Breaking down the Orioles' possible Rule 5 protections

The obvious choices are just that. But as the Orioles look to keep their top minor league talent in the organization, are there any Félix Bautista or Logan Gillaspie types lurking in the background?

No need for a big preamble here. The deadline to add players to a club’s 40-man roster or risk losing them in next month’s Rule 5 draft is Tuesday evening, and any player in the Orioles organization who made his professional debut before 2019 and was older than 19 years old at the time or who debuted before 2018 and was 18 or younger at the time is eligible.

Since I no longer have to meet an editor’s standards for explaining the Rule 5 draft, we’ll end it there. The Orioles have six roster spots available to add players, and only half as many no-brainers. As for the rest of them?

Please enjoy the only Orioles’ roster protection primer you’ll need this week.