My mailbag hasn’t been eliminated in the postseason. It also hasn’t been designated for assignment, outrighted or turned into a Camden Yards bar.

We’re still working on getting it to return every text.

This seems like a good place to start.  

Any indication that Chris Bassitt is staying?
The candle burning in the window is just to save on the electric bill. Bassitt is a pending free agent who first must decide that he wants to pitch in 2027, which he seemed to indicate late in the season. “I’ve got a 7 year old at home, I’ve got a 3 year old at home and a wife that wants me to be home. So yeah, we’ll cross that bridge when we do. Overall, I still have a lot of fire in me to definitely do something. I’m gonna have to win the wife over, I’ll tell you that. But yeah, there’s a lot of fire still in me. I know I still can play this game at a really high level.” So there’s a pretty good chance that Bassitt will sign with someone for his 13th major league season at age 38. I don’t think it will be with the Orioles. They should aim higher – much closer to the top of the rotation. And while they also have a tendency to sign an upper-30s starter for the back end, Bassitt already had his turn. He gets the same Orioles robe as Jordan Lyles, Kyle Gibson, Charlie Morton and Tomoyuki Sugano.

Will teams move faster to protect Rule 5-eligible players this year, given the high likelihood of a lockout taking effect on Dec 1?
The deadline for teams to set their 40-man rosters is in mid-November. Last year, it had to be done by the 18th. A lockout could force the cancellation of the Winter Meetings, including the Rule 5 draft, but players need to be protected ahead of time. They aren’t allowed to play in the minors during a lockout if they’re on the 40-man, which could influence some decisions. Or maybe it won’t. I don’t know. Hopefully, there’s a fast resolution and it doesn’t matter.

It seems the Orioles franchise is improving the ballpark atmosphere to bring more fans to the stands. Wouldn’t it make more sense to just improve the team and have it win more games? I mean, who doesn’t like winning?
When former owner John Angelos wanted to replicate The Battery Atlanta, he should have just plopped it inside the ballpark. Camden Yards is becoming the place to gather for food and drinks if you don’t mind paying the largest cover charge in the city. Tickets ain’t cheap. But seriously, the Orioles want to keep enhancing the fan experience while also building a winner. The place needed some upgrades and they should increase the chances of finally getting the All-Star Game in Baltimore. Attendance this season was only 25,597 higher than in 2025 despite the renovations, including the two expansive bars with field views on the club level and the setups on the flag court and below the scoreboard. Yes, winning is the ultimate attraction. But the Orioles aren’t putting drink rails ahead of World Series rings. They’d like to do ‘em both.

Luis Aparicio is 92 years old but he’s still with us and was a great Oriole. Have you heard anything about him?
Just what’s online. He’s alive and living quietly in Venezuela as the oldest living member of the Hall of Fame. I haven’t seen him at the ballpark, most likely due to his age and being out of the country. Him, not me. And not that you asked, but my earliest Orioles memories only go back to Mark Belanger at shortstop, but I was certainly aware of Aparicio’s defensive prowess and basestealing. The Orioles acquired him from and traded him back to the White Sox, receiving outfielder Don Buford in the second transaction.

Do you think Albert Suárez will be back? Will he be treated better next season? Was he actually OK with the constant DFAs? I thought they were kind of tacky.
Suárez is arbitration eligible and an obvious candidate to be removed from the 40-man roster. It can’t seem to hold him. Suárez knew the arrangement when the Orioles re-signed him to a minor league deal after non-tendering him. And he chose to keep coming back, whether by accepting an outright assignment or signing a new contract. I’d never count him out. He could wind up in Sarasota again as an invite. I don’t expect a major league offer to be waiting for him, but an innings eater with a quick recovery time can be a valuable commodity. Now, this is assuming that Suárez wants to keep pitching rather than move on to the next phase of his life. He turns 37 on Thursday. Need a gift idea? Maybe another suitcase for all the packing and unpacking.

Luis Robert Jr. still intrigues me, but not at $20 million. With his buyout, the Orioles are already $3 million in with Lu-Rob. Should the Orioles, while considering his injury history, try to bring him back on a reasonable contract?
Lu-Rob? I guess that’s better than “Robby” or any other clever baseball nickname. Robert’s contract includes a $2 million buyout, which is a much more likely outcome than the $20 million option. The outfield is a problem area, which is why the Orioles claimed him from the Mets. They could negotiate a new deal. They probably have the same attraction to his right-handed bat and athleticism, but it would have to be at the right cost.

Which will happen first, an Oriole playoff win or the completion of the new Francis Scott Key Bridge?
The most recent timeline that I saw for completion of bridge construction was in 2030.  

That wasn’t the question.
The Orioles will win a playoff game before 2030. They aren’t in another rebuild. They’ll work on the roster again, make a few more changes in the front office, and hope for better player health and progress from their core. They’ll try to fix the defense. Maybe the American League will be mediocre again. Maybe it won’t matter. But since you asked, I think the Orioles get back in the playoffs, which is the obvious first step, and they’ll end the winless drought that stretches back to 2014.

Has Pete Alonso won any other awards in the last few days? I might have missed one.
He hasn’t. But Alonso is a finalist for the Hank Aaron Award, which recognizes the most outstanding regular season offensive performer in each league. He’s up against Yordan Álvarez, Randy Arozarena, Junior Caminero, Willson Contreras, Yandy Diaz, Riley Greene, Ben Rice, Miguel Vargas and Bobby Witt Jr. Fans have a voice in the voting through MLB.com/aaron until Oct. 12 at 11:59 a.m. The award was introduced in 1999 and no Oriole has won it.

The times you were allowed to go to the games in person, did you feel like the players were just “mailing it in” during pregame workouts?
I’m confused by “few times.” Do you mean on the road? I attended all but a couple of home games. Anyway, I saw lots of pregame work done on the field. Infield drills, PFPs, etc. Early hitting in the cage also wasn’t uncommon. My eyes weren’t glued to every single action, especially during media clubhouse access, but I never saw anything that looked like players were just going through the motions. I can only speak to those moments when they had my attention. I get distracted easily.

Don Mattingly is out in Philadelphia. Bench coach for Craig Albernaz? Front office?
The Orioles haven’t announced that they’re making changes to the coaching staff. They haven’t said anything about replacing bench coach Donnie Ecker or anyone else. They’re in the market for a general manager, but Mattingly might not have any interest in a front office role and the Orioles might prefer someone with previous experience. Maybe you’re getting him confused with his son Preston.

If there is a lockout, will you also be locked out?
Locked out? Now I’m having some bad flashbacks. You also gonna ask if my clothes will be tossed out the window? This seems like a good place to stop.