A team that won 101 games and posted the best record in the American League isn’t primed for a roster overhaul. Heavy tinkering, if such a thing exists, also seems unlikely based on results, returnees and talent funneling through the pipeline.

What are these Orioles going to do between now and Opening Day?

I’ve heard some people in the industry and some friends of mine insist that changes should be minimal or non-existent because, as the saying goes, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. But the Orioles aren’t perfect. They didn’t get a third champagne and beer celebration.

The holes aren’t crater-size, but any chance to upgrade must be done.

Kyle Gibson, Adam Frazier and James McCann didn't qualify as blockbuster transactions, but they were improvements over Jordan Lyles, Rougned Odor and Robinson Chirinos. That's the point.

Major League Baseball’s general managers meetings are held this week, a three-day event beginning Tuesday in Scottsdale, Ariz. An appetizer for the Winter Meetings in December that are a buffet of activity.

The GM gathering isn’t the same media extravaganza and typically focuses on off-the-field matters, including any rules changes and medical issues. The Athletic's Jim Bowden said the postseason format, including the five-day break for the first- and second-seeded teams, will be evaluated. But executives can lay the groundwork for future trades and obtain a clearer read on the market.

Deals aren’t normally consummated, but the Braves sent veteran starter Jake Odorizzi to the Rangers last year for left-hander Kolby Allard. Texas won the World Series without Odorizzi, who underwent season-ending shoulder surgery in April.

The Orioles didn’t do anything significant last November, their only outside addition being outfielder Daz Cameron on a waiver claim from the Tigers. He didn’t play for them this year.

Executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias wants pitching because nobody can get enough of it, and the Orioles might find an upgrade for the rotation. If they won’t spend huge amounts in free agency, perhaps they can take on a bigger contract via trade.

Austin Hays didn’t commit an error this season. He also didn’t receive a Gold Glove.

The Guardians’ Steven Kwan won his second award in left field, with the announcement made tonight on ESPN. Catcher Adley Rutschman and first baseman Ryan Mountcastle also were finalists, but they lost to Rangers teammates Jonah Heim and Nathaniel Lowe, respectively.

The Orioles drafted Heim in the fourth round in 2013 and traded him to the Rays three years later for Steve Pearce.

The Blue Jays’ Daulton Varsho also was a finalist in left, but Kwan is a back-to-back recipient. Hays was trying to become the first Orioles outfielder to win since Adam Jones and Nick Markakis in 2014.

Hays also failed to become the first left fielder since Rawlings began awarding Gold Gloves for each outfield position in 2011.

The World Series lasted only five games, setting the official offseason into motion faster than usual.

A relatively quiet one for the Orioles is on the verge of getting louder. They won’t sit on the Tucker Davidson and Sam Hilliard waiver claims as their signature moves.

Perhaps Davidson and Hilliard will become a couple of those unexpected happenings that I’ve recounted since the Orioles lost to the eventual-champion Rangers in the Division Series.

To review:

Austin Voth wasn’t impactful. Dillon Tate wasn’t able to pitch. Mike Baumann wasn’t big only in size. Yennier Cano was an All-Star. Danny Coulombe was cool under pressure. Adam Frazier hit for power and stopped.

The leftover Halloween candy should be the good stuff if you were smart and used the proper strategy. Hand out the filler first from those big variety bags – Whoppers, Sweet Tarts, Dum Dums – and withhold the fun-size Snickers until you run out.

We could debate what’s “fun” about a smaller version, but I’m here to share extras from this week’s mailbag.

Always a sweet treat.

An important reminder: My mailbag turns sugar into muscle and yours turns it into Type 2 diabetes.

Did any Orioles make the Arizona Fall League Fall Stars Game?
We found out yesterday that left-hander Trey McGough was chosen. The Orioles selected him from the Pirates organization in the Triple-A phase of the Rule 5 draft. He pitched at Mount St. Mary's University and was recovering from Tommy John surgery when the Orioles got him at the Winter Meetings. McGough allowed three earned runs and struck out 12 batters in nine innings with the Mesa Solar Sox. The game airs Sunday night on MLB Network.

