Some early assumptions on Orioles

Has this bizarre and stalled offseason taught us anything about the 2022 Orioles? Their direction, their mindset, their priorities, their plan?

Your time is better spent reading a novel.

There's more coming from a winter story that had to be bookmarked. In the meantime, here are a few observations on another slow morning:

A willingness to spend on pitching
We won't get a comment from executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias on the negotiating process that led to Jordan Lyles' $7 million contract until the right-hander is allowed to take his physical and sign.

This is the largest contract given to a free agent since Elias moved into the front office. The Orioles signed pitchers Nate Karns and Kohl Stewart to major league deals, the latter opting out in 2020 due to COVID-19 concerns and never pitching for them. They signed infielders José Iglesias, Freddy Galvis and Maikel Franco to major league deals, with their combined salaries not matching Lyles' haul.

Second baseman Rougned Odor is getting the major league minimum from the Orioles if he makes the club in 2022. They signed starters Matt Harvey, Félix Hernández and Wade LeBlanc to minor league contracts last offseason that paid $1 million, $1 million and $700,000, respectively, if the veterans were on the team.

The reasoning with Lyles will be articulated later, but the Orioles didn't come close to opening the wallet that wide with anyone else. So that's different.

Not comfortable with in-house second base options
Otherwise, why sign Odor, whose production has slipped?

The Orioles must view him as an upgrade. Again, we're working under assumptions and speculating while Elias is forbidden from talking about 40-man players.

They didn't sign Odor as a favor to anyone.

Pat Valaika was outrighted again and became a free agent, removing him from the second base competition. Richie Martin was outrighted, but will report to spring training. Lucius Fox was claimed and lost on waivers.

The 40-man roster includes Ramón Urías, Jahmai Jones and Jorge Mateo. Urías and Mateo are shortstop options, but the Orioles could sign a veteran, as they've done with Iglesias and Galvis. All three of them will try to impress in camp and provide manager Brandon Hyde with an alternative if Odor fizzles.

Will listen on anyone
"Listen on" is such an offseason expression.

That's how you know the regular season is over. You don't need a schedule.

Elias isn't going to publicly declare that a player is untouchable. Of course, there are levels of availability, but everyone is on the table.

That includes No. 1 starter John Means. That includes All-Star center fielder and Silver Slugger winner Cedric Mullins.

Teams call and Elias listens. He's done it while executives toss out trade proposals for Means, Mullins and others.

This is not actively trying to move them. This is ascertaining their value to other clubs and seeing if an offer blows back his hair.

Moving away from Austin Wynns
I didn't expect Wynns to re-sign with the Orioles after they outrighted him in October and he became a free agent, but if you needed proof, first check out the team's transactions.

Two catchers have signed minor league deals - Jacob Nottingham and Anthony Bemboom. Similar profiles as Wynns, with their best work done behind the plate.

Wynns ended the season on the 40-man roster and must wait for a new collective bargaining agreement, but the Orioles appear to have moved on. They aren't done with the catching market, but there just doesn't seem to be much interest.

The lockout is supposed to stop teams and agents from negotiating or engaging in any sort of discussions.

Also, my diet is supposed to stop me from eating carbs.

Yeah, whatever.

The Orioles still could sign a catcher to a major league deal after a new CBA is in place. They aren't shying away from the bigger names, though the available ones won't overwhelm you. They still could sign another catcher to a minor league deal at any point this winter or in spring training.

I'll still be surprised if Wynns is back in Baltimore.

On board with co-hitting coaches
This is becoming a popular configuration in baseball.

The Astros, Giants and Dodgers, for example. And they're pretty good.

The Orioles ditched the assistant title and made Ryan Fuller and Matt Borgschulte co-hitting coaches, the former harvested from their farm and the latter hired away from the Twins.

This is done because teams believe the job has become so big that it requires two coaches. I'm sure there's a little more to it, since an assistant could lighten the load.

The roster won't be divided down the middle, with Fuller taking half of the hitters and Borgschulte the other half. At least not at the outset. Maybe the arrangement evolves over time.

Their understanding and use of analytic data and forward thinking should keep them on the same page.

Fuller was the Baysox hitting coach and Orioles' full-season hitting coordinator. He initially was hired from Power in Training, a facility in Connecticut, to serve as hitting coach at low Single-A Delmarva, and has been instrumental in revamping the hitting philosophy throughout the system.

Borgschulte was hitting coach with the Triple-A St. Paul Saints. He spent a year as the volunteer at his alma mater, Drury University, where he introduced the use of in-depth video analysis for hitting.

The Orioles don't have co-pitching coaches, but Darren Holmes is an assistant rather than carrying the title of bullpen coach and he's going to be in the dugout for games.

Full steam ahead with young, analytic-minded coaches
This isn't tied only to Fuller and Borgschulte.

Grant Anders, the development coach this summer at Bowie, was promoted to major league player development analyst.

Dave Barry was named player development hitting analyst in the minors and Adam Schuck was named player development pitching analyst.

Jake Witt, a pitching intern at Driveline Baseball since March, will be a pitching coach in the Rookie-level Dominican Summer League.

And so on and so on.

You'll find more examples, I'm sure, when the minor league staffs are announced.

Note: Tigers first base coach and former outfielder Kimera Bartee died yesterday of unknown causes. He was 49.

The Orioles drafted Bartee in the 14th round in 1993 and made him the player to be named later with pitcher Scott Klingenbeck two years later in the Scott Erickson trade with the Twins. They selected him that winter in the Rule 5 draft and lost him to the Tigers on a March 1996 waiver claim.

Bartee spent parts of four seasons with the Tigers and one each with the Reds and Rockies.