Orioles
O’s protect Tate from Rule 5 draft
Pitching prospect added
to 40-man roster; Vielma designated for assignment
Many of the Orioles’ prizes from their July teardown trades were dealt by their prior clubs with this week in mind — when they’d have to be added to the 40-man roster to be protected from the Rule 5 draft.
But only one remained to be added by Tuesday’s deadline — right-hander Dillon Tate,
Tate was protected Tuesday, ensuring the organization won’t lose him in next month’s Rule 5 draft and concluding what could have been a tense time roster-wise had the Orioles not done most of their work already.
Tate, 24, was one of a handful of players eligible for the Rule 5 draft from the July trades,
Additionally, reliever Branden Kline, 27, needed to be added,
All those machinations left Tate as the main candidate to be added by this deadline. A 2015 first-round pick of the Texas Rangers, Tate is in his third organization and was in the midst of a strong year at Double-A Trenton that earned him an Eastern League All-Star nod before the trade.
He ended up with a 4.16 ERA with a 1.21 WHIP and 96 strikeouts against 34 walks in 123 1/3 innings between the Yankees and Orioles organizations, failing to limit the big inning in Bowie. He started throwing after a period of down time along with Means as the club tried to cover its pitching crisis but shoulder soreness scuttled that.
Of the other eligible players to be added, catcher Martin Cervenka and left-hander Luis González had the best chance. Cervenka hit .258 with 15 home runs at Bowie after the Orioles made him a minor league Rule 5 pick last winter, but didn’t replicate that success in the Arizona Fall League this year. The fact that the organization re-signed him as a minor league free agent in September and sent him to the fall league says plenty about how much the Orioles like him — but it wasn’t enough to warrant a roster spot.
Now that the rosters are set ahead of the Rule 5 draft, the Orioles front office under new executive vice president-general manager Mike Elias will direct its attention to the No. 1 pick in that Dec. 13 draft. The 40-man roster remains full, but the club could choose to clear space by not tendering contracts to some of its arbitration-eligible players.