There were a few glaring needs for the Orioles entering this pivotal offseason. Others weren’t so obvious. 

Due to Félix Bautista’s injury, Baltimore was left without a reliever with extensive closing experience. More injury concerns and free agent departures created holes in the starting rotation, and a busy trade deadline saw bullpen arms shipped away for prospects. 

On the position player side, similar injury concerns, combined with underperformance, created questions about the lineup’s feasibility heading into 2026. 

The additions of Pete Alonso, Taylor Ward, Ryan Helsley and Andrew Kittredge, among others, have addressed many, but not all of those concerns. With shakeups to the roster, Annie Klaff and I took inventory of where Baltimore currently stands and what is left to be done on this week’s edition of “The Bird’s Nest,” which you can watch here. 

What will the Orioles do at first base? 

Though on-field changes have been minimal at this point, with the promise of much more to come before pitchers and catchers report, this has already been the most consequential offseason in Nationals history off the field.

Never in the previous two-plus decades had the club hired both a head of baseball operations and a manager during the same winter. And those are far from the only new people running the show. The front office has been totally remade. So has the coaching staff. And when it’s all said and done, the entire player development operation is likely to have been overhauled as well.

On top of all that, the types of people the Nationals have been hiring for all of these positions bear little resemblance to those who previously held those jobs. Nearly every one of them is in his 30s (or even 20s, in a few cases). Nearly every one of them has a data-heavy background. A good number of them have zero prior big league experience, and some of those don’t even have prior professional experience, coming instead from college programs and private pitching and hitting labs.

While it mirrors in some ways what other organizations were already doing over the last decade, it’s probably taken the young, analytics-heavy mantra to a whole new level. Paul Toboni, 35, is the youngest president of baseball operations in the sport. Anirudh Kilambi, 31, is the youngest general manager in the sport. Blake Butera, 33, is the youngest manager in the sport. And they haven’t been surrounded by older, more-experienced cohorts. They’ve been surrounded by contemporaries.

Is this going to work? Only time will tell. Three years from now, we may look back and praise the Nationals for brilliantly identifying the next wave of great executives and coaches before any of them were on other teams’ radars. Or we may look back and ask: “What on earth were they thinking?”

Baseball business will slow down over the holiday but isn’t necessarily poised for a total shutdown.

The Orioles found their closer (Ryan Helsley) and two big bats (Pete Alonso and Taylor Ward) by the second week in December, and they also brought back a trusted set-up man (Andrew Kittredge) and might have snagged a fifth outfielder (Leody Taveras) to back up in center. That’s an impressive number of boxes checked, but there’s more to do before players start reporting to spring training.

The rotation is light on proven starters. Zach Eflin and Tomoyuki Sugano remain on the free agent market. The Orioles are down to Kyle Bradish, Trevor Rogers, Dean Kremer and Tyler Wells, along with a batch of No. 5 candidates that includes Cade Povich, Brandon Young and Trey Gibson – the latter waiting to make his major league debut.

Sixteen pitchers made starts for the Orioles last season, including Keegan Akin (three), Scott Blewett, Dietrich Enns and Rico Garcia as openers. Sugano led the crew with 30, followed by Kremer with 29, Povich with 20 and Rogers with 18.

Charlie Morton was next with 17 before the Orioles traded him to the Tigers at the deadline. He retired with the Braves. Kyle Gibson made four starts before his release on May 20, and he retired two months later.

Wednesday night’s news that the Nationals are hiring Anirudh Kilambi as general manager surely caught a number of people by surprise. President of baseball operations Paul Toboni said as recently as last month he didn’t expect to add a GM to his front office yet, seemingly content with the organizational flow chart that had come together since his hiring in late-September.

But then came word of the hiring of Kilambi, a 31-year-old data guru who spent the last decade working for the Rays and Phillies and now gets his highest-profile job to date as one of the youngest GMs in major league history.

