The Orioles completed another Winter Meetings without selecting a player in the major league phase of the Rule 5 Draft.

It used to be tradition.

The club passed again with the 24^th pick in the first round, extending its streak to two consecutive years. The Orioles had a stretch of 18 drafts in a row with a selection prior to the 2023 Winter Meetings.

The most recent choice was reliever Andrew Politi, who returned to the Red Sox as a late camp cut.

The Orioles lost their No. 8 prospect today to the Padres, right-hander Juan Nuñez, who hasn’t pitched above High-A ball and appeared in only seven games this summer due to a shoulder injury.

The Orioles reinstated John Means from the injured list and he's starting tonight, his first in the majors since June 5. Outfielder Ryan McKenna was optioned again to Triple-A Norfolk as the corresponding roster move, again leaving the Orioles with a three-man bench. McKenna is 13-for-72 (.181) in 46 games. Norfolk could use an extra outfielder with Yusniel Diaz still unable to play due to turf toe. And the Orioles like having the extra bullpen arm, especially while they handle Means carefully...

Given an opportunity to re-examine the list of players assigned to the fall instructional league, I was bound to come across a few names that prompted me to say something like, "Oh, yeah, that guy." The judges also would have accepted, "I totally forgot about that guy." Pitcher Dan Hammer struck me first. The Orioles selected Hammer in the 13th round of the 2019 First-Year Player Draft out of the University of Pittsburgh. The name alone made him a good pick. It's the first thing we...

Hunter Harvey didn't warm in the bullpen last night, the Orioles falling behind by seven runs in the second inning and a high-leverage situation nowhere to be found. Dillon Tate got the call behind starter Ty Blach and responded with three scoreless innings. His first appearance in the majors without allowing a run. Last night marked only his fourth game, but he had permitted seven runs in six innings prior to the Orioles optioning him to Triple-A Norfolk. Tate returned yesterday with Shawn...

After selecting just two pitchers in 11 picks in the first two days of the draft, the Orioles went very heavy on college pitchers when the final day of the draft resumed at noon today. With their 20 selections so far this afternoon in rounds 11-30 they drafted 13 college right-handed pitchers and two college lefties. They added a first baseman, third baseman, two center fielders and one player just listed as an infielder. All 20 picks so far today have come from college. So through round 30,...