Mychal Givens remembers when sitting in the Orioles’ bullpen felt like a family gathering.

Now he’s back home. A little older, and perhaps a little wiser about the business side of the game that keeps forcing him to change locations.

Givens’ one-year contract with a mutual option for 2024 became official today, returning him to the team that drafted him as a shortstop in 2009, converted him to relief and watched him blossom.

The Orioles are guaranteeing Givens $3 million next season, with a $6 million option for 2024. He’ll receive $1 million if he declines it and get a $2 million buyout if he accepts and the Orioles decline their end.

The family theme also played out during today’s video call with the media. Givens had daughters Ahmya and Makaylah – the “wild card baby” born in 2016 - on each side of him.

The reviews from Orioles fans on the Adam Frazier signing can be described most succinctly as mixed.

Arguments that he’s an upgrade and sensible pickup are countered mostly by one word:

“Why?”

As in, why pay $8 million for Frazier when the Orioles can play Ramón Urías, Terrin Vavra and Jordan Westburg at second base?

All three of them could do it in 2023, but the Orioles wanted a left-handed bat. Urías and Westburg don’t check that box. Vavra is in the early stages of his major league career, though it’s an impressive start with his .340 on-base percentage in 40 games.

The Orioles’ bingo card is beginning to fill up.

A veteran starting pitcher, a left-handed hitter for second base and the corner outfield, left-handed bats on minor league deals, and now a veteran reliever with last night’s news of the agreement with Mychal Givens.

Another starter and a backup catcher must be found. I can confirm the reported interest in left-hander Rich Hill. I was told about a meeting with the Orioles. But I haven’t heard a word about any catchers.

A left-handed hitting first baseman/designated hitter also could be added, unless the club is satisfied with Lewin Díaz and Franchy Cordero. Díaz is on the 40-man roster and Cordero signed a split contract.

The bullpen wasn’t billed as a priority during the Winter Meetings, but the Orioles intended to sign a veteran. I didn’t think a reunion with Mychal Givens was in the works, but here we are, writing and reading about him again.

Executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias stated after trading Mychal Givens at the 2020 deadline that the reliever would be “an Oriole for life.”

“He’s going to be part of this organization well after he retires,” Elias said in a video call with the local media. “He’s meant a lot to our organization on and off the field for a really long time, and we’re going to miss him.”

He wasn't gone that long.

Givens is coming back to the Orioles before moving onto the next phase of his professional life.

The right-hander and former second-round draft pick has agreed to a one-year contract with a mutual option pending a physical, according to an industry source.

The Orioles are conducting some minor league business, along with trying to fill out their major league roster.

The team announced the signings today of right-handers Eduard Bazardo, Wandisson Charles and Kyle Dowdy to minor league deals.

Bazardo, 27, made 12 relief appearances with the Red Sox this year and allowed five runs in 16 1/3 innings. He walked four batters and struck out 11.

The Red Sox used Bazardo twice in 2021 and he tossed three scoreless innings with one hit, two walks and three strikeouts. He was added to their 40-man roster the previous November.

Bazardo was designated for assignment on April 7, cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Worcester. The Red Sox selected his contract in September and he elected free agency the following month after being designated again.

When left-hander Arthur Rhodes worked out for Orioles officials at Camden Yards in January 2013, he was attempting a comeback that would have made him the oldest player in club history at 43 years and almost six months.

They didn’t sign him.

The honor still belongs to catcher Rick Dempsey, the 1983 World Series Most Valuable Player who appeared in his last game with the Orioles on Sept. 27, 1992, two weeks after celebrating his 43^rd birthday. Reliever Jesse Orosco was 42 years and 160 days when he threw his last pitch for the club in 1999. Dizzy Trout is third on the list, Jim Thome fourth and Tim Raines fifth, all of them at age 42-plus.

Lefty Jamie Moyer would have shattered the record in 2012 after the Orioles signed him to a minor league deal at age 49. He entered Triple-A Norfolk’s rotation but didn’t make it back to the majors.

This trip down memory lane is fueled by the Orioles’ reported interest in lefty Rich Hill, who pitched for them in 2009 – one of the 11 clubs on his resume. He turns 43 on March 11.

The Triple-A phase of the Rule 5 draft, previously known as the minor league phase, tends to be skimmed in the minds of fans and some media because the players don’t land on the 40-man roster. They aren’t spring training storylines.

My personal experience is I’m busy looking up statistics and writing about the major league selection or selections and which players are lost to other teams, and must pause to tweet out the other stuff. Those names get tagged at the bottom.

The Orioles made three selections in the Triple-A phase: right-hander Alfred Vega from the Yankees’ system, left-hander Trey McGough from the Pirates and catcher Randy Florentino from the Rangers.

McGough was interesting because he attended Mount St. Mary’s in Emmitsburg, Md. Who doesn’t love a local angle? We learned later that he is recovering from Tommy John surgery.

Nothing else really stood out among the group. Vega is 21 and he pitched in the Florida Complex League. His story requires some deep digging.