It might leave you a bit confused. Fortunately, we’re here to answer some of the questions you likely have right now. If nothing else, consider this a placeholder until we get a chance to interview both Toboni and Kilambi later this week …

Q: So, Anirudh Kilambi is actually Mike Rizzo’s replacement?
A: Only in title. And even then, it’s only in partial title. Though he typically was referred to as the Nats’ general manager, Rizzo officially was president of baseball operations and general manager. In short, he was the guy in charge of the entire front office, and he chose not to promote or hire someone to be the GM beneath him, preferring to employ several assistant GMs and several special assistants to the GM.

Q: So, what is Kilambi’s role compared to Toboni’s role?
A: Toboni is the guy in charge. He makes the final decision on free agent signings, trades, etc. Kilambi will serve as his right-hand man, with an emphasis on all matters related to analytics, data and technology. That’s his background with Tampa Bay and Philadelphia, and he was widely regarded throughout baseball as a top young mind in that area, especially the job he did helping to acquire and develop lesser-known pitchers into quality big leaguers during his seven years with the Rays.

A few lingering questions were answered yesterday with news that the Orioles re-signed pitcher Albert Suárez to a minor league deal, lost switch-hitting catcher Drew Romo to the Mets on a waiver claim and sent catcher Maverick Handley to Triple-A Norfolk after he cleared waivers.

Suárez was non-tendered on Nov. 21, but president of baseball operations/general manager Mike Elias indicated in a video call that the Orioles were willing to bring him back.

It always was expected to be a minor league contract because Suárez made $825,000 this year and MLBTradeRumors.com projected his arbitration salary at $900,000. Why else would the Orioles non-tender him?

“The arbitration system, the tender system, there are price points that are set by the system itself that you have to adapt your decision-making to,” Elias said last month when asked about Suárez, who pitched in only five games this year due to shoulder and forearm injuries.

“We love Albert. He’s been a tremendous success story for us since our pro scouts and Mike Snyder’s group found him coming out of Asia. What our pitching department did to develop him, and then what he did particularly in 2024. And it was a real bummer and it was a big part of a lot of the struggles we had last (season) that he got hurt.

The Nationals are hiring Anirudh Kilambi as general manager, giving president of baseball operations Paul Toboni a second-in-command executive with a strong analytics reputation within the sport after a decade working for the Rays and Phillies.

Kilambi’s hiring, expected to be made official later this week, was confirmed by a source familiar with the decision and was first reported by ESPN.

Since Toboni was hired to take over baseball operations in late-September, the question loomed whether the 35-year-old executive would hire a GM to work underneath him. Toboni proceeded to hire former Red Sox colleagues Devin Pearson and Justin Horowitz as assistant GMs and retained former interim GM Mike DeBartolo as senior vice president and assistant GM, but suggested last month he wasn’t planning to also hire a GM for now.

In the end, Toboni did bring in someone to work directly beneath him, poaching Kilambi from the Phillies, where he spent the last four seasons as an assistant GM in charge of the franchise’s research and development department.

At 31, Kilambi becomes one of the youngest GMs in baseball and follows former Giants executive Farhan Zaidi as the first top MLB executives of South Asian descent. Kilambi is a first-generation Indian American.

The Orioles are keeping pitcher Albert Suárez in the organization.

Suárez was non-tendered on Nov. 21, but the club announced today that he agreed to a minor league deal for 2026. He will come to spring training with a chance to recapture his job as a swingman/long reliever.

Suárez was one of the most valuable players on the 2024 team after returning to the majors for the first time since 2017 and posting a 3.70 ERA in 32 games, including 24 starts. However, he sustained a shoulder injury during his first appearance this year on March 28 in Toronto and didn’t return until rosters expanded in September. He pitched in four games and was shut down with a mild forearm flexor strain.

The club received positive news after Dr. Keith Meister examined Suárez in October. Suárez was the only non-tender by the Orioles at the arbitration deadline.

