In December, the Mets lost RHP Logan Verrett to the Orioles in the Rule 5 draft.
The loss wasn’t really unpredictable. The Mets had very few available spots on their 40-man roster, and they needed to add players to protect them from being lost in the Rule 5 draft.
The Mets chose to leave Verrett unprotected, and sure enough, he was selected by the Orioles, and for good reason. Verrett had proven to be a durable strike thrower, having reached Triple-A Las Vegas and winning 11 games in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League in 2014.
So far in Orioles Camp, Verrett has done everything he can to warrant a spot on their 25-man roster. He has a 1.50 ERA in eight appearances for Baltimore this spring, allowing only ten hits and one walk in 12 innings.
Their manager, Buck Showalter has been impressed with the 24-year-old right-handed pitcher, and MLB.com’s Brittany Ghiroli says of the two Rule 5 selections the Orioles made in 2014, Verrett is more likely to be retained.
“He’s been as advertised completely,” Showalter said of Verrett, according to Ghiroli. “I’m a little surprised he’s been just as advertised. Strike-thrower. The whole camp, I’ve been really surprised by the velocity.”
If the Orioles don’t place or keep Verrett on their 25-man roster, he has to be offered back to the Mets at a cost of $25,000, or half of what they paid to secure his rights in the Rule 5 draft.
For more on Verrett, go to MLB.com.
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