A day before his 43rd birthday, Craig Albernaz, the Orioles’ new manager, addressed the fan base in a brief tweet issued by the team:
“Hey Birdland, Craig Albernaz here, your new manager of the Baltimore Orioles. I can’t wait to see you guys out there at Camden Yards and see our boys compete,” he said in a distinct New England accent.
Albernaz won’t be formally introduced until Tuesday. By then, some work will be done on the Orioles’ roster and perhaps there will be more clarity on the coaching staff.
So far, assistant hitting coaches Tommy Joseph and Sherman Johnson have departed, with Johnson going to the Chicago White Sox. First base coach Anthony Sanders, the longest tenured coach on the staff, has been given permission to talk with other teams.
The status of hitting coach Cody Asche, third base coach Buck Britton, bench coach Robinson Chirinos, pitching coach Drew French, assistant pitching coach Ryan Klimek, bullpen coach Mitch Plassmeyer, development coach Grant Anders, and senior advisor John Mabry hasn’t been determined.
After the World Series ends in Toronto on Friday or Saturday night, at least three players — starters Zach Eflin and Tomoyuki Sugano, and catcher Gary Sánchez — will become free agents.
Pitchers Félix Bautista, Grayson Rodriguez and Brandon Young will be removed from the 60-day injured list and placed on the 40-man roster.
The 40-man roster is full, so some players must be removed. Vulnerable players could include relievers José Castillo, Shawn Dubin, Jose Espada, Carson Ragsdale, Josh Walker and Grant Wolfram, catcher Maverick Handley, first baseman/outfielder Ryan Noda and outfielder Daniel Johnson.
Within five days after the World Series, the Orioles must decide whether to pick up the $3 million option on left-handed reliever Dietrich Enns, and the $5.5 million option on infielder/outfielder Jorge Mateo. Outfielder Tyler O’Neill must decide whether he’s going to opt out of the remaining two seasons of his three-year, $49.5 million contract.
By November 19th, the Orioles must decide whether they’ll add any players from their farm system to the 40-man roster.
None of their top 30 prospects, according to MLB Pipeline, must be protected, though last year the Orioles unexpectedly added 32-year-old left-hander Luis González and right-hander Kade Strowd. Young was also added, but that move was expected.
Strowd surprised with a 1.71 ERA in 25 games; González was released in mid-April after he was injured and compiled a 5.79 ERA in four games with Triple-A Norfolk.
The Rule 5 draft will be held at the Winter Meetings in Orlando on December 10th.
After selecting at least one player in each draft from 2006-2022, the Orioles passed in the last two drafts, but it seems possible they’ll return to it this year.
By November 21st, the Orioles must decide whether to offer arbitration to their 14 eligible players. Besides Castillo, outfielder Dylan Carlson and first baseman Ryan Mountcastle could be non-tendered, though the Orioles might try to deal them before then.
Bautista, left-handed reliever Keegan Akin, right-handers Yennier Cano and Albert Suárez, catchers Alex Jackson and Adley Rutschman, shortstop Gunnar Henderson, and starters Kyle Bradish, Dean Kremer, Trevor Rogers and Tyler Wells are the others eligible for arbitration.
Teams have until January 9th to come to an agreement before figures for arbitration must be exchanged.
Now that Albernaz has been hired, president of baseball operations Mike Elias can prepare for the General Managers Meetings in Las Vegas on November 11-13th where he’ll discuss trades and get a read on the free-agent market.
Teams can sign other teams’ free agents five days after the World Series.
In the coming days, the spring training schedule will be released.
The World Baseball Classic will begin in early March. The United States will play its first game on March 6th in Houston. The championship is on March 17th in Miami.
Kremer will play for Team Israel, which will begin play in Miami on March 5th.
Call for questions: I answer Orioles questions most weekdays. Please send yours to: Rich@BaltimoreBaseball.com.