Mailbag leftovers for breakfast

I couldn’t get to a few questions in the weekend mailbag and wanted to publish them before they got stale, like the bread used to make stuffing for your holiday turkey.

By the way, it’s dressing if prepared outside the bird. Let me address th]at one before it’s asked.

Here are some extras while we wait for Orioles news.

Is the offseason plan to just hope Grayson Rodriguez stays healthy and becomes the ace they hope?
I wouldn’t say it’s a “plan.” It isn’t preventing the Orioles from acquiring a top starter. But they certainly hope that he can go the distance and reach his enormous potential. Gotta stop with the lat and shoulder soreness. He could be an ace if he’s healthy. He’s got that kind of stuff.

Who's your early minor league dark horse(s) to make their MLB debut in 2025?
Here’s one for you that’s outside the (batter’s) box: Catcher Maverick Handley is on the taxi squad and has his contract selected because of an injury. He’s already in the clubhouse and the team doesn’t want to play shorthanded. It happened twice this year with catcher David Bañuelos and he received his first and only major league at-bat. Bañuelos was the leading taxi squad guy this year but Handley has done it in the past.

Who is the most likely starter the O's get? Burnes, Flaherty, or trade for someone like Castillo or Cease?
I keep saying that a trade seems like an easier way to get a starter by not having to outbid the big spenders. It’s just a matter of which prospects the front office is comfortable relinquishing. Otherwise, I’m putting Flaherty ahead of Burnes for very obvious reasons - Burnes seeking more than the eight years and $218 million that Max Fried got from the Yankees. The Orioles think Flaherty can be the 2024 version rather than the 2023 guy who seemed to be tiring when they traded for him. Of course, this question was asked before last night's announcement that the Orioles signed Japanese right-hander Tomoyuki Sugano.

When can we call the Rogers trade a bust?
Well, some of you want to do it now and I’ve tired of explaining why that’s too premature - for any trade. Four starts? Having no idea how Connor Norby and Kyle Stowers will turn out? The trade didn’t help in 2024, which is reason enough for some fans, but it was made in part to provide a starting option in 2025. Also, pitching isn’t why the Orioles were swept in the playoffs. If being fresher and making adjustments to his delivery sets up Rogers for a big season, there’s no reason why the trade should be called a “bust.”

When do you head down to Florida for spring training?
I haven’t received any instructions about a report date.

Can you give us an idea how the hitting coaches work with individual players during the season? Do they review things on a game-by-game basis or is it more a weekly or monthly thing?
There isn’t a set schedule. Coaches will watch video with hitters at varying times in a season. They’ll take a hitter in the indoor cage or set up early batting practice outdoors, which I often watch during an early arrival in the press box. There are hitters’ meetings at the beginning of each series. Some guys want or require more attention than others.

Do you know or are you aware of a front office employee being fired for leaking information during the Mike Elias administration?
There’s been turnover, which happens under a new regime, but I haven’t heard of it happening for that reason. I haven't done a deep dive, but again, I haven't heard that reason. But I will say that if you work in baseball and want to be unemployed, that’s one way to go about it. Or you can tie a World Series trophy to your back bumper and drive around the parking lot.

Does the front office hate the fan base?
It does not. Did you detect any animosity when it traded for Corbin Burnes or created a farm system that ranked No. 1 in baseball? Or when the Orioles made back-to-back playoff appearances? Zach Eflin might have been the best deadline pickup, and it wasn’t done with malice. I’ll just assume you were going for humor.

On Instagram, Ben McDonald posted a pic of him holding Boras Agency merch and the caption was, "Once a Boras guy, always a Boras guy." Is that literally true? Is Boras still Big Ben's agent? Does someone at MASN have to negotiate Big Ben's contract with Scott Boras? How does that go? Does MASN end up negotiating against itself and signing Big Ben for $161 million?
I see what you did there at the end. Boras offered advice but McDonald handled contract negotiations. Boras doesn’t do that sort of thing.

Which is worse, being a New York Giants fan or a White Sox fan?
Well, a baseball season lasts a lot longer. At least Giants fans can get it over with more quickly. The game against the Ravens should have been rated NC-17.

Should the O's sign Austin Hays?
He would fit as an extra right-handed hitting outfielder who can play anywhere, but I’m sure he’d prefer a full-time role. I also don’t know how another outfielder makes a roster with seven infielders. The math still doesn’t work for me unless you go with 12 pitchers.

At what point does a first-round draft pick become a bust?
Much later than his first four games.

Elias has said that he wants the team to be competitive for several years to come. Would you be satisfied with going all out and trading top prospects to win a World Series and possibly hurt the chance of contending in future years? I would like to see us go for it and worry about next year’s team when the time comes. Prospects are only suspects until proven otherwise.
The judges also would have accepted, “Prospects are nice but parades are better.” Listen, in an ideal world you’d win a World Series and be in position to repeat. Other teams do it. They may not go back-to-back but they remain contenders. But stockpiling prospects also is done so you can trade them for final pieces to the puzzle. They aren’t here solely to help the major league team.

With which family would you prefer to spend Christmas: the Parkers, Griswolds or McAlisters?
I had to Google McAlisters. I assume you meant McCallisters from “Home Alone.” I’m not a big fan of holiday travel or being abandoned, though I do enjoy my alone time. And this is a good place to stop.

What is the dumbest take you have ever seen here?
I don’t want to list them all and break the internet. And this is definitely a good place to stop.