Suárez made $825,000 this year. He settled for a minor league contract but the bullpen has room for him. Closer Ryan Helsley signed a two-year, $28 million deal with an opt-out and the Orioles reacquired Andrew Kittredge from the Cubs for cash considerations.

The Orioles have made the following roster moves:

• C Maverick Handley cleared outright waivers and has been assigned to Triple-A Norfolk.
• Agreed to terms on 2026 minor league contracts with RHP Albert Suárez and INF Willy Vasquez.

The Orioles have made the following roster move:

• C Drew Romo claimed off waivers by the New York Mets

At long last, the Nationals have begun acquiring players. It began with the pre-Winter Meetings trade of Jose A. Ferrer to the Mariners for Harry Ford and Isaac Lyon. It continued with the selection of Griff McGarry in the Rule 5 Draft. And now over the last two days, they have traded Jake Bennett to the Red Sox for Luis Perales and signed Foster Griffin after a successful three-year stint pitching in Japan.

Blockbuster moves? Maybe not. But for the first time, we're starting to get a sense of president of baseball operations Paul Toboni's method of roster-building, while also getting a sense of how much he's likely (or allowed) to spend this winter.

There will be plenty more acquisitions to come in the days and weeks ahead. But for now, let's take a moment to discuss what has already transpired, and wonder what might still be in store before pitchers and catchers report to West Palm Beach in a mere eight weeks.

As always, submit your questions in the comments section below, then check back throughout the morning for my responses.

The circumstances aren’t an exact duplicate. Pete Alonso played only for the Mets before the Orioles signed him as a free agent. Bobby Bonilla split his first season between the White Sox and Pirates, signed with the Mets in December 1991, his deferred money through 2035 creating a legendary deal, and got traded to the Orioles at the 1995 deadline.

That’s close enough for Bonilla to relate.

Bobby Bo knows about going from New York to Baltimore.

“It was fantastic,” Bonilla said yesterday in a video call. “I got a chance to play with Cal Ripken. He broke the (consecutive games) record that year. We were a very good hitting team. I mean, if I’m not mistaken, we led the league in home runs. I think we had like (seven) guys hit 20 or more bombs in that lineup.”

The Orioles belted a then-record 257 home runs and had eight players finish in double digits, led by Brady Anderson’s 50. Jeffrey Hammonds hit nine to just fall short.

The first free agent signed by the Nationals’ new front office is a former first-round pick who went to Japan to resurrect his pitching career.

The Nats are in agreement with left-hander Foster Griffin on a one-year contract that guarantees $5.5 million plus incentives, a source familiar with the terms confirmed. The deal, which was first reported by FanSided.com, is contingent on the 30-year-old passing a physical.

It’s a bit of an unconventional first foray into free agency for new president of baseball operations Paul Toboni, though one that has become increasingly popular among other organizations willing to take a modest financial risk on former big leaguers who parlay success in Asia into major league offers.

Originally the 28th-overall pick of the 2014 Draft by the Royals, Griffin made his major league debut in 2020 and has made seven total big league appearances with Kansas City and Toronto, allowing six earned runs in eight innings. Released by the Blue Jays in November 2022, the 6-foot-3 southpaw then signed with the Yomiuri Giants and turned his career around.

In three seasons pitching in Japan, Griffin went 18-10 with a 2.57 ERA and 1.033 WHIP, working as a starter. The lefty peaked this summer, going 6-1 with a 1.62 ERA, 0.949 WHIP and 77 strikeouts in 78 innings, earning an NPB All-Star selection before being sidelined by a leg injury.

The Washington Nationals acquired right-handed pitcher Luis Perales from the Boston Red Sox in exchange for left-handed pitcher Jake Bennett on Monday. Nationals President of Baseball Operations Paul Toboni made the announcement.

