Hello, friends.
There are now 90 days remaining until Orioles Opening Day 2026. I hope that everyone who celebrated Christmas yesterday was able to have a nice and relaxing day.
On account of yesterday having been Christmas, there will probably not be much happening in the baseball world today. Or maybe the sicko GMs will get right back to it after giving themselves yesterday off. Particularly relevant to the Orioles is the ticking down towards the posting deadline for Japanese starting pitcher Tatsuya
Imai, now one week away.
I don’t know how interested the Orioles actually are in Imai, or if they are, how interested he might be in playing here. Although he has given some quotes along the process that make it sound like he’s interested in establishing himself in a place that hasn’t gotten big-name Japanese players before, there have been players who made similar noises only to sign with the Dodgers or Yankees. So, I’m not getting my hopes up.
Whatever happens, it does seem like the market for the MLB veterans at the high end of the starting pitching market, Ranger Suárez and Framber Valdez, may be impacted by the price that’s set by Imai signing. That will definitely be relevant to the Orioles, even if it’s more of an indirect thing. As much as the Orioles have done already this offseason, they still need to get something done at the top end of the rotation to give themselves the best chances of success in the coming year. It’s really only a month and a half or so to go until pitchers and catchers will be reporting, so that will be happening before we even realize it.
Orioles stuff you might have missed
The Orioles have an all-Boras infield. Could Alonso be first domino? (The Baltimore Sun)
I would say it is not very likely that Scott Boras and Mike Elias having a successful negotiation on a free agent contract for Pete Alonso means anything about them having a successful contract extension negotiation for any of Gunnar Henderson, Jordan Westburg, or Jackson Holliday.
Nate George among prospects whose stock improved the most in 2025 (Orioles.com)
There’s still room on the Nate George prospect hype bandwagon but it is running out of space so you should really get on now.
Birthdays and Orioles anniversaries
Today in 1995, the Orioles traded outfielder Curtis Goodwin for veteran pitcher David Wells. The 33-year-old Wells had what now looks like an unsightly 5.14 ERA in his lone season with the team, but since he made 34 starts and threw 224.1 innings, and considering the offense of the time, that was actually a 2.9 bWAR season.
There are a few former Orioles who were born on this day. They are: 1982-86/92 pitcher Storm Davis, 1984-89 infielder Jim Traber, 1988 outfielder Jeff Stone, 1955-57 infielder Wayne Causey, and 1963-67 pitcher Stu Miller.
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday to you! Your birthday buddies for today include: mathematician Charles Babbage (1791), baseball Hall of Famers Judy Johnson (1899), Carlton Fisk (1947), and Ozzie Smith (1954), and Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich (1963).
On this day in history…
In 1776, General George Washington led a force across the Delaware River for a surprise attack at Trenton, scoring a victory.
In 1825, an attempted coup of the tsarist regime in Russia, known as the Decembrist revolt, rose up. This coup was not successful and the regime survived close to 100 years more.
In 1919, the Boston Red Sox infamously sold Babe Ruth to the Yankees, launching the so-called Curse of the Bambino.
In 1944, the US Third Army, led by General George Patton, arrived at Bastogne, Belgium to break a siege against encircled paratroopers.
In 1991, the Soviet Union was formally dissolved.
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And that’s the way it is in Birdland on December 26. Have a safe Friday.
