The Orioles are inviting fans to the Senator Theatre in Baltimore for a “Meet the New O’s” Q&A session with manager Craig Albernaz and first baseman Pete Alonso, which highlights this year’s Birdland Caravan event.

The caravan runs from Thursday, Jan. 22-Saturday, Jan. 24 and makes stops in multiple locations throughout the region.

Current Orioles players participating in select events also include (alphabetically) Samuel Basallo, Dylan Beavers, Dietrich Enns, Ryan Helsley, Gunnar Henderson, Jackson Holliday, Jeremiah Jackson, Trevor Rogers, Adley Rutschman, Tyler Wells, Jordan Westburg and Grant Wolfram.

Locations include Baltimore, Bethesda, Ellicott City, Halethorpe, Linthicum Heights, Sykesville, White Marsh and a mystery Pop-Up Photo Op location in Prince George’s County. The Orioles say fans in Bel Air and Frederick also have the chance to meet and take photos with alumni that include former reliever Brad Brach, along with the Oriole Bird and Mr. Splash.

Tickets must be purchased for several events, including the “Meet the New O's,” breakfast with the O’s, family bingo, bowling and all happy hours. Fans are encouraged to get their tickets in advance at Orioles.com/Caravan due to limited availability.

Gunnar Henderson has a new $8.5 million contract, the largest salary for an Orioles player in his first year of arbitration eligibility.

Now, he’d like a fresh start.

Henderson strained his right intercostal muscle on Feb. 27 after making a leaping backhand catch of Bo Bichette’s line drive in the first inning. He grounded out in his only at-bat and came out of the game in the top of the second.

Henderson was held back in camp in 2024 due to soreness in his left oblique, but he had no issues making the Opening Day roster, appeared in 159 games, was selected to the All-Star team and finished fourth in the American League’s Most Valuable Player voting. However, he didn’t appear in his first game last season until April 4 and experienced a decline in most of his numbers.

Among the biggest drop-offs were his home runs, from 37 to 17, and in RBIs, from 92 to 68. His slugging percentage fell from .529 to .438 and OPS from .893 to .787.

The Orioles held at three players in DFA limbo yesterday by outrighting left-hander Josh Walker to Triple-A Norfolk and designating outfielder Jhonkensy Noel for assignment.

Noel has joined outfielder Will Robertson and reliever George Soriano in the land of uncertainty.

The club wants to retain these players to improve depth, making them non-roster invitees to camp, but one step at a time.

In an offseason defined by its hirings, trades, signings and waiver claims, the Orioles haven’t done much with their arbitration-eligible players unless there’s a frenzy of activity behind the scenes.

Today is the deadline for the sides to reach agreement on contracts or exchange salary figures. Negotiations can continue until the scheduled hearings, though the Orioles tend to live by the trial-and-go (aka trial-and-file) approach unless offering an option year.

The depth moves keep coming from the Orioles.

They aren’t solely geared toward making big splashes. Smaller transactions are trickling in, as well.

A source confirmed today that the Orioles claimed infielder Marco Luciano, 24, on waivers from the Pirates. A full 40-man roster will require a corresponding move to make him fit.

The holiday slowdown kept Luciano in limbo since the Pirates designated him for assignment on Dec. 19. They selected him on waivers from the Giants on the 5^th.

Luciano appeared in 41 major league games with San Francisco from 2023-24, batting .217/.286/.304 in 126 plate appearances. Baseball America previously had ranked him among its top 15 minor league players when he was a teenager.

A busy offseason for the Orioles feels like it’s got a lot left in the tank.

How does a team make this many moves and still project to do so much more?

They aren’t sweating the small stuff, either, with their latest depth move being yesterday’s signing of left-hander Eric Torres to a minor league deal.

He isn’t the southpaw acquisition that fans wanted to hear about, of course, but the Orioles also are stocking the Triple-A roster. He was assigned to the Norfolk Tides.

Torres, 26, was a 14^th round draft pick of the Angels in 2021 out of Kansas State. He posted a 2.31 ERA in 27 relief appearances with the Double-A Rocket City Trash Pandas in 2024 and struck out 55 batters in 35 innings, but he allowed seven runs and walked 11 batters in 7 1/3 innings with Triple-A Salt Lake.

