On the day of the deadline to protect prospects from being selected in the Rule 5 draft, the Orioles made more subtractions from their 40-man roster than additions to it.

Ahead of Tuesday evening’s deadline, Baltimore added no minor leaguers to its 40-man roster, meaning all eligible players will be available to other teams in next month’s Rule 5 draft. None of the Orioles’ top 30 prospects, according to Baseball America, were left exposed.

Instead, Baltimore’s only roster moves Tuesday were outrighting utility player Terrin Vavra and left-hander Tucker Davidson to Triple-A Norfolk, leaving four openings on the 40-man roster. Vavra made the Orioles’ opening day roster, batting .245 with no extra-base hits in 27 major league games, but missed much of the year with a right shoulder injury. Davidson was claimed off waivers from the Kansas City Royals last month and agreed to terms on a contract last week that established his salary for any time spent in the minors.

Generally, players drafted out of high school or signed as international amateurs in 2019 or drafted out of college in 2020 are eligible for this year’s Rule 5 draft. Held at the end of the winter meetings, the draft allows teams to acquire players who aren’t on other organizations’ 40-man rosters, though selecting teams must keep those players in the majors all season or otherwise offer them back to their original club. Orioles outfielder Anthony Santander and right-hander Tyler Wells are former Rule 5 selections.

The Orioles had few players they needed to protect because most significant players who would have been eligible for the first time this winter are already on the 40-man roster, including Gunnar Henderson, Heston Kjerstad and Jordan Westburg. Baltimore’s fifth-round pick in 2019 out of a Texas high school, infielder Darell Hernaiz, was added Tuesday to the 40-man roster of the Oakland Athletics, who acquired Hernaiz for pitchers Cole Irvin and Kyle Virbitsky last offseason.

The most notable player the the Orioles left unprotected was outfielder Hudson Haskin, their second-round pick in 2020 who underwent season-ending surgery on his left hip in July. Right-handers Jean Pinto, acquired from the Los Angeles Angelos for shortstop José Iglesias in December 2020, and Ryan Watson, an undrafted free agent after the 2020 shortened draft who was Baltimore’s 2022 Minor League Pitcher of the Year, are also eligible for the first time.

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Haphazard shooting has defined a disastrous 4-9 start to the season for the Chicago Bulls. Every main rotational player is shooting well below their averages from last season — except Alex Caruso.

The Bulls typically lean on Caruso as a defensive specialist. But he also the hottest hand on the floor at any given time the season, shooting at 63.2% clip from the field.

That accuracy extends to long range. Caruso is 50% on 3-pointers, averaging 1.5 through 13 games. And while Zach LaVine (2.5) and Coby White (1.6) post slightly higher volumes of makes, it’s clear Caruso is the most reliable shooter from deep.

This is easily the best start Caruso has had in his career. The guard is a strong shooter, averaging 43.7% from the field and 37.2% from 3-point range in his career. But Caruso entered Saturday’s game against the Miami Heat at the United Center sixth in the league in true shooting percentage.

Caruso credits the sudden spike in his shooting to a new mindset.

“This is probably the most unattached to results that I’ve been in my life basketball-wise as far as shots going in or out,” Caruso said. “And that’s probably why I’m making most of them.”

The Bulls need this level of fearlessness to overcome a sense of timidity that dominates their style of play — especially in the first half. After Friday’s 103-97 loss to the Orlando Magic, forward DeMar DeRozan described the team as “shooting like we’re trying not to miss” and “playing like we’re trying not to make a mistake.”

The result is an offense that is shooting 44% from the field — a 5% drop from last season — resulting in 2.6 fewer makes despite taking 3.9 more attempts per game.

But Caruso isn’t afraid to take a shot. He boldly steps into 3-pointers, firing with a newfound abandon that only has built his confidence.

“There’s a part of me that doesn’t care,” Caruso said. “If I’m open, I shoot it. I’m playing basketball, competing to win. If it’s the right shot, take it. Trust the work. I worked really hard this summer and this preseason and during the season. There’s no reason not to shoot them.”

Caruso continued his sharp shooting Friday when he moved into the starting lineup, scoring 18 points while going 4-for-5 from behind the 3-point arc.

The starting power forward position has been a constant quandary for the Bulls. This is coach Billy Donovan’s second adjustment to the rotation after replacing Patrick Williams with Torrey Craig in the second week of the season.

Caruso isn’t even a power forward. He’s one of the taller guards on the roster at 6-foot-5, but he’s still often asked to guard players who /are several inches taller. Caruso is a wily defender who typically can keep the oversized matchups off their rhythm, but playing small ball requires the Bulls to rely more heavily on their defensive rotations in critical moments — something they’ve failed to do this season.

And for Caruso, there’s an added physical element being asked to play bigger than his size. He embraces the challenge. But it’s still a realistic concern for the Bulls, who have lost Caruso for extended periods because of injury over the last two seasons.

After Friday’s loss, Donovan didn’t commit to whether Caruso would become a permanent starter. And Caruso expressed the same ambivalence.

“I think tonight is just the first instance of trying out me starting and finding the minutes that work for me and the team,” Caruso said. “(It’s an) ongoing process. We’ll see if there are adjustments moving forward.”

But whether he’s coming off the bench or suiting up as a starter, it’s clear Caruso currently holds the greatest game-changing sway on the Bulls roster.

