The depth in the Orioles rotation stacks up “pretty well,” one talent evaluator phrased it recently, when tracking starter candidates fourth through seventh. The back end and overflow.

Potential exists for higher grades. And to be in good hands from top to bottom if small sample sizes prove accurate in the longer term.

The Orioles are hoping that there really is strength in numbers.

They don’t have an established No. 1, 2 or 3 starter, but they want to further explore the group that includes Kyle Bradish, Dean Kremer, Tyler Wells, Grayson Rodriguez and DL Hall. This can be done with or without another veteran acquisition to go with Kyle Gibson, who’s normally a fourth or fifth.

The club is maintaining its quest for someone with previous experience as a 1, 2 or even a 3, judging by the range of its search. Michael Wacha is the most appealing of the remaining free agents and the Orioles have kept their interest in him. He’s coming off an 11-2 season with a 3.32 ERA and 1.115 WHIP in 23 starts for the Red Sox, but maintaining good health and staying on the mound has been an issue.

The Orioles completed last month’s trade for backup catcher James McCann by sending minor league infielder/outfielder Luis De La Cruz to the Mets today as the player to be named later.

De La Cruz, 20, spent the past two seasons in the Dominican Summer League. He appeared in 33 games in 2022 and batted .291/.396/.349 with five doubles and 12 RBIs in 101 plate appearances.

De La Cruz was part of the July 2019 international signing class at age 16, the first under Mike Elias and Koby Perez.

McCann was acquired on Dec. 21, with the Mets picking up $19 million of the $24 million remaining on his contract over the next two seasons.

Adley Rutschman was the only catcher on the 40-man roster before McCann’s arrival.

The Orioles have reached the point today where they must agree to contract terms with six arbitration-eligible players or risk hearings to determine 2023 salaries.

Outfielders Cedric Mullins, Anthony Santander and Austin Hays, infielder Jorge Mateo and pitchers Austin Voth and Dillon Tate were tendered contracts at the deadline. They remain under team control, the most important order of business.

It’s unlikely that the Orioles sign all six players before exchanging figures, but they’re expected to announce some agreements later today. I’m placing the over/under at three.

Make it rain.

Hearings typically are set during spring training. The Orioles have joined other teams operating under the file-and-go approach, but they make exceptions, with Trey Mancini and John Means serving as examples last year.

Major League Baseball announced this afternoon that Orioles pitchers and catchers report to spring training in Sarasota on Feb. 15, with the first workout held the following day.

Position players are due on Feb. 20. The first full-squad workout will begin the morning of the 21^st.

The first exhibition game is Feb. 25 against the Twins at Ed Smith Stadium. The Orioles finish with a March 27 home game against the Cardinals, a late addition to the schedule.

The Orioles will face nine different opponents, with 11 of 31 games against American League East rivals.

Six games will be played against the Pirates, three in Sarasota and three in Bradenton. The Orioles also will host the Braves, Tigers, Phillies and Twins.

The latest removal of Lewin Díaz from the 40-man roster and the approaching resolution on Ryan O’Hearn didn’t move the Orioles forward in their offseason plans for first base.

They may have already arrived.

The club has sought a left-handed hitter to back up Ryan Mountcastle, and it’s been collecting candidates since November. The first time it claimed Díaz off waivers, on the same day that it signed Franchy Cordero to a minor league deal. Four days before it signed Josh Lester, also to a minor league contract.

The Orioles are going with a quantity approach, and they’re counting Anthony Santander, who worked out at first base last summer but didn’t play in a game. I’ve heard that he’ll do more of it in spring training.

Santander made nine starts with Single-A Lynchburg in 2016. It’s been a while.

The Orioles are bringing back their Birdland Caravan, a four-day winter tour that runs from Feb. 2-5 at multiple locations throughout the region, with some notable participants including executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias, manager Brandon Hyde, catcher Adley Rutschman and pitcher Grayson Rodriguez.

Included is autograph sessions and happy hours at three locations with current players, top prospects, members of the front office, broadcasters and the Oriole Bird.

The caravan will make stops at Bowlero College Park and Topgolf Baltimore, providing fans with an opportunity to interact with players and staff while they bowl and tee off. There’s also a community service project with the Maryland Food Bank, which is closed to the public, and fan rallies at Bel Air High School, Wilde Lake High School and Winters Mill High School.

The following stops are confirmed: Baltimore City, Bel Air, Bowie, College Park, Columbia, Frederick, Odenton, Salisbury, Towson, Westminster and York, Pa.

Fans in Elkridge and Owings Mills can take photos with the Oriole Bird.

The mailbag will be much too heavy to transport down to Sarasota for spring training unless I empty it again.

