Three more Orioles questions to consider (O's sign Gordon to minor league deal)

I collected some mailbag questions this week but decided to hold onto them. The tables are turning again this morning.

Here are three more of mine. Tell me what you think.

How much does Heston Kjerstad play in 2025?

A path isn’t completely cleared for Kjerstad but he’s got room.

The Orioles let Anthony Santander walk in free agency but they signed Tyler O’Neill to a three-year, $49.5 million deal with an opt-out after the upcoming season. O’Neill isn’t here to sit. He won’t play 162 games but he’ll be a regular presence in the lineup, whether in right field or left.

Baseball hasn’t abolished the designated hitter, which leaves at-bats for Kjerstad when he isn’t in the outfield. Unknown, however, is whether he’ll get opportunities to face left-handers after going 6-for-16 against them this year.

Cedric Mullins could sit frequently against them, but Jorge Mateo would have to play center field on most of those nights. O’Neill has done it, but the Orioles seem to prefer him in the corners. Meanwhile, the roster doesn’t have the usual plus-defense, plus-speed, right-handed-hitting backup at all three spots. The club might have to experiment with Mateo.

Kjerstad was chosen second overall in the 2020 draft because the Orioles envisioned him as their right fielder of the near future. They didn’t know that he’d be diagnosed with myocarditis and later injure his hamstring. He destroyed Triple-A pitching this year, batting .301/.397/.601 with 14 doubles, 16 home runs and 58 RBIs in 56 games.

The power is eye-popping. The defense isn’t in the same class but the Orioles see improvement. There’s nothing left to prove in the minors.

It’s time.

Do the Orioles trade for Luis Castillo?

Castillo makes sense, for sure, and the Mariners seem willing to move him. They may not be aggressively shopping him, but they’ll listen and probably react to the right offer.tillo would be the No. 1 starter and he’s under team control through 2027. His ERA is 3.43 in three seasons with the Mariners and 3.56 in 211 major league games. A top three of Castillo, Zach Efflin and Grayson Rodriguez is formidable on paper, and attaching Dean Kremer and Tomosuki Sugano makes the unit deeper and leaves the club with impressive depth with guys like Cade Povich, Albert Suárez, Trevor Rogers, Chayce McDermott and Brandon Young.

The free-agent market is almost stripped of No. 1 starters, with Japanese right-hander Roki Sasaki the most likely of the bunch to earn that role. A trade seems like the only way if it remains a priority, and Castillo, a three-time All-Star, would dramatically elevate the offseason.

But at what cost?

Executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias mentioned to reporters at the Winter Meetings that there are more possibilities for major league player swaps, that fewer teams are accepting prospects while trying to contend. Seattle wants to address its infield, including the corners. The teams reportedly have talked.

Ryan Mountcastle is a popular name to speculate. The Mariners could inquire about Coby Mayo, who’s been untouchable. They might also want a young starter in return.

Should the Orioles feel set in position players?

Roster projections keep coming out the exact same way: four outfielders, seven infielders and two catchers. Every player identified. No room for alterations unless it’s created.

Elias sought a backup catcher to replace James McCann and he signed Gary Sánchez for $8.5 million in 2025. He sought a right-handed hitting outfielder with some thump and solid defensive skills and signed O’Neill.

O’Neill, Kjerstad, Mullins and Colton Cowser are positioned to occupy the four outfield spots. Mountcastle, Mateo, Gunnar Henderson, Jordan Westburg, Ryan O’Hearn, Jackson Holliday and Ramón Urías would comprise the seven infielders.

Relinquishing one or more in a trade is one way to change the projections. But is that what it takes?

Note: The Orioles signed utility player Nick Gordon, 29, to a minor league deal that is expected to include a spring training invitation.

Gordon, a left-handed hitter, was the fifth-overall pick by the Twins in the 2014 draft out of Olympia High School in Orlando. He's appeared in 338 games over four seasons and batted .244/.283/.386. Gordon spent 2024 with the Marlins and hit .227/.258/.369 with 11 doubles, a triple, eight home runs and 32 RBIs in 95 games.

Gordon's best season was 2022 with the Twins, when he batted .272/.316/.427 with 28 doubles, four triples, nine home runs and 50 RBIs in 136 games.

The Marlins outrighted Gordon in August and he became a minor league free agent.

The utility part comes from Gordon playing everywhere in the infield and outfield except first base. He's also pitched in four games.

The major league infield is crowded, but Gordon is a depth signing and could get an early call if there's an injury or trade.