Time for O’s to fuel up for ‘liftoff from here’
After flirting with playoffs, team should be busy in free agency
Orioles executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias is in Las Vegas for MLB’s General Manager Meetings, taking the first steps in an offseason in which he will attempt to back up his post-trade deadline promise of “liftoff from here” for the organization.
Moves to this point have been minor, a byproduct of a quiet period through the postseason and shortly afterward. Waiver claims pushed the Orioles’ 40-man roster to six catchers, but it’s quickly reduced down to two, with Anthony Bemboom and Cam Gallagher both officially outrighted Tuesday; while Bemboom accepted his assignment to Triple-A, Gallagher elected free agency. With catcher Robinson Chirinos, second baseman Rougned Odor, first baseman Jesús Aguilar and right-hander Jordan Lyles — whose $11 million team option was declined Wednesday — also reaching free agency, Baltimore’s 40-man roster has six openings. That number fluctuated throughout Wednesday, with the Orioles claiming Detroit Tigers outfielder Daz Cameron on waivers; a former Elias draftee in Houston, the 25-year-old went to Detroit in a trade for Justin Verlander and hit .201/.266/.344 with five home runs in 73 games with the Tigers. Another spot figures to be filled Thursday, when the Orioles have to activate left-hander John Means from the 60-day injured list.
That’s also the day MLB free agency begins in full, with players able to sign with organizations other than their previous teams. The Orioles are expected to be active in that area for the first time in Elias’ fouryear tenure. The GM has said the team plans to increase payroll, but not by how much or exactly where on the roster he’ll look to do that.
“It’s not something obvious, that I think we’re going to target a certain position,” Elias said at the end of the regular season. “I think we’re going to look at any and all ways to improve our chances of making the playoffs within the budget that we’re going to be working with, and that’s going to depend on what the market gives us, and I think there are a number of areas where we could supplement this team, so I don’t have a specific prediction about which position any major league acquisitions are going to going to come in.”
That said, here’s a look at the Orioles’ clearest needs as free agency approaches and who might be available to address them.