Gunnar Henderson batted cleanup last night, relinquishing the leadoff spot to Jordan Westburg in a right-handed heavy order. Cedric Mullins stayed in center field, but Jorge Mateo played second base instead of Jackson Holliday. Ramón Urías, batting .343 with a .410 on-base percentage, sat on the bench.

A decision also was made to withhold Heston Kjerstad against Guardians left-hander Logan Allen and put right-handed hitting Ramón Laureano in left field.

The Orioles played their 16^th game and used a 15^th different lineup. They could blow past the 144 last season.

The evolution of settling on a lineup has carried the process well beyond a manager sitting in his office with the card, a pencil and a hunch. Analytics are a major factor, of course. Where haven’t they infiltrated the sport? And it’s become more of a group effort.

“I am not involved with lineups,” executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias said yesterday.

Bryan Baker had gotten used to the shuffling between the majors and Triple-A, just in time to run out of minor league options. He can’t bounce back and forth without clearing waivers.

It seems like a moot point now.

Baker has stood as one of the positive developments in a season that’s already stressing out much of the fan base. Injuries struck the team again. The rotation had a 5.62 ERA in the first 10 games. The defense had too many costly lapses. Every lineup is different but still attracts the detractors.

The bullpen posted a 3.55 ERA in 2023 that ranked fifth in the majors and a 4.22 ERA last summer that ranked 23^rd. Félix Bautista missed the entire 2024 season while recovering from elbow reconstructive surgery and his return figured to bring improvement, but he made only two appearances before last night because of early restrictions placed on him and the lack of a single save opportunity.

To give Bautista mop-up duty is to risk making him unavailable the next night with the game on the line.

January has the potential to be a busy month for the Orioles based on some important dates and roster business that needs completion.

The general managers and Winter Meetings are over. Players eligible for qualifying offers already decided whether to accept or decline, with Corbin Burnes and Anthony Santander choosing the latter and setting up the Orioles to receive compensatory draft picks.

The non-tender deadline also passed, with the Orioles sending reliever Jacob Webb into free agency. He signed with the Rangers.

Corner infielder Emmanuel Rivera is the only arbitration-eligible player who signed a 2025 contract, agreeing to $1 million to avoid a hearing. Eleven Orioles remain unsigned – pitchers Dean Kremer, Kyle Bradish, Tyler Wells, Trevor Rogers, Keegan Akin and Gregory Soto, catcher Adley Rutschman, infielders Ryan Mountcastle, Jorge Mateo and Ramón Urías, and outfielder Cedric Mullins - and salary figures will be exchanged Thursday night unless deals are struck.

These players remain with the Orioles, so it’s only about setting salaries. Hearings will be held between Jan. 27-Feb. 14.

The Orioles began tackling their offseason workload much earlier than desired. The meetings are starting in the warehouse. Areas are pinpointed that must be addressed in free agency or the trade market. They have at least 15 players eligible for arbitration, the total dependent on whether they exercise reliever Cionel Pérez’s $2.2 million option for 2025, with a Jan. 9 date for the sides to submit figures. They have five players with options and five pending free agents.

When the dust finally settles, and it’s going to take a while, the payroll is expected to climb. How high is to be determined, whether it’s like a step ladder or nose-bleed elevation.

Executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias said last week that he’s “pretty confident” that the Orioles will “keep investing in the major league payroll.”

With that in mind, here are a few of the many money-based decisions that are pending.

What to do with Pérez.

Cionel Pérez sat frozen on the Orioles’ bench on a 65-degree night at Camden Yards. Most of his teammates who stood at the dugout railing and watched the Royals celebrate on their field had gone inside. Pérez didn’t budge except for the moment when he lowered his head.

Pérez rubbed his hands across his face, but he couldn’t make it all go away.

The Royals did that to the Orioles in the Wild Card round, winning 2-1 to sweep the series. It’s always jolting, the elongated and exhausting stretch from report dates in spring training to the playoffs followed by an abrupt finish. The slamming of brakes can rattle bones.

The Orioles traded for ace Corbin Burnes and got a new ownership group. They won 101 games in 2023 and thought they’d do better. But the second half was “mid,” as the younger generation says, and in the truest sense at .500. Injuries devastated the team, and it doesn’t matter that others had similar experiences throughout baseball. That fact does nothing to minimize the impact on the Orioles, who lost their rotation except for Burnes as well as key members of their bullpen and lineup. It bordered on cruel. Some would say exceeded it.

Media entering the visiting clubhouse at Globe Life Field in Texas last October were met with an eerie silence, players sitting with stunned and pained expressions. It was like walking into a viewing before the funeral. Last night was similar in some areas but mostly teammates circled the room and hugged. That was the only sound created, the smacking of backs.

NEW YORK – The mailbag boarded an Acela early Tuesday morning to Moynihan Train Hall, free from the usual inspections that come at airports. You could carry a human head and no one would notice. But if you see something, say something.