Perales, 22, is the No. 5 prospect in Boston’s system, according to Baseball America, and its No. 7 prospect according to MLBPipeline.com. Perales went from unranked to the No. 57 prospect in baseball in 2024 – according to Baseball America – before undergoing Tommy John surgery in June of that season. He was cited by Baseball America as having the “best fastball” in Boston’s Minor League system prior to both the 2023 and 2024 seasons. Perales returned to the mound in 2025, appearing in three games (2.1 IP) between Double-A Portland and Triple-A Worchester.

Perales (per-AHL-iss) paced Boston’s system and ranked 15^th in all of Minor League Baseball (min. 30.0 IP) with 14.97 strikeouts per 9.0 innings in 2024. He went 2-2 with a 2.94 ERA (11 ER/33.2 IP) and 56 strikeouts in nine games (nine starts) in 2024 prior to the injury. Perales pitched to a 1.88 ERA (6 ER/28.2 IP) with 49 strikeouts and just 10 walks in in his final seven starts after allowing five earned runs in 5.0 innings across his first two starts of the season.

Through five professional seasons (2021-25), Perales has posted 12.56 strikeouts per 9.0 innings and 0.7 home runs per 9.0 innings. He’s surrendered just 12 home runs in 163.1 innings pitched. He is 6-11 with a 3.31 ERA, 228 strikeouts and a .217 opponents’ batting average in 47 professional games (43 starts). A native of Guacara, Venezuela, Perales signed with Boston as an international free agent on July 2, 2019.

Trevor Rogers’ 2025 season wasn’t really a “breakout.” It was more like a return to form with better returns. 

The league saw flashes of what Rogers could be during the 2021 season. In that campaign, his rookie season in Miami, the big lefty was an All-Star, posting a 2.64 ERA and striking out 10.6 batters per nine innings.  

From there, though, things took a turn for the worse. 

The following season, Rogers’ ERA skyrocketed to a 5.47 as almost all of his underlying metrics got significantly worse. He appeared in just four games in 2023 before a disastrous 2024 season that showcased diminished velocity and an extended stay in Triple-A. 

You know the drill from there. 

We’ll never know if there was a realistic chance of Josh Bell returning to the Nationals for another season, whether the new front office valued him the same way the previous front office did. Regardless, it’s too late now after the big slugger chose a new home for the 2026 season.

Bell agreed to a one-year, $7 million contract with the Twins, according to multiple reports Monday, taking his big bat and popular persona to Minnesota. The 33-year-old is expected to see time both at first base and designated hitter, bolstering a lineup that saw only one player hit more than his 22 homers this season.

The Twins become Bell’s seventh different club in seven seasons, a nomadic career he never desired but has been forced to accept due to a combination of trades and short-term contracts. Originally drafted by the Pirates in 2011, he spent his first five seasons in Pittsburgh, making an All-Star team, before he was traded to the Nationals on Christmas Eve 2020 for pitchers Wil Crowe and Eddy Yean (who recently returned to the Nats on a minor league deal).

Bell quickly embraced D.C. and expressed a desire to stay here long-term. But when the organization opted to tear down the remnants of its World Series roster and rebuild with younger players, Bell wound up on the trading block. He was paired up with star outfielder Juan Soto in the August 2022 blockbuster that brought five prospects to the Nationals, with Bell’s inclusion in the deal necessary to acquire pitching prospect Jarlin Susana.

Bell spent only two months in San Diego before becoming a free agent, and he proceeded to sign a two-year, $33 million deal with Cleveland … only to be traded to Miami during that first year. He was then traded to Arizona at the 2024 deadline before again reaching free agency last winter.

The Orioles were linked to Michael King pretty much from the outset of free agency in their quest to land a starting pitcher, and nothing has changed in the many weeks that followed.

Framber Valdez also is in play and the Orioles already met with him at the general managers meetings. Ranger Suárez, too, seems to fall in their price range, given that they spent $155 million over five years for first baseman Pete Alonso.

