The Houston Astros will wait until near the end of the line to select in the Rule 5 Draft at MLB’s Winter Meetings in Nashville on Wednesday.

The order has the Astros selecting No. 25, as the order is determined by reverse order of record in the 2023 season.

The Rule 5 Draft has a Major League phase and a minor league phase. Most fans pay attention to the MLB phase, as it tends to include highly-regarded prospects who haven’t made it to a 40-man roster yet.

The Astros don’t have to make a selection. But they do have to have room on their roster to make one. And Houston does, as it has 38 players on its 40-man roster entering the meetings.

Players signed at age 18 or younger need to be added to their club’s 40-Man roster within five seasons or they become eligible for the Rule 5 Draft. Players who signed at age 19 or older need to be protected within four seasons.

For the Astros, that means two notable players are at risk of being selected. Outfielder Justin Dirden and shortstop Shay Whitcomb fit the criteria but were not moved to the Astros’ 40-man roster at the tender deadline.

The Astros last lost a player in the Major League portion in 2020 when the Los Angeles Angels selected pitcher José Alberto Rivera. But, the Angels returned him to the Astros the following March.

Teams that pick a player must pay $100,000 to the club from which the player was selected. Those players must also be moved to the team’s 26-man roster. If that team doesn’t keep the player, he must be placed on outright waivers and offered back to his former team for $50,000.

The last time the Astros selected a player in the Major League phase was in 2014, when they selected pitcher Jason Garcia from the Boston Red Sox. The Astros later traded him to Baltimore.

The last time the Astros selected a player and kept him was 2012 when they picked pitcher Josh Fields from Boston. He pitched for the Astros for three seasons.

The Astros hope they don’t lose Dirden, as it would further sap the organization’s depth in the outfield after they traded Drew Gilbert and Ryan Clifford at the deadline to re-acquire Justin Verlander.

Rule 5 Draft Order