Hello, friends.
There are now 109 days remaining until Orioles Opening Day 2026. The next few of these days will be taken up by baseball’s annual winter meetings, during which time potentially nothing important
will happen, or just as potentially, one or more deals could come together that have a big impact on the shape of the roster next season. That could take the form of the Orioles themselves doing something, or another team getting a player who many people hoped the Orioles might pursue.
Also coming over the next few days will be the draft lottery for the 2026 draft, as well as the Rule 5 draft. The Orioles have the fourth-best odds, around 9%, of getting the #1 pick in next year’s draft. That’s a sign of how much this past season sucked. Maybe something good will come of it.
As for the Rule 5, Mike Elias hasn’t bothered for several years since the O’s had a whiff of being a better team. I’d be surprised to see him change that up this year. At this moment, it would take extra work to even be able to make a pick. That’s because the Orioles 40-man roster is full. You need an open spot to pick. There’s some 40-man flotsam, but less than there used to be. However, he could still see some talent plucked away, if teams want to take a chance on eligible players who were not protected by Elias. Prospect heads may have some level of anxiety regarding players like Jud Fabian, Alex Pham, and Creed Willems.
It could be that not much will happen for any team at the winter meetings. A couple of years ago, the biggest move to come out of the winter meetings was the Orioles signing Craig Kimbrel. Even if that signing had worked out perfectly, it was still just a one-year signing of an old guy, and that was the biggest story for the whole winter meetings, all 30 teams. Sometimes, that’s just the way it is.
There is the potential for a lot to happen in this year’s edition. Top free agents remain unsigned and if teams want to act to not be the last ones left standing when the music stops, they need to act to get their guys. We all have hopes about how Elias will apply what we assume to be his available resources to upgrade the starting rotation, which is no guarantee that those resources are available or that he will use them to get any kind of difference-making pitcher. You could have made a strong case for him to make a multi-year free agent pitching signing in any of the last three offseasons and he didn’t do it.
Orioles stuff you might have missed
Four left-handed starting pitching free agents the Orioles could target this offseason (The Baltimore Banner)
From Framber Valdez on down to Tyler Anderson. Anderson will be 36 next season and he stunk this year, so he’s basically right in the Elias wheelhouse.
Trade targets: Ten starting pitchers who could land in Baltimore (The Baltimore Sun)
There are ardent fans out there of Nationals pitcher Mackenzie Gore. As his career ERA is 4.19 and his best ERA+ in a season is 104, I do not view this pitcher as a viable front-of-rotation addition.
Orioles designate Ryan Noda for assignment (MLB Trade Rumors)
News that makes no impact on anyone who is not in some way personally connected to Ryan Noda.
Birthdays and Orioles anniversaries
In 1977, the Orioles and the Expos had a three-for-three swap that brought famous platooner Gary Roenicke to Baltimore, as well as reliever Don “Full Pack” Stanhouse.
One year ago, the Orioles reached an agreement with Tyler O’Neill on a three-year contract. One year into the contract, nothing has occurred to make this a good decision.
There are a pair of former Orioles who were born on this day. They are: 1972-74 outfielder Rich Coggins, and 1955-56 catcher Hal Smith. Smith passed away in 2020 at age 89.
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday to you! Your birthday buddies for today include: author Willa Cather (1873), baseball Hall of Famer Johnny Bench (1947), basketball Hall of Famer Larry Bird (1956), and musician Sara Bareilles (1979).
On this day in history…
In 1787, Delaware ratified the United States Constitution. It was the first state to do this, a nickname the state still claims proudly today. Maryland ratified on April 28 of the following year, the seventh state to do so.
In 1941, the Japanese Navy launched a surprise attack against the American bases in and around Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. This act, which President Franklin D. Roosevelt famously proclaimed “a date which will live in infamy,” led to the United States entering World War II.
In 1972, the final moon landing mission, Apollo 17, had its launch. Its landing astronauts, Gene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt, are the most recent humans to walk on the moon’s surface. A crewed landing under the Artemis program is currently scheduled for 2027.
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And that’s the way it is in Birdland on December 7. Have a safe Sunday.