The Orioles experienced a quiet Friday in terms of transactions.

There were none.

Executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias has been in contact with a large number of agents and executives throughout the offseason, and it’s hardly the kind of news that qualifies as “breaking.” This is front office due diligence that we often talk about, even if a player is likely out of its price range.

Doesn’t hurt to check the market unless the cringing causes a headache.

I’ve got some lingering questions, to be expected in the third week of December, that probably are shared by many people in the industry and the team’s fan base. The first one went from a possibility to unlikely to perhaps in the discussion again.

The Orioles have arranged a video introduction in a few days between Adam Frazier and their hitting coaches who want to learn more about him before they tackle the reasons why his offensive production took a nosedive this summer.

The front office already has gotten ahead of the process.

Frazier signed a one-year, $8 million contract on Thursday to wrap up a recruiting mission that began early in the offseason. Executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias and others in the organization sold him on the data available to hitters, the favorable aspects of Camden Yards, the chance to stay in the lineup.

Their interest was made abundantly clear through words and actions.

“I didn’t have my best offensive performance last season and Mike had asked what kind of adjustments I was making or trying to make this offseason, and then pulled up a frame of exactly what I had said,” Frazier said today in a Zoom call with the media, “so it seems like they’ve done their homework on myself and it seemed like we kind of view things in a similar manner.”

With so much attention thrown at the Orioles’ rotation and the free-agent starters who keep signing with other clubs, Adam Frazier looked like a guy yesterday sneaking through the back door.

The Orioles signed Frazier to a one-year, $8 million contract, increasing their offseason spending on the major league roster to $18 million.

Left-handed bats have been a priority. Finding a player who can replace Rougned Odor at second base has been a priority. Frazier checks those boxes, and he also can play the corner outfield.

That’s three boxes. Or four if breaking it down to left and right.

Frazier won’t duplicate Odor’s power, but he makes contact - he ranked in the top five percent in the majors with a 12.1 percent strikeout rate and 14.4 whiff rate this year, per Statcast – and he hit .305/.368/.411 in 2021 during his only All-Star season. He’s an above-average fielder at second, with 15 defensive runs saved, a 1.5 ultimate zone rating and 11 outs above average, and he's twice been a finalist for a Gold Glove.

The Orioles found their left-handed hitting second baseman.

Adam Frazier signed a one-year contract this afternoon worth a guaranteed $8 million. The club announced the length of the deal and an industry source confirmed the amount.

Frazier, who turned 31 yesterday, will be joining his fourth team since 2021. He appeared in a career-high 156 games for the Mariners this season, most on the club, and slashed .238/.301/.311 with 22 doubles, four triples, three home runs, 42 RBIs, 61 runs scored, 46 walks and a career-high 11 stolen bases.

The four triples also led the Mariners and tied for ninth in the American League.

Frazier was an All-Star in 2021, which he split between the Pirates and Padres. He hit a combined .305/.368/.411 in 155 games with 36 doubles, five triples, five home runs, 43 RBIs, 48 walks and 10 steals.

The Orioles will break camp in March with five starting pitchers. They haven’t talked about the possibility of a six-man rotation, though the depth they’ve built allows for it.

They have the numbers, but who are the names?

Kyle Gibson is the one lock after signing for $10 million, with his placement being the only uncertainty.

A second veteran is expected to join him, but the Orioles keep watching candidates disappear from the free-agent market. The club made its video recruiting pitch to Noah Syndergaard, but he's going to the Dodgers on a one-year deal worth a guaranteed $13 million with $1.5 million in possible incentives.

The New York Post's Jon Heyman reported that Syndergaard had multi-year offers for more money elsewhere "but preferred one year in L.A."

The Orioles won’t open the 2023 season until March 30 in Boston. The first exhibition game is Feb. 25 in Sarasota. The date for pitchers and catchers reporting to camp hasn’t been announced, but the middle of the month usually is a safe projection.

Plenty of time remains before the Orioles are required to set their 26-man roster. Accuracy isn’t a prerequisite today for posting an Opening Day lineup.

Most of the starters appear set unless there’s a trade, but second base is unsettled and the designated hitter could come from outside the organization – maybe the left-handed bat that remains on the shopping list.

Or not. It’s still early.

I don’t know who’s starting for the Red Sox in the opener, but let’s not overthink it.

Exactly one week ago, the Winter Meetings reached their busiest scheduled day with a Baseball Writers’ Association of America meeting, followed by Commissioner Rob Manfred’s media session, agent Scott Boras’ traditional lobby scrum, manager Brandon Hyde’s media gathering, executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias’ daily session in his suite, and the first draft lottery.

The Orioles signed outfielder Nomar Mazara and infielder Josh Lester to minor league contracts.

Seems like only yesterday.

Four moves followed, but all of them in the Rule 5 draft – reliever Andrew Politi the lone selection in the major league phase. Others are coming, but at a slow pace rather than a sudden burst.

Two more free-agent pitchers linked to the Orioles have tumbled off the board.