Among the mailbag’s many wonderful qualities is a water-proof exterior, which also protects it from champagne, beer and close talkers. Ideal for clubhouse celebrations.

Unfortunately, it didn’t get past Yankee Stadium security. Gotta have a credential.

This is the latest sequel to the beloved 2008 original. Any thoughts of editing questions have been eliminated like the White Sox in June.

Also, my mailbag clinches and yours flinches.

LOS ANGELES – In front of a sellout crowd on the road, with a chance to gain a game on the Yankees, against a hot team with the best record in baseball, the Orioles pitching made three runs stand up. 

The Orioles bullpen – the much-maligned O’s bullpen – stood tall.

They had repeated chances to give up the big hit, the soul-crushing hit, the hit to blow the game. But they did not.

The same bullpen that had struggled so badly in recent weeks? Yes, that bullpen.

In what had to qualify as one of the O’s best and most impressive wins of the year, they beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 3-2 Tuesday to open a big three-game series.

The Orioles will attempt today to win back-to-back series before embarking on their first road trip of the young season.

They’re at the mercy of the weather. Rain continues to fall at Camden Yards and manager Brandon Hyde said the club is in “wait-and-see” mode.

Asked what he’s hearing about a window, Hyde said, “That they close, also.”

“It doesn’t look great,” he said.

Jorge Mateo is starting in center field today. Jordan Westburg is in the lineup for the sixth consecutive game, moving up to fifth in the order.

Mike Baumann’s world of baseball firsts spun again Saturday evening. It dumped him on the mound when he assumed that he’d watch the last three outs from the bullpen.

The phone wasn’t supposed to ring. He wasn’t supposed to pitch.

Cionel Pérez faced two batters, gave up a triple and single, and exited with soreness in his right oblique. The Orioles led 13-2. The only drama should have been whether the time of game would stay under three hours.

Baumann was allowed to take as long as necessary to warm up. He motioned that he was ready, threw a wild pitch and surrendered hits to three of the next four batters.

A scoring change removed an error on Baumann for a missed catch and attached it to first baseman Ryan Mountcastle on Nolan Schanuel’s infield single.

Corbin Burnes raised the bar to ridiculous heights on Opening Day by retiring 18 of 19 batters and striking out 11, a club record for an Orioles debut.

Grayson Rodriguez could have wilted from the challenge this afternoon, questioning his ability to live up to the standard set by Burnes. Instead, he grabbed it with both hands and did chin-ups.

Intimidation is a one-way street with the Orioles.

Rodriguez held the Angels to one run in six innings and tied his career high with nine strikeouts in the Orioles’ 13-4 victory before an announced crowd of 28,420 at Camden Yards, the latest thrashing after a 11-3 win on Thursday.

One team is really good. The other appears to be really bad, unless it’s because the Orioles are really good.

SARASOTA, Fla. – The reunion between Orioles reliever Cionel Pérez and pitching coach Drew French was much easier to arrange than their first meeting.

The Astros signed Pérez, a native of Matanzas, Cuba, to a $5.15 million bonus in 2016 as an international free agent, but they voided the deal a month later due to an issue with his physical that led to concerns from the medical staff that he’d eventually need elbow surgery. The agreement was restructured in December at $2 million.

Perez made his professional debut in 2017 with the Class A Quad Cities River Bandits, the eventual Midwest League champions. His pitching coach was French, who saw potential inside a raw prospect.

French, hired by the Orioles in November to serve in the same role, introduced Pérez to the organization’s standards and methods, while also trying to ease his transition to life in a new country.

“I remember the onboarding process of, this is kind of our North Star, this is how we grade you, this is how we look at your delivery and your arsenal, and this is how we expect things to go, and throwing the ball in certain places,” French said earlier this week.

SARASOTA, Fla. – The Orioles’ bullpen competition tilts in Cionel Pérez’s favor.

It’s the one time that uneven works for him.

Pérez had two distinctly different halves in 2023, posting a 4.45 ERA and 1.780 WHIP in 33 games before the break and a 2.35 ERA and 1.261 WHIP in 32 games after it. Opponents batted .309 with an .825 OPS in the first half and .202 with a .517 OPS in the second. The only two home runs were hit May 31.

The only evidence of any consistency came in his matching 2-1 records, 22 strikeouts and two hit batters. That’s basically it.

Pérez is having a rocky spring training, and that includes yesterday’s outing, when the Rays loaded the bases with one out in the sixth.

It’s still very early in spring training but never too early to take a shot at guesses – and that is what they truly are, guesses – at the makeup of the Opening Day roster.

Today I will take a shot at projecting an eight-man bullpen that would work behind a starting group of five pitching in some order to include Corbin Burnes, Grayson Rodriguez, Dean Kremer, Cole Irvin and Tyler Wells beginning March 28.

At the back-end closing games is righty Craig Kimbrel, who will have that job for the opener barring a big surprise or an injury issue.

The Orioles, minus Félix Bautista for this season after his surgery, will be turning over the job to a very experienced pitcher who is a nine-time All Star that ranks eighth all-time with 417 saves.