The Orioles increased their total number of players in DFA limbo to three yesterday by adding reliever George Soriano. But that’s only half the story.

Not the most interesting part, either.

President of baseball operations/general manager Mike Elias claimed outfielder Jhonkensy Noel on waivers from the Guardians, a move that didn’t seem to be on the shopping list.

First a Polar Bear, and now “Big Christmas.”

Maybe J.T. Snow will come out of retirement.

The year 2026 has been quiet for the Orioles. No fireworks since the ball dropped.

Starter Zach Eflin is the last transaction, signing a one-year, $10 million contract on Dec. 28 with a mutual option.

The redundancy in reviewing Mike Elias’ shopping list can damage brain cells. Yes, another starting pitcher. Yes, more relievers. Yes, maybe a utility infielder and extra catcher. Yes, maybe another outfielder who can play center.

Big names and role players are on the radar.

My head is inside the mailbag which is better than where I'm often accused of burying it. Let’s tackle 12 questions as the NFL moves into its postseason and college football moves closer to crowning a national champion.

The Orioles delivered a powerful one-two prospect punch in August, selecting outfielder Dylan Beavers’ contract from Triple-A Norfolk on the 16^th and catcher Samuel Basallo’s contract the following day.

How often have two such highly anticipated promotions happened in such a short span?

MLB Pipeline ranked Beavers No. 3 in the organization and 83^rd overall. Basallo remains No. 1 in the system and seventh overall. Both players retain their rookie eligibility in 2026 by staying under the 45-day, 130 at-bat thresholds.

The announcements came while the Orioles were in Houston, on the same trip when rookie Brandon Young retired the first 23 batters in his 11^th major league start.

What a weekend.

Shane Baz is a big fan of the Orioles’ offseason moves, especially now that he’s become one of them.

The Orioles traded for Baz on Dec. 19, sending four prospects and a Competitive Balance Round A pick to the Rays. They began the month by signing closer Ryan Helsley and reached agreement with first baseman Pete Alonso at the Winter Meetings. Starter Zach Eflin was re-signed on the 28^th.

And that was just December.

Reliever Andrew Kittredge came back to the Orioles in a Nov. 4 trade with the Cubs, and outfielder Taylor Ward was acquired from the Angels two weeks later.

“The names that they're getting right now are superstar players - Alonso, you got Helsley, Ward, Eflin obviously coming back,” Baz said yesterday in a video call. “I don't know if I'm missing anybody, but those names are just really, really exciting, getting the chance to play with guys that are of that caliber and I know are really respected around the league and help teams win. And I think it speaks to how they want to play this year and what they're trying to do, and that gives you a little more motivation, I think, just to set the standard and winning is all that matters. And I really like that kind of situation.” 

Shane Baz has gone through a trade previously in his baseball life. Just never like this one.

The Pirates selected Baz with the 12^th overall pick in the 2017 draft and sent him to the Rays a year later as the player to be named in a package for Chris Archer. He hadn’t pitched above rookie ball.

The second experience lands him in the Orioles’ rotation for his fifth major league season. They sent four top 30 prospects and a Competitive Balance Round A pick to Tampa Bay. He isn’t a throw-in in the early stages of professional development.

The expectations and stakes are much higher.

“It’s always kind of surprising,” he said today in a video call with the local media. “Same kind of deal. I felt kind of the same as the first time I got traded. You’re never really expecting it. I didn’t have any inside on it or anything like that. But you know, I think the excitement took over, just being able to join such a good team and I think what the front office is doing is really exciting.

Major League Baseball rang in the New Year by knocking down one of the big starting pitcher dominos in free agency. Maybe you heard the noise.

Not quite as jarring as a snow squall emergency alert on your phone.

I had to change the sheets.

The Astros reached agreement with Japanese right-hander Tatsuya Imai on a three-year, $54 million deal that includes multiple opt-out clauses. MLBTradeRumors.com ranked him seventh on its top 50 list and projected a contract for $150 million over six years.