A new week begins with the Orioles trying to land another veteran starting pitcher while choices are narrowed by a market that’s paying inflated salaries.

Left-handed bats for the corner outfield and first base also remain winter priorities, part of the vision to rotate players in the designated hitter spot. A backup catcher on a major league deal also could get done. A veteran for the bullpen is on the back burner but expected to happen.

The Orioles also would like to find a left-handed hitting second baseman to replace Rougned Odor, though it isn’t as high on their list as a starter.

“If we don’t, I think we’ll be OK,” executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias said last week during a Winter Meetings interview with "MASN All Access."

“We’ve got Terrin Vavra, we’ve got Joey Ortiz, who we just added to the 40-man roster, we’ve got some other players that aren’t on the 40-man yet but are really good-looking prospects that are in Triple-A, so we’ve got options in the infield. But it is an area where there’s a fit for a veteran to come in just because (Ramón) Urías, Gunnar (Henderson) and (Jorge) Mateo, they can cover all those spots, but not all three of them are going to play 162 games, so we’ve got some more timeshare to be had at a minimum.”

Coby Mayo celebrated his 21^st birthday yesterday, which was a nice reminder that another Orioles prospect played at the Double-A level this summer before his legal drinking age.

Also a necessary reminder when evaluating Mayo’s season.

Back spasms forced Mayo onto the injured list and cost him about a month after he appeared in only three games with the Bowie Baysox. Reports that he was day-to-day proved inaccurate.

He was facing older and unfamiliar pitchers in a new setting who learned that challenging him with fastballs was a bad idea. That’s 100 percent true.

Drafted in the fourth round in 2020 and given an over-slot $1.75 million bonus, Mayo batted a combined .247/.326/.456 with 20 doubles, two triples, 19 home runs, 69 RBIs, 40 walks and 114 strikeouts in 439 plate appearances after beginning the season at High-A Aberdeen. MLBPipeline.com ranks him as the No. 7 prospect in the organization.

Andrew Politi didn’t want to think about the Rule 5 draft.

Being in San Diego, near the Winter Meetings, was merely a coincidence. A way to escape the cold back East. He decided to go on a hike with his girlfriend, Molly, for the exercise and the distraction. Fresh air and clear mind.

“Nothing crazy,” he said yesterday. “Just didn’t really want to sit there and watch it, because I know how unpredictable it is.”

The Tigers and Reds passed when their turns came, two teams believed to be interested in him. Politi stuffed his phone back in his pocket. He was done tracking the event. Just concentrate on his steps.

And then came the call from Eve Rosenbaum, the Orioles’ assistant general manager of baseball operations.

The dateline has been stripped from stories like an abandoned car in a bad neighborhood. I got a lot of mileage out of baseball’s Winter Meetings, but it was time to come home.

I flew. Just to clear the air.

Some fans may feel that the Orioles were grounded in San Diego because their most visible activity was signing pitcher Ofreidy Gómez, outfielder Nomar Mazara and infielder Josh Lester to minor league contracts and selecting reliever Andrew Politi in the Rule 5 draft.

They also announced the Kyle Gibson signing, which seemed to close the door on Jordan Lyles, though no one is saying it.

Pretty cool to me that Lyles helped to sell Gibson on the Orioles despite knowing that it probably removed his chance to re-sign. Such an unselfish act.

SAN DIEGO – Kyle Gibson reached out almost immediately to Jordan Lyles after hearing from the Orioles, an interesting twist in his free agent journey, since he appears to be replacing the veteran starter in the rotation.

The Orioles already began making their sales pitches to Gibson, which led to the agreement on a one-year, $10 million contract. Now, it was Lyles’ turn – no matter how it would impact his own professional life.

“I value his opinion, I value his friendship,” Gibson said of his former Rangers teammates, “and he only had glowing things to say about Baltimore, and that was one of the reasons why I felt so comfortable making the decision. Just hearing how he’d talk about the approach, why he thought he got better, to me was very interesting. And without going into it because I don’t want to speak for him too much, but that was really cool to hear him give credit where he thought credit was due.

“Talked about the makeup of the team, talked about even things like pitching to (Adley) Rutschman. Just the things that stood out to him. I look forward to hopefully being an extension of Jordan because I feel like we’re fairly similar when it comes to how we approach people.”

Similar but not identical.

SAN DIEGO – Kyle Gibson may or may not count as a Winter Meetings acquisition, depending on your timeline. He reached agreement on a one-year, $10 million contract on Saturday but signed after the Orioles contingent checked into the Manchester Grand Hyatt.

This is the only major league deal brought back to Baltimore. There will be others before opening day.

Trust me on this. Or better yet, trust the process.

The pitching market hasn’t dried up, but logical fits for the Orioles are disappearing, with Jameson Taillon agreeing to terms with the Cubs, Taijuan Walker with the Phillies and José Quintana with the Mets. They were never linked to Jason deGrom (Rangers) or Justin Verlander (Mets).

So, who’s left?