I’m reluctant to check it with my luggage. I may not get it back until the Winter Meetings.

Here is the latest sequel to the beloved original from 2008. You ask, I answer, you ask again, I answer again. It’s bound to get old one of these days.

This mailbag is edited for profanity only. I removed all the stuff I originally put in there.

Also, my mailbag tans evenly and your mailbag has red blotches.

The Orioles have made two moves since the last time that I speculated on the position-player half of the 26-man roster, acquiring first baseman/outfielder Ryan O’Hearn from the Royals on Tuesday for cash considerations and designating him for assignment on Thursday while claiming first baseman Lewin Díaz off waivers from the Braves.

O’Hearn has one minor league option remaining. Díaz has none. Both players fit the profile of a left-handed hitting backup first baseman, though O’Hearn also plays the corner outfield, with 31 of his major league starts coming in right.

The club’s thirst for a left-handed bat probably hasn’t been quenched. I’d be shocked if Díaz is the final acquisition. Then again, I didn’t think he’d be back and O’Hearn would last two days.

The only predictable component of this offseason has been its unpredictability.

Whichever player is able to secure a bench role is doing so at the expense of someone who currently projects as a member of the opening day roster.  

While addressing one of their offseason priorities earlier this week, the Orioles created a new question.

Are they done with left-handed-hitting first basemen?

They hadn’t satisfied their craving after claiming Lewin Díaz off waivers from the Pirates on Dec. 2. He was traded to the Braves later in the month.

Franchy Cordero and Josh Lester agreed to a minor league deals in December. They provide depth in camp and perhaps at Triple-A, but the position is relatively new to Cordero.

Ryan O’Hearn, acquired from the Royals Tuesday afternoon for cash considerations, is a first baseman first. He’s made 163 starts and appeared in 185 games at the position over his five major league seasons with the Royals.

The left-handed hitter carousel keeps spinning for the Orioles.

Lewin Díaz has made a full circle, coming back to the organization this afternoon in a waiver claim from the Braves.

The Orioles claimed Díaz from the Pirates on Dec. 2, providing another candidate to back up Ryan Mountcastle at first base, but they designated him for assignment after signing reliever Mychal Givens and traded him to Atlanta on Dec. 23 for cash considerations.

A turbulent winter continues for Díaz, who’s involved in his fourth transaction since the conclusion of the 2022 season.

Ryan O’Hearn is at least temporarily out of the running for the backup job. The Orioles designated him for assignment today to create room for Díaz on the 40-man roster.

James McCann is officially an Oriole and scrambling to get settled with his new team. The immediacy in doing so wasn't feasible.

The trade with the Mets happened so quickly, and with midnight approaching on the night of Dec. 21. The holidays put much of his baseball activity on hold. His family is moving this week. He’s spoken only to a few members of the organization and is waiting to make his first contact with catcher Adley Rutschman, the player that he’s going to back up.

“The timing of it was a little crazy, just with the holiday season and everything,” McCann said during a video call with members of the media this afternoon, “but at the end of the day I’m excited to be part of a young, up and coming team, the opportunity to kind of be a veteran leader and just mentor some of the young players and lead Baltimore back to the playoffs and beyond.”

The Orioles acquired McCann, 32, for a player to be named later. He’s under team control for the next two seasons and is costing the Orioles only $5 million of the $24 million remaining on his contract.

A backup catcher was one of the club’s priorities with Robinson Chirinos entering free agency. McCann is a nine-year veteran who made the All-Star team with the White Sox in 2019 and appeared in 105 or more games every full season from 2015-21.

Pitchers and catchers report next month. Somewhere in the middle of it. A long way from Opening Day on March 30 in Boston, but the distance is shrinking.

The holiday themes are over unless I’m suddenly motivated by Valentine’s Day. Nothing so far about Cupid’s arrow, but I decided this morning to take a stab at some 2023 predictions.

Here are five, because any more or less would be breaking the sportswriters’ law – which I’ve often done as a nod to my rebellious side:

Will Grayson Rodriguez be in the Opening Day rotation?
The Orioles have practically guaranteed it. He reports to camp with a spot waiting for him. He would have been starting last summer except for the Grade 2 lat strain.

Rodriguez was healthy and ready to pitch in September, but the Orioles didn’t select his contract. He’s on the 40-man roster, and he’s expected to be on their staff on March 30.

I’m finally done with 2022 except for those occasions when I reference it in relation to the upcoming season. Like, can the bullpen be as good or better than it was last summer? Can Kyle Bradish and Dean Kremer pick up where they left off? Can Ramón Urías win a Gold Glove at a different position?

Will I break my record set last year for most times eating orange chicken in the press dining room?

