A few thoughts on the Mike Elias press conference

Orioles executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias took a few questions from local Orioles media on Monday. It was his first meeting with reporters since the end-of-the-season Zoom get-together on the final weekend of the 2020 season.

A few takeaways from this latest session:

Interesting comments on the starting rotation: John Means, Alex Cobb, Keegan Akin and Dean Kremer would seem to give the O's a strong start on putting together a 2021 rotation. If that group of four consists of a good chunk of a season-opening rotation, that leaves just one spot to be filled. But we all know over the course of 162 games - and we all hope to see that many played next year - a team will need more than five starters and sometimes many more.

Even with numerous young pitchers still on the way and getting close in hurlers like Zac Lowther, Alexander Wells and Michael Baumann, the club is not quite ready to turn this over to all young kids just yet.

"I definitely think we'll be signing some starting pitchers," Elias said Monday. "You can never have enough. We are definitely going to need to sign some outsiders. Whether it's a major or minor league deal will be a case-by-case and TBD.

"I think Dean and Keegan's debuts went about as well as they should have gone. We really liked what we saw from them. Just not the results and stuff, but their professional demeanors and the way they carried themselves.

"Knowing that, there will be some additional competition next year in camp. You know, players have rough sophomore years sometimes. That is to be expected. I don't think we'll lock anything in stone and we want to have that competition.

"But they (Akin and Kremer) certainly more than put themselves on the map. Not just for the 2021 rotation, but we are hoping that for the next five years and beyond that these are guys that are part of a playoff group here."

Will there be an infield makeover?: The Orioles added second baseman Hanser Alberto and third baseman Rio Ruiz on waiver claims. And they just picked up infielder Yolmer Sánchez, who won the 2019 American League Gold Glove at second base, the same way.

The waiver claims may not be over. Elias had some praise for Sánchez yesterday. But there still seem to be a wide range of possible outcomes with him. He could play every day, he could be a utility guy, he could be gone if the Orioles find someone they like more or at a better price. The O's opportunities to hit the waiver wire looking for infielders may not be over. The club also has players like minor leaguers Mason McCoy and Rylan Bannon that could compete for time in 2021.

If the Orioles are making over their infield, the Sánchez move could be just the beginning.

"Yolmer Sánchez is a very good player and I can see him helping us in a number of ways," Elias said. "He can move around all three infield spots. He's a plus defender, certainly at second and third, and probably a pretty good shortstop. We have a little less info to go on there. But from what we've seen, we think he can help at that position as well. I can also see him battling for a primary job, so there's a lot of ways that he fits and helps the team.

"That said, this is the time of year when interesting players come on waivers and teams claim them and there's a lot of offseason left. We'll just have to see where this lands. But when he did appear on waivers, we were very interested and excited to claim him. And from a business standpoint, with any of these guys on the arbitration track, we just have to see where this goes. Things change, moves are made and this business throws new information at you every day and things can change. So we're just navigating the offseason as we normally would, but I can really see him being a great fit for this club."

So Sánchez could indeed wind up as a great fit or - who knows? - maybe no fit at all. Again, a lot of range of possibilities here with the infield and some key arbitration decisions still to come. This sure seems like a position group in flux right now.

What about the 40-man adds?: The Orioles' 40-man roster is at 35 after the club reinstated Trey Mancini and Richie Martin from the 60-day injured list. That still leaves plenty of room to add players to the 40-man later this month in advance of the December Rule 5 draft.

The Orioles protected four players last November and they could do that with four or more this time around. A list of players that need to be protected includes Yusniel Diaz, Lowther and Baumann, who seem to be pretty easy decisions. Others that certainly will get consideration to name a few include Wells, Isaac Mattson, Bannon and McCoy.

"I think at this point we have the 40-man space and our planning indicates that hopefully we'll be able to be pretty aggressive in adding these guys and be protective of our prospects with what we're trying to do in terms of a rebuild," Elias said. "I think we're fortunate that the group we have to add is a pretty big league-ready group. These aren't guys like in A ball or even high-A. These are Double-A, Triple-A players that are fairly polished, and so when they do get added to the 40-man roster, they'll be pretty functional members of that roster, if not right away then very soon. So that always makes the decisions easier."

Click here to read more of Elias' comments yesterday, which include new roles and titles for coaches Chris Holt and Darren Holmes.