General managers come and go, but for the Orioles, the Rule 5 draft is forever. The new Mike Elias regime took the opportunity of having the #1 pick in Thursday’s draft to add a new hopeful O’s contributor, selecting shortstop Richie Martin from the Athletics organization.
Martin, who turns 24 later this month, was drafted by the Athletics with the #20 pick in the 2015 draft. That’s five spots ahead of a current Oriole, outfielder DJ Stewart. The righty-batting Florida product never posted an OPS higher than .700 in any of his first three minor league seasons, which may be why the Athletics felt like they didn’t need to add him to their 40-man roster to protect him from the draft as he became eligible this year.