He led the NL in saves four straight years from 2011-2014 and has 11 seasons of 20 or more saves.

I’ve made some Orioles predictions over the past few weeks, in case you missed or forgot them. I don’t blame you.

To review:

The Orioles will acquire a starting pitcher but he won’t be on the mound for Opening Day, the rotation consists of the newcomer, Bradish, Grayson Rodriguez, John Means and Dean Kremer, Colton Cowser begins the season in Triple-A, Gunnar Henderson will lead the team in home runs, Henderson won’t win a Gold Glove, Henderson will reach double digits in triples, Adley Rutschman won't go 5-for-5 with a home run on Opening Day, Coby Mayo will create a huge buzz in camp, Cedric Mullins will be healthier and better, the Orioles will experience some regression but they’re making the playoffs, they won’t get swept in the first round, they will exceed the 87.5 wins set as odds by BetOnline, they will go to an arbitration hearing with at least one unsigned player, the Orioles and Jacob Webb will find a midpoint and avoid a hearing, the Orioles will get swept during the regular season, Henderson will repeat as Most Valuable Oriole, Craig Kimbrel will exceed his 23-saves total from last year, DL Hall will record at least one save, Dillon Tate will make a dramatic comeback.

Let’s keep going.

Cionel Pérez will have better splits because they were bananas last season.

Pitchers and catchers report to spring training in a little over a month, marking the official beginning of the Orioles’ quest for their first back-to-back playoff appearances since 1996-97. And their first consecutive division titles since 1973-74.

They wouldn’t spit on a wild card berth, but the goals get higher as the win totals rise.

There’s also an increase in the questions and curiosities that I’ll bring into camp, with more on deck as the Orioles fill their roster.

I’ve wondered whether Kyle Bradish could build on his breakout season, Jordan Westburg would play more regularly, Cole Irvin would keep bouncing between the rotation and bullpen, and John Means would give the club a full and productive season.

I’ve asked for an update on Dillon Tate and whether Seth Johnson would debut next summer. How much Craig Kimbrel has left in tank, whether Jackson Holliday makes the Opening Day roster, what happens to Joey Ortiz, whether Colton Cowser makes the team in spring training, which version of Jacob Webb we’ll see, and whether Ryan Mountcastle and Ryan O’Hearn are the primary first basemen and their impact on Coby Mayo.

Time to revisit more notes from the 2023 season. And not just the facts.

Here’s another attempt to expand on them. Stretching the truth.

Fact: Jorge Mateo became the first player in Orioles history and the eighth in the majors since at least 1901 with multiple stolen bases in a team’s first two games of the season. He also became the first player in club history and the 14th player since 1901 with at least four stolen bases in his first two games to begin a season. Mateo became the ninth Oriole to steal at least 20 bases in the team’s first 68 games and the first since Nate McLouth had 23 in 2013.

Follow: If only Mateo could reach base more often, but that’s been his issue at every stop.

Top 100 prospects don’t usually move around this much. He’s been traded twice and claimed on waivers, and he’s only 28.

With the Orioles set to play the entire 2024 season without closer Félix Bautista, which pitchers replace him in the ninth inning and how well they do next year will have a lot to say about the O’s team performance for the year.

Obviously, we don’t know yet the makeup of the 2024 bullpen and if the team will look to acquire via trade or free agency someone that could pitch the ninth. But one pitcher that will be in that late-inning mix is right-hander Yennier Cano, mentioned in this space yesterday as a player that surprised us in the 2023 season.

He sure did. He was not even on the Opening Day roster and in the 2022 season, between the Twins and Orioles in brief action, he had posted an 11.50 ERA and 2.333 WHIP. Then that same guy began his 2023 O’s season with 17 straight scoreless outings. That is about as surprising as it can get.

After Cano became more hittable in the second half – somewhat expected when you are almost unhittable – he no doubt has some doubters entering the winter.

But let’s look at some numbers first.

CLEVELAND – If the Guardians couldn’t get a run off Grayson Rodriguez tonight, maybe they’d just concentrate on getting him out of the game. Build up his pitch count with extended at-bats fueled by foul balls, dive into an Orioles bullpen that’s screaming for rest.

Rodriguez kept escaping jams to record four scoreless innings, but the Guardians broke through with two runs in the fifth. DL Hall began to warm, staying on an unplanned schedule of being used every other day.

Hall was summoned in the sixth after Rodriguez threw 99 pitches, the last striking out Kole Calhoun. The Guardians got their wish, and eventually a win.

The Orioles battled back to tie the game in the eighth, but Cionel Pérez loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom half of the inning, Ramón Laureano drew a full-count walk against Jacob Webb and the Guardians scored two more runs in a 5-2 victory at Progressive Field.

Coupled with the Rays’ walk-off win earlier today, the Orioles (95-58) saw their division lead shrink to 1 ½ games and their magic number for clinching stay at seven. They’re 50-28 on the road.