The Orioles filled their 40-man roster last week by claiming left-hander Tucker Davidson off waivers from the Royals. The start of the tinkering and retooling.

They made another move Wednesday, claiming outfielder Sam Hilliard off waivers from the Braves and designating reliever Joey Krehbiel for assignment.

Davidson and Hilliard, who are out of minor league options, could stay on the 40-man heading into spring training, where they'd compete for a bullpen and bench role, respectively, or the Orioles might attempt to pass one or both through waivers and offer a camp invitation - a maneuver they've executed countless times in the past. The duo could stay in the organization or move on from it.

We're only in the third day of November. Lots of other changes are forthcoming.

Here’s the current 40-man roster:

Gunnar Henderson is due to receive another award.

It’s been an entire week.

Henderson, the Red Sox’s Triston Casas and the Rangers’ Josh Jung are finalists for Major League Baseball Players Association’s Outstanding Rookie in the American League.

Winners will be announced tonight during the 6 p.m. edition of SportsCenter on ESPN, reducing the odds that the program will drag out like the Oscars. Or any of the shows on MLB Network.

Cut out the song and dance numbers and get to the nominees.

The Orioles added to their outfield depth this afternoon by claiming Sam Hilliard off waivers from the Braves.

Reliever Joey Krehbiel was designated for assignment to make room for Hilliard on the 40-man roster.

Hilliard, 29, was the Rockies’ 15^th-round pick in the 2015 draft out of Wichita State University. He spent parts of four seasons with Colorado and appeared in 40 games with the Braves this summer, batting .236/.295/.431 in 78 plate appearances for the National League East champions.

The Braves acquired Hilliard from the Rockies on Nov. 6, 2022 for minor league pitcher Dylan Spain. He broke camp with them this spring but didn't play after July 18.

Hilliard, who bats from the left side, is a career .215/.294/.424 hitter in 254 major league games, and he’s stolen 19 bases in 20 attempts. He appeared in a career-high 81 games with the Rockies in 2021 and had seven doubles, two triples, 14 home runs and 34 RBIs in 238 plate appearances.

The World Series remains unsettled and free agency is on hold until five days after the conclusion of it. However, a mailbag can be sorted and shared at any time.

Let’s begin a new month with a fresh batch of questions.

Some of the responses might be stale. Some might prove inaccurate. I’m counting on short memories in these cases.

You should remember that I do minimal editing. Tampering with clarity is a rarity. I’d walk miles to maintain your unique styles.

Also, my mailbag hands out full-size candy bars at Halloween and yours gives out toothbrushes.

The Orioles made some significant adjustments to their minor league structure last week by promoting Anthony Villa to director of player development and Matt Blood to vice president of player development and domestic scouting. Moves put into motion with Brad Ciolek vacating his position as director of draft operations.

The ensuing months will reveal more changes, with the Orioles waiting to get it settled later in the offseason, per usual.

What stays the same is the approach to developing and maintaining the pitching. The data, instruction and philosophy. Methods that carry prospects to the majors and at times allow for needed resets after early struggles.

For example, Grayson Rodriguez.

“I’d like to know what the Orioles did to him because we need to do it,” said a scout from another organization. “They sent him down and said, ‘Hey, you’re not coming back until you get fastball command,’ and he has definitely shown it. He went down with a purpose, and he was a different pitcher from when I saw him in April or May till when I saw him there in September. Much different.

I rolled out three unexpected developments a few weeks ago relating to the Orioles’ 2023 season. Looking beyond the posting of the best record in the American League.

Austin Voth wasn’t impactful. Dillon Tate wasn’t able to pitch. Mike Baumann wasn’t big only in size.

Here are three more that come to mind.

Yennier Cano was an All-Star.

