Prepping for today's FanFest

The annual FanFest event at the Baltimore Convention Center is being held today, giving fans an opportunity to grill executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias, manager Brandon Hyde and his coaching staff, assistant general manager Sig Mejdal and senior director of international scouting Koby Perez in various forums for Birdland Membership holders and the general public.

They won't offer timelines for contention or to have their departments fully staffed. But Elias will be asked about the rebuilding process and the word "analytics" will be uttered so many times that it should open a secret passage in the warehouse.

Elias also can take more questions about vice president Brady Anderson's role with the club.

Perez can talk about analytics, the international market and how the Orioles will be equipped to become serious players in it. However long it takes. No one is going to offer specifics on the club's interest in Cuban shortstop Yolbert Sanchez, cleared this week by Major League Baseball to sign with any team.

At least one fan will check on the Orioles' interest in re-signing Adam Jones. Hopefully, no one in the media tumbles down that rabbit hole.

Elias won't dismiss it, most likely repeating what he said at the Winter Meetings about monitoring the free agent market while also praising Jones for his contributions to the organization and community. But again, the Orioles are expected to move on from Jones.

What are the Orioles going to do about right field, shortstop, the catching situation, the back end of the rotation and the bullpen? Are they close to signing a free agent or consummating a trade?

Are they a mystery team for Manny Machado?

Come on, get serious.

Players will stream into the media room throughout the day, including Chris Davis, who will be grilled about his offseason workouts and whether he's doing more than last winter. Whether he's making any adjustments. Whether analytics could benefit him.

He addressed those topics and more last week, and you can find his comments here and here.

Andrew Cashner and Alex Cobb won't attend the event. Cashner already made plans for an annual trip with his father that couldn't be adjusted. Given what I'm going through after losing my dad, I applaud him for upholding a wonderful tradition.

Is Mychal Givens prepared to be the closer? Will Tanner Scott make greater use of his slider? Did Paul Fry do enough to warrant a bullpen spot? Does Jonathan Villar expect to play shortstop or second base? Was Richie Martin surprised to be the first player chosen in the Rule 5 draft? What did Chance Sisco learn from the 2018 season? What did David Hess learn from the 2018 season?

There's more.

Is Cedric Mullins expecting to play center field and bat leadoff? How's Mark Trumbo's knee? How's Richard Bleier's lat? How's Austin Hays' ankle? How's Dillon Tate's shoulder? How's Hunter Harvey's elbow and shoulder? How's Joey Rickard's hair?

Almost done.

What happened to Dylan Bundy in the second half? Is Ryan Mountcastle getting more comfortable at third base and does he expect to stay there? How much weight has Luis Ortiz lost? Is Jimmy Yacabonis prepared to continue starting? Is Mike Wright Jr. prepared to continue relieving?

Doors open at 10 a.m. for Birdland Membership holders and 11 a.m. for the general public. Elias and Hyde will participate in a Q&A at 10:30 a.m. and 12:40 p.m. on the main stage. Mejdal and Perez will participate in a forum called "Using Analytics Across Baseball Ops" from 2:10 p.m.-2:45 p.m. on the main stage.

The full schedule is here, including three of the wildly popular Kids' Press Conferences involving Davis, Hess, Villar, Trumbo, Rickard, Mullins, Scott, Trey Mancini, Renato Núñez, Miguel Castro and Austin Wynns. The Orioles Greats forum will feature Brooks Robinson, Eddie Murray, Jim Palmer and Boog Powell from 2:50 p.m.-3:20 p.m. The "Password" Game Show will feature Hays, Stewart, Wright and Donnie Hart from 4:10 p.m.-4:35 p.m.

All of them on the main stage.

Note: Minor league outfielder Trey Whitley, who is currently on the roster of the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League team, has received a 50-game suspension without pay following a second positive test for a drug of abuse. Whitley, a 28th round pick in 2018, went 13-for-81 (.160) in 31 games in the GCL.