The last Orioles transaction before Saturday night’s Tyler Nevin trade to the Tigers was the Dec. 23 trade of first baseman Lewin Díaz to the Braves for cash considerations. The Braves designated him for assignment less than a week later.

I woke up Saturday again wondering what the heck happened to Nevin. The Orioles designated him for assignment on Dec. 22 while acquiring catcher James McCann from the Mets. Still no news on the outcome.

I theorized that the Orioles were trying and struggling to find a trade partner. Otherwise, it’s the waiver process and either a claim or outright. Should have been done.

Happy New Year. Hope you remembered to hydrate before going to bed.

You’ll know if it wasn’t enough.

One of the best pieces of advice I ever received was to order a water with every alcoholic beverage. You can thank me later.

Do people still use a designated driver, or have Uber and Lyft made it obsolete?

Anyway, the year 2022 is officially behind us and I can begin referring to it as “last season.” But I want to take a final glance. Never can say goodbye.

The countdown has started. Get ready to raise a glass, and your expectations for the 2023 season if you dare.

I’m still looking back at 2022. I’ll make my resolutions, and my spring travel arrangements, at a later date. My personal and professional lives slamming together as usual.

Here are a few more memorable Orioles moments to go with yesterday’s post:

* Gunnar Henderson made his major league debut on Aug. 31 in Cleveland, with news of his promotion breaking late the previous night.

I might have been enjoying a beverage or two at the hotel bar, but there was room for my laptop. Didn’t spill a drop.

We’re only a few days away from moving past 2022, leaving behind the good and the bad. The personal and professional triumphs and the failures.

This is a time for reflection on the Orioles beat. Certain moments stick with everyone. Others might have gone unnoticed by most or happened during one-on-one interactions.

I’ll share some of mine, in no particular order, over the next few days.

* Manager Brandon Hyde revealed on March 16 that catcher Adley Rutschman was shut down with a strained right triceps, an injury that surfaced during an intrasquad game in Sarasota. On the same day that Heston Kjerstad, the second overall pick in the 2020 draft, strained his hamstring while chasing a line drive in left field that resulted in Rutschman’s inside-the-park home run.

We didn’t know whether Rutschman had a chance to break camp with the team prior to reporting, but the injury removed the drama. He was staying back at extended spring training.

“When do you head down to spring training?”

I was asked again this week during dinner with some friends. I smiled, shrugged and offered the usual time frame.

Major League Baseball hasn’t shared the report date for pitchers and catchers, which coincides with my report date. We usually know months ago.

The Rays arrive on Feb. 14, with their first workout held the following day. But they’re in upheaval after Hurricane Ian hit Port Charlotte hard in late September.

Every March home game will be played at Tropicana Field. The Orioles visit on the 5^th.

I’d have a bunch of non-sports questions if I were flying for the holidays.

“Why is this line so long? Why isn’t it moving? Where are my bags? Where am I supposed to sleep?”

"Do I dare try the sushi?"

Here are a few more relating to the Orioles:

Which free agent starting pitcher could sign with the Orioles?
Rich Hill is off the board after agreeing to a one-year, $8 million contract with the Pirates.

Tyler Nevin was designated for assignment on Wednesday and we still don’t know whether he’s staying in the organization as an outright or joining another team via a trade or waiver claim.

I have a few more questions before 2022 turns into 2023.

How will a new double play combination impact the proficiency in turning them?
Adam Frazier could get most of the starts at second base or he might be busy switching between the infield and outfield. He’s signed for one season and could get bumped over the summer for one of the prospects. But he’s here right now and his main position is second base.

Gunnar Henderson is expected be the third baseman despite Ramón Urías winning a Gold Glove in 2022. Henderson also will be used at shortstop. Urías will move around the infield, with his primary landing spot to be determined.

Rougned Odor is gone after contributing to a defense that turned 150 double plays, the second-most in the American League and fifth-most in the majors. Odor had his deficiencies, but this was one area where he seemed to excel.

The week between Christmas and New Year's tends to be a dead zone in baseball. Silent nights until after the last champagne cork and aspirin are popped.

The ball drops, jokes are made about teams that can’t field, and the next round of business commences.

Oh sure, there are exceptions.

The Orioles, for example, signed pitcher Kohl Stewart on Dec. 29, 2019. He opted out in 2020, citing underlying conditions that put him at risk during the pandemic, and he didn’t appear in another major league game until 2021 with the Cubs.

Free-agent pitchers Miguel Tejada, Paul Demny, Jon Link and Brooks Kieschnick signed minor league deals on Dec. 28, 2017, Dec. 27, 2015, Dec. 28, 2011 and Dec. 26, 2005, respectively. Small stuff, of course. Dinner didn’t get cold while the media filed stories. But it happened.