It wouldn’t be completely accurate to say that money is no object, but it isn’t nearly as much of an obstruction anymore.

“We have resources to do other deals, as well, and we don't have particular constraints,” control owner David Rubenstein said again at the Alonso press conference. “We don't have any particular limit that we imposed on Mike (Elias). So as long as the baseball rules are what they are today, we can do what we want to do, and we're prepared to do what we need to do to get the team to be on a championship level. We're ready to go.

“If there are other great players we can get, we'll try to get 'em.”

Why did it take two decades before the Nationals signed their first free agent from Asia?

“That market is a market that is built on relationships,” former general manager Mike Rizzo said. “You can’t go down there and just pick and choose a guy you want to scout and try and sign him. That market, I dabbled in it when I was with Arizona a few times. And here, we’ve tried at several Asian players. And it’s just … you’re always on the outside looking in, because you don’t have the network there, the groundwork there, that you need to have to create these relationships.”

Rizzo said this in January, shortly after signing Shinnosuke Ogasawara to a two-year, $3.5 million contract. It was significant news, not so much because of the actual player who was signed, but because it marked the first Japanese free agent signed by the Nats since they arrived in town in 2005.

Rizzo, of course, is no longer GM of the franchise. And in a bit of irony, Ogasawara made his major league debut (and trailed 4-0 before recording an out) hours before Rizzo and manager Davey Martinez were fired.

The left-hander went on to make one more start, then made 21 relief appearances in August and September, ultimately completing his rookie season with a gaudy 6.98 ERA and 1.552 WHIP. Paul Toboni’s new front office wound up removing the left-hander from the 40-man roster, outrighting him to Triple-A Rochester, where he’ll likely be the highest-paid player on the roster in 2026.

For anyone still processing what happened with the Orioles last week … Ryan Noda stayed in the organization after clearing waivers.

We don’t know what’s going on with catchers Maverick Handley and Drew Romo after they were designated for assignment.

There’s a little more to talk about, of course. The Orioles have a new first baseman. The buzz hasn’t faded.

Let’s keep the discussion going.

* Pete Alonso’s homework on the Orioles extended to a ballpark where he played 10 games as a visitor, resulting in three doubles, five home runs and 11 RBIs.

When a series of events unfolds as they did for the Orioles at the Winter Meetings and in the days that followed, there’s almost too much to digest. It’s like devouring a holiday feast but not having to adjust the holes in your belt.

Fans are hoping that their team keeps behaving like gluttons.

Beyond the minor league depth moves, the Orioles have signed outfielder Leody Taveras to a $2 million contract, traded for reliever Andrew Kittredge and power-hitting outfielder Taylor Ward, signed closer Ryan Helsley to a two-year, $28 million contract with an opt-out, and secured power-hitting first baseman Pete Alonso with a five-year, $155 million contract.

It’s the second week in December.

Alonso’s deal includes a $12.5 million signing bonus and an $18.5 million salary in 2026, followed by payments of $31 million in each of the next four seasons. He can receive award bonuses and has no-trade protection that allows him to reject eight clubs.

The Winter Meetings have come and gone, and not much has changed for the Nationals since they traded Jose A. Ferrer to the Mariners last weekend before heading to Orlando.

We did, however, see some changes across baseball’s greater landscape, most notably the Orioles signing first base slugger Pete Alonso to a five-year, $155 million contract. That was one of the first major dominoes to fall this offseason, with many more now to follow.

New president of baseball operations Paul Toboni didn’t leave the Winter Meetings with a splashy free agent signing nor another trade completed. He used the week to lay down groundwork for the deals he’ll make between now and the start of spring training.

But with other moves from around the league, we can now speculate on possible avenues he could pursue to fill out the 2026 roster.

After Wednesday’s blockbuster news of Alonso signing with the Orioles, a train of thought led to the possibility of the first-ever trade between the Nats and O’s.