Still on the market are Framber Valdez, who seems even less likely to stay in Houston, and Ranger Suárez. The Orioles have expressed their interest in both starters and remain in the running, as far as we know. CBS Sports’ R.J. Anderson predicted earlier this week that the Orioles would sign Valdez, whose 83 quality starts the past four seasons are second-most in the majors behind Logan Webb’s 85.

The ball dropped at midnight and was scored a hit because nobody touched it.

That rule probably should be changed.

Orioles business in January includes trying to get their arbitration-eligible players under contract before next Thursday’s deadline for exchanging salary figures. Hearings will begin later this month and run into February.

The two sides can continue to negotiate, but a panel will decide the salary if an agreement isn’t reached. Only the figures submitted will be considered.

Some roster moves adjusted the list of eligibles to 11: Taylor Ward, Shane Baz, Ryan Mountcastle, Trevor Rogers, Tyler Wells, Adley Rutschman, Dean Kremer, Kyle Bradish, Gunnar Henderson, Keegan Akin and Yennier Cano. Ward and Baz are the newcomers, with MLBTradeRumors.com projecting their salaries at $13.7 million and $3.1 million, respectively.

Zach Eflin probably won’t rise to the top of the Orioles’ rotation, where he resided on 2025 Opening Day. He might not settle at the bottom of it, either. However, he ranks highly on the list of potential bounce back candidates.

That’s because of his back.

Eflin went 16-8 with a 3.50 ERA and 1.024 WHIP in 31 starts with the Rays in 2023 and finished sixth in American League Cy Young voting. He posted a combined 3.59 ERA in 28 starts with Tampa Bay and the Orioles in 2024, allowing only 16 runs in 55 1/3 innings after the deadline trade.

Upon further review, it’s simply amazing that Eflin was this productive in his career while dealing with intense pain that eventually wrecked his mechanics, making him jump off his back foot, avoid using his lower half to drive through the baseball and drop his arm angle. Tricks to make it through each start that morphed into bad habits.

It finally caught up to him. All of it. The forced adjustments and pain that he described this week as someone holding a lighter to the bottom of his back.

Done after depth?

This is just one of the lingering questions after the Orioles brought back Zach Eflin on a one-year, $10 million contract Sunday with a mutual option for 2027.

President of baseball operations/general manager Mike Elias has negotiated with some of the top starters on the free agent market, including Framber Valdez and Ranger Suárez. He alluded to the possibility, or maybe it was likelihood, of another big acquisition following first baseman Pete Alonso, who received $155 million over five seasons in the second-largest deal in franchise history.

Eflin isn’t that guy. He won’t reprise his role as 2025 Opening Day starter. He might not be ready on that date after undergoing a lumbar microdiscectomy on Aug. 18 to cure the persistent lower-back pain that accounted for the last two of his three trips to the injured list last season.

Elias wanted to strengthen the back end of the rotation and give manager Craig Albernaz more options following a season when the Orioles used a franchise-record 70 players and 41 different pitchers, the organization’s second-highest total. Left unspoken for now is whether Elias shifts his full attention to the bullpen and potential role players or continues his pursuit of a potential No. 1 or 2 starter.

Veteran starter Zach Eflin is out of options but he had choices.

Other teams besides the Orioles expressed interest in Eflin during his tour of free agency. He was 4 ½ months removed from lower-back surgery and so confident in his recovery that he intended to be available for the first series. He felt good physically and about the negotiations that would lead him to another job.

“I didn’t know where I was going to be,” he said.

Eflin picked the team that traded for him at the 2024 deadline, put him on the injured list three times last season and voiced a desire to re-sign him.

The first preference gave him a second chance.

Outfielder Taylor Ward had no idea that the Orioles signed first baseman Pete Alonso until some friends alerted him through text messaging. 

Ward wanted to believe it, but he needed more proof. The internet isn't batting 1.000.

“You just never know when you receive that information if it’s true or not, but I’m glad it is,” Ward said during a recent appearance on the “Orioles Hot Stove Show” on WBAL Radio.

“It’s just gonna be great having him, and it’s really cool to see him want to be here, too. I think that’s another big part of it. It’s just exciting.”

Ward came to the Orioles in a Nov. 19 trade that sent pitcher Grayson Rodriguez to the Angels. He was the right-handed power bat that the front office desired since the beginning of the offseason.

