The Orioles didn’t make any minor league transactions yesterday or announce any other surgical results or renovation plans at the ballpark. A quiet day for them.

Finding ways to get them busy next October would be a winter-long process except for the likelihood of a shutdown that stalls business. They’ll have to work around it.

Here’s an unsolicited opinion on a few things that the Orioles should do. Just scratching the surface.

Leave Coby Mayo alone

Don’t ignore him. That would be rude. But as Three Doors Down sang, let me be myself.

Mayo isn’t a dead-pull hitter, but he’s far more likely to drive a ball to left field than right. Using the whole field is fine for others on the team. Preach it till you’re blue in the face. Many players are at their best when driving the ball to the gaps, and Mayo is capable of it, but he’s a shining example of how an organizational approach doesn’t necessarily apply to everyone.

One size doesn’t fit all.

Over half of Mayo’s balls in play went to left field this season, including 20 of his 24 home runs. His three-run, inside-the-park homer at Citi Field cleared center fielder A.J. Ewing’s head. That’s almost like going the other way in Mayo’s world.

Emphasize all fields to guys like Gunnar Henderson, Colton Cowser, Dylan Beavers and Jackson Holliday. Everyone covering the team wrote or talked about Adley Rutschman being “back” because he was spraying the ball in every direction. But Mayo’s average exit velocity was 91.3 mph with a maximum of 116.5. Five of his home runs traveled at least 400 feet, including 468-, 452- and 440-foot shots.

Wall scrapers aren’t in his skill set. And he did it by letting the ball travel when at the plate, which also doesn’t work for everyone. This is how he’s most comfortable and most effective.

Mayo and Matt Olson tied for the major league lead with 16 homers against left-handers. Mayo did it in 146 at-bats, Olson in 257. Mayo hit .322/.393/.712 against them.

Just let him be the masher who terrorizes southpaws. He showed signs of hitting better against right-handers during the latter stages of the season, going 14-for-55 (.255) with four doubles and four home runs since Aug. 31 after being 0-for-29 from Aug. 11-30, but there’s nothing wrong with what he’s doing. Start him at third base or as the designated hitter. Give him first base if Pete Alonso is the DH. And don’t fight the power.

Rally ‘round Rogers

The Beatles sang “We Can Work it Out,” since we’re musically inclined today, and that would be my mission with Trevor Rogers.

You can’t force a guy to sign, and a chunk of the offseason could be lost to a lockout, but the Orioles have expressed their interest in retaining Rogers and he’d prefer to stay. That’s a nice start.

The first step, after in-season negotiations apparently failed to materialize, is making the qualifying offer. Rogers probably will decline it, which gives the Orioles a compensatory draft pick if he goes to another team. And they still can pursue a deal with him.

“As I’ve been over the years, I don’t like to be the person contributing too much public information to these sorts of things, unless it’s like absolutely necessary,” president of baseball operations Mike Elias said at Monday’s press conference.

“I’ll say a few things about Trevor. Was extremely impressed. We traded for him in the middle of 2024, he didn’t come over in the best spot. He went to a pretty low place in his career and through his own hard work and guts brought himself up to where he is now, with the help and support of our organization. I’m really proud of him and everyone involved in that. Thought he had a really good year, and we love him. And we would love for him to stay. I’m certainly going to be talking to his camp before free agency, but then also during free agency, if it gets to that point.

“That said, I think as he said publicly, he’s a pitcher who’s worked really hard since being drafted and he’s managed to get to the precipice of free agency at a healthy spot and an impressive spot. The system affords him that right, and I’m sure there’s a big part of him that’s going to value that, too. That’s my take on it. But the interest is very high from our side of the fence.”

Interest in Rogers will be found on the other side, as well. Starting pitching is a hot commodity and he’s a left-hander who posted a 1.81 ERA last season in 18 starts and a 2.90 ERA this season in his final 20 starts. His velocity climbed and his walk rate shrank.

Rogers was a trade candidate at the deadline and a seemingly safe bet to leave, but the Orioles kept him and pretty much confirmed the qualifying offer theory. They usually don’t get into bidding wars for pitching, making legitimate offers for Corbin Burnes and Ranger Suárez in recent years but falling short. Rogers turns 29 in November. His track record is growing. And he comes cheaper than Tarik Skubal.

Any shot at a bargain for the Orioles, if such a thing existed, flew out the window. They extended Shane Baz and Kyle Bradish and bought out the final two years of Yennier Cano’s arbitration eligibility, but Rogers kept pitching under his current deal and raising his price tag.

Cade Povich is the only left-handed starter under team control next season. Luis De León, the No. 7 prospect in the system per MLB Pipeline, worked in relief after joining the expanded roster but is returning to a starting role. He’s going to compete for a spot in the rotation in camp but can’t be viewed as an immediate substitute for Rogers.

The future is bright for prospects Joseph Dzierwa and Caden Hunter, but they aren’t making the team out of spring training.

Expand backup catcher competition

Samuel Basallo will report to the Ed Smith Stadium complex as the No. 1 catcher for the first time. He isn’t a top prospect waiting for his chance. He isn’t pairing with Adley Rutschman. He’s the guy.

But who’s behind him?

What else have you got?

Along with four prospects, the Orioles also received catcher Carlos Narváez from the Red Sox in the Rutschman trade. He finished sixth in American League Rookie of the Year voting in 2025. He scored points with the Orioles for reading the room and knowing that Rutschman’s departure hurt teammates, showed the proper respect, and won them over with his commitment to learning the pitching staff and efforts to bond.

What he couldn’t do for them was hit. Narváez went 8-for-77 with 24 strikeouts. He threw out a combined 18.6 percent of runners attempting to steal this season, compared to 29.9 in 2025.

Yohel Pozo was claimed on waivers from the Cardinals on July 23 and faded into the background, appearing in only 19 games and going 7-for-27 with a home run and his first career steal. He got a start on Aug. 16 and didn’t crack the lineup again until Sept. 15, with only six appearances in between. Doubleheaders on Sept. 23 and 25 provided opportunities that otherwise might not have existed.

The Orioles used seven catchers to tie the franchise record, including Sam Huff, Jake Rogers and Chadwick Tromp. Rogers was sent to the Red Sox with Rutschman after appearing in three games. Tromp declined an outright assignment and signed with the Dodgers on Aug. 13. Huff filed for free agency after the minor league season.

Creed Willems, the organization’s No. 28 prospect, got as far as the taxi squad this year. Ethan Anderson is No. 16, but he began the season at High-A Frederick and played five games with Triple-A Norfolk. The Orioles seem unlikely to break camp with him as their backup.

Silas Ardoin also is on Norfolk’s roster and also unlikely to be the No. 2 catcher on Opening Day.

Basallo is only 22 and struggling to stay on the field. He takes beatings like a jobber in the WWE. And the Orioles want to rotate him into the designated hitter spot, which increases the importance of the backup. They could go with Narváez or Pozo, who have minor league options left, or seek an offensive upgrade. The position usually is addressed anyway in the offseason, even if it’s a minor league signing.