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Class 3A

Stewartville 28, Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton 7: Parker Wangen saw five targets Saturday, which he turned into five catches for 90 yards and two touchdowns, as Stewartville quarterback Ayden Helder completed 13 of his 19 passing attempts and improved his touchdown to interception ratio to 40 to 2.

Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton tied the game at 7-7 late in the first half on a 1-yard scoring plunge from Caleb Johnson, but Stewartville claimed the lead for good in the third on a 32-yard interception return from Mikhail Heydt.

Annandale 24, Dassel-Cokato 14: Annandale ran for 223 yards as Connor Lampi and Nick Walter went over 100 yards.

Walter ran for 103 yards and threw for 185 yards and a score as Annandale tallied 401 yards of total offense, converting on 11 of 16 third-down conversions.

Annandale (12-0) will meet Stewartville in the Class 3A title game at 1 p.m. on Nov. 25.

Monte Gillman ran for 116 yards and a touchdown for Dassel-Cokato (10-2).

Class A

Springfield 36, Mahnomen-Waubun 12: Carter Olson reeled in seven catches for 136 yards and a score as Springfield downed Mahnomen-Waubun (11-1).

Springfield (12-1) scored the game’s first 36 points. Jakob Nachreiner threw for 209 yards and two scores, while Ashton Toll ran for two touchdowns.

Springfield won the turnover battle five to two.

Minneota 63, Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa 6: Ryan Meagher ran for 183 yards and four scores, as Minneota compiled 370 rushing yards as a team Saturday.

Ryan Dalager threw for 182 yards and two scores, as Minneota (13-0) outgained Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa (11-1) by a 593-81 margin. Minneota possessed the ball for nearly 42 minutes.

Minneota will meet Springfield in the Class A title game on Nov. 24 at 10 a.m. That will be a rematch of last year’s state title bout, which Minneota won 38-21.

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President Joe Biden directed top officials to prepare visa bans and sanctions for extremist Israeli settlers attacking and displacing Palestinians in the West Bank, according to an internal document read to POLITICO.

The Cabinet memo, sent to senior aides like Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Friday, orders their agencies “to develop policy options for expeditious action against those responsible for the conduct of violence in the West Bank.”

A senior U.S. official read sections of the memo to POLITICO on Saturday evening shortly after Biden published an op-ed in The Washington Post revealing his intentions for such a move. “The United States is prepared to take our own steps, including issuing visa bans against extremists attacking civilians in the West Bank,” he wrote in the op-ed.

The directive comes as the Biden administration aims to show that it’s supporting Palestinian civilians in need, even as it staunchly defends Israel’s retaliation against Hamas, and while members of the president’s party seek conditions on military aid to Washington’s ally.

The targets for reprimands are broadly defined in the memo. They include people or entities that “have directly or indirectly engaged in actions or policies that threaten the security or stability of the West Bank,” take “actions that intimidate civilians in the West Bank with the purpose or effect of forcing displacement actions in the West Bank,” or make moves “that constitute human rights abuses or violations and actions that significantly obstruct, disrupt or prevent efforts to achieve a two-state solution.”

The memo notes that Biden sees the settler-violence issue as a “serious threat” to peace among Israelis and Palestinians and destabilizing throughout the Middle East.

The decision to issue the directive came after intense debate on the topic, with national security adviser Jake Sullivan and deputy Jon Finer offering their direct input during a dedicated internal process, the official said.

POLITICO has not seen the memo, and the official was granted anonymity to read from a sensitive internal document. The White House declined to comment.

Israeli settlers have been moving into the West Bank for years, and incidents of violence were already growing after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu returned to power nearly a year ago. But the intensity of the long-running issue has grown since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people.

Yesh Din, an Israeli rights group, reports that 197 Palestinians in the West Bank have been killed by settlers or Israeli forces since Oct. 7. The United Nations reports that, in the same time frame, at least 121 Palestinian households — about 1,150 people, including 452 children — have been displaced by settler violence and access restrictions.

Daily incidents of settler violence rose from three a day earlier this year to seven since the attacks, per the United Nations. About 11 Palestinian communities have been completely abandoned in 2023 alone, according to the West Bank Protection Consortium, six of them since Hamas’ assault.

Biden has often condemned the rise in violence. “I continue to be alarmed about extremist settlers attacking Palestinians in the West Bank,” he said in October, equating the attacks to “pouring gasoline on fire.”

“They’re attacking Palestinians in places that they’re entitled to be, and it has to stop. They have to be held accountable,” Biden added.

On Friday, Blinken urged the Israeli government to confront “rising levels of settler extremist violence” during a call with Israeli war cabinet member Benny Gantz.

The president initially stood firmly behind Israel, saying it needed to strike back at the militant group in Gaza. Later, the administration faced pressure to alleviate the growing humanitarian crisis, eventually working with regional partners to get aid into Gaza for its 2.3 million residents starved of food, water, fuel and medical attention.

That was too little too late for some Biden voters who say they won’t pull the lever for him in 2024 over this Israel-Hamas policy.

Pressure from within Biden’s party is also mounting in Congress. Two Democrats on Thursday, Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Rep. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.), sent a letter urging him to do more to curb settler violence.

Progressives want the administration to call for a cease-fire in the war that has killed more than 11,000 people in Gaza, according to Hamas-led Gaza health authorities. Mainstream Democrats in the Senate and House are quietly discussing how to impose conditions on future military aid to Israel.

On Saturday evening, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who this week held a lunch for Senate Democrats to discuss the war, said he