The Orioles are bringing back one of their free agents, striking a deal with starter Zach Eflin a few days before 2025 runs out.

Eflin has agreed to a one-year major league contract that includes a mutual option for 2027, according to a source. Eflin will be paid $10 million this season.

President of baseball operations/general manager Mike Elias sought to improve the rotation’s depth and reached out to Eflin, who is recovering from August back surgery.

Eflin underwent a lumbar microdiscectomy procedure to alleviate persistent lower-back pain and was expected to be sidelined four to eight months. He made only 14 starts last season and had three stints on the injured list, the first related to a right lat strain. The veteran right-hander finished with a 5.93 ERA and 1.416 WHIP, with his final appearance on July 28.

“I think, for me personally, it’s been disappointing, depressing,” Eflin, the Opening Day starter, said prior to his surgery. “I’ve just tried to throw a baseball and I wasn’t necessarily comfortable all the time, and that’s not a really good place to be. It’s something I look back and I don’t like thinking back on it, because I didn’t necessarily feel good at times when I threw, but I also didn’t pitch well at the same time.

I’ve reached that time of the year, near the end of it, when I’m asked to supply Orioles information to a national publication.

The early deadline makes it almost impossible to be completely accurate when checking back later. The roster isn’t set. It's gotten closer, but president of baseball operations/general manager Mike Elias has more work to do.

Elias signed veteran starter Charlie Morton, reliever Andrew Kittredge and outfielder Dylan Carlson in January 2025, outfielder Ramón Laureano a month later and veteran starter Kyle Gibson in March.

The doors were blown off my report on Feb. 1, 2024 when Elias traded for ace Corbin Burnes.

Much, much too late for a rewrite.

The next big move for the Orioles remains on hold since they traded for Rays starter Shane Baz. They might not strike again until 2026.

What else is in store before Opening Day is the most popular question among fans and media. Rank it No. 1, like the starter who could walk through the door.

We’ve addressed several topics, including how the Orioles will jam five starters into the rotation with multiple newcomers expected, who’s the leadoff hitter, whether Tyler O’Neill can extend his record for most Opening Day home runs in a row, will there be innings limits on some starters coming back from surgery (this one was asked before the Grayson Rodriguez trade), whether Albert Suárez would re-sign (he did), which starters could move to the bullpen, whether Trevor Rogers can match his 2025 dominance, which starter will lead the staff in innings, what’s next for Heston Kjerstad, who gets protected in the Rule 5 draft (Anthony Nunez, Cameron Foster and Reed Trimble), how the Orioles round out the rest of their coaching staff, will Coby Mayo play other positions besides first base, and whether Leody Taveras makes the Opening Day roster.

Among the quicker hits from a few days ago were the following:

Who is the next starting pitcher acquired by Mike Elias and will he come via free agency or trade, what’s the order in the rotation, does another new starter bump Tyler Wells to a relief role, what other moves will be made, with the expectation that Elias isn’t done with the bullpen or finding some role players, are a utility infielder and third catcher necessities, will Elias trade from the major league roster, who’s vulnerable to come off the 40-man roster, is Colton Cowser the center fielder on Opening Day, does Tyler Ward remain a middle-of-the-order bat, which non-roster players receive invites to spring training, and which ones have a real shot to make the club, and will the payroll exceed the approximately $164.6 million from Opening Day.

Outbidding other teams to sign first baseman Pete Alonso would have qualified as wishful thinking back in the day.

On this day, it remains a reality for the Orioles. They did it.

Shoppers are forming lines to return holiday gifts. Not every wish is granted. But the Orioles don’t want any refunds. They’re thrilled to go into the New Year with Alonso, Taylor Ward, Ryan Helsley, Shane Baz and Andrew Kittredge.

They also have center fielder Leody Taveras on a $2 million contract. He was the offseason’s first significant signing for the Orioles, with the deal finalized on Nov. 5.

Taveras is penciled into the outfield with Ward, Colton Cowser, Tyler O’Neill and Dylan Beavers. Executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias isn’t done checking the market, especially center fielders, which would enlarge the crowd and raise questions about Taveras.