With the deadline approaching on Friday to add players to the 40-man roster in order to protect them from the Rule 5 Draft, the Orioles added a group of top prospects, six to be exact.
These players include DL Hall, Kyle Bradish, Felix Bautista, Logan Gillispie and Terrin Vavra.
It is clear that Mike Elias made sure to protect some of his best pitching in the system, while also leaving a plethora of great players off the 40-man. Some of these players are certainly in danger of being picked up in the Rule 5 Draft, including Robert Neustrom, Cadyn Grenier and Adam Hall, among others.
With the acquisition of infielder Lucius Fox off waivers Friday afternoon, the 40-man currently sits at 39. As we have seen, Elias enjoys the Rule 5 Draft, so you can expect a couple other names to be dropped off the roster to make room for future acquisitions.
The biggest surprise of the night is the O’s not adding outfielder Robert Neustrom. Neustrom broke onto the scene last year in Norfolk, slashing .258/.344/.446 with a .790 OPS.
He showed some light tower power, which looks like it would translate beautifully to Camden Yards. To me, he is someone I can hardly believe won’t get picked up by another squad in this year’s draft.
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