Cano staying on the 40-man roster over the winter qualified as surprising to me. It also illustrated why I’m not paid for my talent evaluating skills.

Triple-A Norfolk manager Buck Britton summoned Colton Cowser to his office following a July 4 game and told the outfielder to pack his bags. He was joining the Orioles in New York. The wait was over.

Cowser’s time in the majors met the same fate on Aug. 14, with the Orioles optioning him to create roster space after Aaron Hicks' reinstatement from the injured list. Cowser had seven hits in 61 at-bats, with three coming in his first five games.

“It’s not always a terrible thing to have a guy come up here and experience what big league pitching is like and what major league life is like and understand how to go through adjustments,” manager Brandon Hyde said while explaining the decision. “We saw Grayson (Rodriguez) do that earlier this year and he came back a different guy.”

Cowser came back on Sept. 1 but lasted only two days on the expanded roster and didn’t play. Hicks returned from a second stint on the IL. Cowser had to leave again.

He wasn’t on the playoff roster. He wasn’t on the taxi squad. But it wasn’t a total loss.

A World Series that supposedly was going to be boring and a ratings killer began last night with Corey Seager’s game-tying two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning and Adolis García’s walk-off homer in the 11th that gave the Rangers a 6-5 win over the Diamondbacks.

The first extra-inning game of the 2023 postseason, and it was an instant classic.

The Diamondbacks’ lineup included first baseman Christian Walker, the Orioles’ fourth-round draft pick in 2012 out of the University of South Carolina. A delayed success story.

Walker appeared in only 13 games in 2014-15, his path blocked by expensive veteran Chris Davis and prospect Trey Mancini. He made only six starts at first.

The Braves claimed Walker off waivers in February 2017, and the Reds claimed him a month later. Arizona claimed him three weeks after that.

The Orioles were shut out yesterday in Fielding Bible Award selections. They’ll have to settle for having three players with a chance to win a Rawlings Gold Glove.

That’s the extent of their glove love in 2023.

Jorge Mateo won the award at shortstop last season, though he was excluded from the list of finalists for a Gold Glove.

The Cubs’ Dansby Swanson earned the Fielding Bible Award in 2023, the only unanimous selection. He led all shortstops with 18 defensive runs saved.

As you’ve probably figured out, only one award is handed out at each position. There isn’t a separation of the two leagues.

Part of the ripple effect from the Orioles’ wave of promotions today within the scouting department is a change in roles for Anthony Villa.

Villa is replacing Matt Blood as director of player development, according to an industry source. Blood has been promoted to vice president of player development and domestic scouting.

Villa was put in charge this year of overseeing the entire system as minor league hitting coordinator after working at the lower levels. He played in the White Sox system from 2016-18 and came to the organization prior to 2020 as hitting coach at Aberdeen before the pandemic forced the cancellation of the minor league season.

Among the announced promotions is the following:

Koby Perez is vice president of international scouting and operations. Mike Snyder is senior director of pro scouting. Gerardo Cabrera is director of Latin American scouting. Kevin Carter is manager of pro scouting. Hendrik Herz is manager of domestic scouting analysis. Chad Tatum is manager of domestic scouting. Will Robertson is special assignment scout. Alex Tarandek is a senior analyst in scouting. Michael Weis is a senior data scientist of draft evaluation. And Maria Arellano is senior manager of international operations and baseball administration.

The World Series begins Friday night in Arlington, Texas, with the Rangers facing the Diamondbacks. The way nobody expected it.

I didn’t perform an exhaustive search, but I’m confident in saying industry-wide projections back in March didn’t include this pairing. But teams get hot at the right time, and they burn a path to the Fall Classic.

They also scorch the doubters, and the list of names was miles long.

Jordan Montgomery would have been a nice fit with the Orioles, but the Cardinals traded him to the Rangers around the deadline, along with reliever Chris Stratton, for left-hander John King and two top 30 prospects in pitcher Tekoah Roby and infielder Thomas Saggese.

