It’s been a slow offseason for the Orioles and most non-L.A. teams so far, but perhaps that will change soon.
Good morning, Camden Chatters.
Yesterday was yet another transaction-less day in Major League Baseball (unless there were any late-night signings after I wrote this and went to bed). It’s shaping up to be another long, slow-developing MLB offseason, just as it’s been the last couple of winters.
At least there’s hope that the action may pick up soon. The Winter Meetings will kick off next week, running from Dec. 9-12 in Dallas, and while there won’t necessarily be a ton of major moves, we typically see a few signings and/or trades happen at the event. I don’t care if the O’s only acquire a random reliever or a backup catcher next week — just give us something to discuss, please! We’re starved for some Orioles content over here.
The Birds have a few holes in their roster that need to be filled and almost every good player remains on the market. Mike Elias and company, as usual, are being tight-lipped about their intentions this offseason. So far we’ve heard rumblings that they were “interested in” guys like Blake Snell and Yusei Kikuchi who signed elsewhere.
Elias can keep his cards as close to his vest as he desires. But at some point I hope news breaks that the Orioles have actually signed a major free agent, not just that they tried to and failed. Crazier things have happened, right?
Links
Orioles still searching for Rutschman’s backup for 2025 – BaltimoreBaseball.com
Ideally whoever the O’s sign as their backup catcher will be gone by midseason because Samuel Basallo will have torn up Triple-A pitching and forced a promotion.
More mailbag leftovers for breakfast – School of Roch
Roch Kubatko is still in the hospital after his surgery a couple of weeks ago, but he’s dutifully continuing to blog. Here he answers questions about Corbin Burnes, Coby Mayo, and the most annoying child characters on TV. Does Peppa Pig count?
Orioles birthdays and history
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! The only player in O’s history born on Dec. 2 is current reliever Bryan Baker, who turns 30. Baker has been in the Birds’ organization since 2022, posting a 3.78 ERA in 131 games, though he spent most of 2024 in the minors.
On this date in 1972, the Orioles cut ties with the great Frank Robinson, trading him to the Dodgers for a four-player return. Robinson, in just six seasons with the Birds, had cemented himself as an Orioles legend, winning the AL MVP and Triple Crown and leading the club to a World Series in his first year in Baltimore in 1966. Of the four players the Orioles acquired for him, only right-hander Doyle Alexander had any impact with the O’s.
And on this day in 2013, the O’s traded closer Jim Johnson to the Athletics in a salary dump, acquiring second baseman Jemile Weeks. Johnson had recorded back-to-back 50-save seasons for the Orioles, but they got rid of him at the right time, as he struggled to a 7.09 ERA and just two saves for the A’s and Tigers in 2014.