooses sometime before the winter meetings to announce this. Speaking of the winter meetings, one of the final acts of the week is today: The Rule 5 Draft.

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The O’s of course have had some decent success in the Rule 5, of course famously drafting Ryan Flaherty and TJ McFarland in various years. So the question is whether or not they’ll do the same this season. With two big roster spots now open (Cruz and Markakis’ slots), I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Orioles pick with greater urgency today than in the past. I could see them looking to get a utility outfielder, which is essentially what Nelson Cruz was when he wasn’t DHing.

There’s still a lot (the vast majority in fact) of off season left. Heck, many of these GM’s are going to be in San Diego through today and into tomorrow. So I wouldn’t think that a bona fide starter would be coming to the Orioles by way of the Rule 5 Draft. Duquette can still swing trades and sign free agents throughout the rest of the off season. The Orioles have been linked to Pittsburgh’s Travis Snider and Philadelphia’s Marlon Byrd. Neither would be  like having Nick Markakis in the outfield, but both would be decent pick ups in a sense. Byrd’s a seasoned veteran, and Snider has a decent upside.