The Orioles have the No. 1 ranked farm system in baseball. They won’t outspend teams but can out-prospect them.

The Orioles are making changes to the pitching side of their major league coaching staff.

According to a source, Chris Holt won’t serve as pitching coach in 2024 but maintains his duties as director of pitching, a title pinned to him prior to the pandemic 2020 season.

Assistant pitching coach Darren Holmes is leaving the organization, per the source, creating a second opening on the staff.

Holt was hired in 2019 as minor league pitching coordinator, following executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias and vice president and assistant general manager Sig Mejdal from the Astros organization, where he was assistant pitching coordinator. The Orioles promoted Holt to pitching coach in 2021 as Doug Brocail’s replacement.

The latest switch enables Holt to concentrate fully on supervising the rest of the organization in the quest to develop more pitching, leveraging his skill set and experience. He retains access to and authority over the minor league pitchers while also able to work directly with the major league staff.

The Orioles set up a competition at first base in spring training that became one of the more interesting follows for media and fans. About as engrossing as possible for a backup job. The tallying of stats and ranking perceived leaders, breaking down their strengths and weaknesses.

Ryan Mountcastle was the undisputed starter, of course, but the non-roster invites included Ryan O’Hearn, Franchy Cordero, Lewin Díaz, Josh Lester and Curtis Terry. Quite a crowd.

Díaz was the first to go, with the Orioles reassigning him on March 20 while he dealt with right shoulder soreness. He didn’t make it back to the majors despite batting .268/.362/.442 with 21 doubles, 17 home runs and 64 RBIs in 118 games with Triple-A Norfolk.

Terry was released March 26 and spent the summer playing for the independent Gastonia Honey Hunters of the Atlantic League and Lake Country DockHounds of the American Association. Cordero exercised the opt-out clause in his contract the following day, signed with the Yankees, had four home runs and 11 RBIs in his first seven games, returned to earth and batted .188/.211/.478 with six homers and 13 RBIs in 24 games.

O’Hearn and Lester were reassigned March 27.

The offseason remains relatively quiet for the Orioles after their Division Series loss to the Rangers.

They signed pitcher Guachi Jules to a minor league contract, and the only information I can find is he’s 19-years-old, right-handed and assigned to the Dominican Summer League orange team. Pitcher Austin Voth, catchers Anthony Bemboom and José Godoy elected free agency.

Director of draft operations Brad Ciolek is joining the Nationals as senior director of amateur scouting. Gunnar Henderson, Kyle Bradish and Ryan O’Hearn are finalists for the Major League Baseball Players Association’s Players Choice Awards. Catcher Adley Rutschman, first baseman Ryan Mountcastle and left fielder Austin Hays are Gold Glove finalists.

Reliever Nate Webb signed a two-year minor league contract that includes an invitation to spring training. Pitcher Bruce Zimmermann underwent core muscle surgery in Philadelphia and should be ready for spring training.

Otherwise, hardly a peep.

Emptying out the mailbag isn’t as easy as it sounds. Questions are missed or held, the latter to keep the post at a reasonable length.

I’m not worried about breaking the internet. Just your spirit.

Here are some leftovers from last week, with a smattering of newbies. Enjoy my disregard for editing. And be aware that my mailbag leads the parade, and your mailbag follows the elephant with a shovel.

Is the Orioles 49-game improvement over two seasons the record now?
The Orioles tied the 1890-92 Cleveland Spiders for seventh, according to STATS. The 1884-86 Detroit Wolverines are first with a 59-game improvement. In more modern baseball times, the 1981-83 Blue Jays improved by 52 games. However, the ’81 season was shortened by the players’ strike that lasted from June 12-July 31.

Is the rotation or bullpen the No. 1 offseason priority?
Don’t know whether the Orioles post official rankings. The business can be conducted simultaneously. Whatever gets done first is first. And bullpens tend to be a little easier based on cost and supply.