When the Nationals removed Travis Blankenhorn from their 40-man roster in early October, the 27-year-old outfielder had the option of accepting an outright assignment to Triple-A Rochester or becoming a free agent. He chose to become a free agent, perhaps believing a better opportunity would be available elsewhere.

Blankenhorn, though, eventually found his way back to the Nationals, recently signing a minor-league deal with the organization, which was willing to give him another shot.

The Nats got only a brief look at Blankenhorn last season. After putting up big numbers (23 homers, 75 RBIs, .877 OPS) in 108 games at Rochester, he was promoted to the majors Sept. 1 and immediately made his presence known, homering in his first game that night at Nationals Park.

That proved the high point of his season, though. Blankenhorn played in only 10 games, going 5-for-31 with no other extra-base hits or RBIs following the homer in his debut. And he wound up going on the 10-day injured list with plantar fasciitis in his foot, missing the final two weeks of the season.

Given the organization’s well-known crop of top outfield prospects, Blankenhorn didn’t seem to have much future with the Nationals, which explains in part why they took him off the 40-man roster. But they will still need outfield depth in the minors, and perhaps someone who could be used in the majors if the need arises before prospects like James Wood, Dylan Crews and Robert Hassell III are deemed ready.

The interest in the Orioles can’t always be confined to one mailbag entry. There’s some spillover that must be cleaned up.

Think of this space as aisle 5.

Here’s the remainder, along with a reminder that my mailbag parts ways amicably and yours is fired.

Where is Félix Bautista rehabbing?
I’m told he’s rehabbing at the spring training complex in Sarasota, but he’ll be in the Dominican Republic for Tuesday’s unveiling of the new state-of-the-art academy.

Are there any MLB teams not linked to a trade for Dylan Cease?
I like how you emphasized “MLB.” Just to be clear that you weren’t referring to the Northwoods League. It isn’t every team in the majors, but it’s more than a half-dozen, right? And yes, the Orioles are talking to the White Sox about him. Why is this treated like breaking news? And are they reportedly the “favorites” simply because they have the most prospects to offer?

The Orioles today announced their 2024 Major League staff, led by 2023 American League Manager of the Year BRANDON HYDE. The club has named DREW FRENCH Pitching Coach, MITCH PLASSMEYER Assistant Pitching Coach, and GRANT ANDERS Major League Development Coach. All other coaches remain in their same positions: CODY ASCHE as Offensive Strategy Coach, MATT BORGSCHULTE and RYAN FULLER as Co-Hitting Coaches, TIM COSSINS as Major League Field Coordinator/Catching Instructor, FREDI GONZÁLEZ as Bench Coach, JOSÉ HERNÁNDEZ as Major League Coach, RYAN KLIMEK as Pitching Strategy Coach, TONY MANSOLINO as Third Base Coach, and ANTHONY SANDERS as First Base Coach.

French, 39, joins the Orioles from the Atlanta Braves, where he spent the past three seasons as the Bullpen Coach, including on the 2021 World Series champion team. Prior to his first Major League coaching role with the Braves, he spent five seasons (2016-20) as a Pitching Coach in the Houston Astros organization. In 2020, he worked as one of two Pitching Coaches at Houston’s Alternate Training Site. He then joined the Astros for the end of the regular season and playoffs as the Pitching Coach for the club’s Major League taxi squad. In 2019, he served as Triple-A Round Rock’s Pitching Coach. Under his guidance, Express pitchers set a franchise record with 1,265 strikeouts and posted 12 shutout victories, the most in the Pacific Coast League. He joined the Astros in 2016 as the Pitching Coach for Short-Season A Tri-City. In the following two seasons, he helped teams win championship titles, first as Pitching Coach for the 2017 Midwest League Champion Quad City River Bandits (A), and then as Pitching Coach for the 2018 Carolina League Champion Buies Creek Astros (A+). Before coaching in professional baseball, French spent nine seasons in similar roles with four different universities. He graduated from Concordia University (TX) in 2006 with a Bachelor of Business Administration and a Minor in Communication.

Plassmeyer, 28, was promoted from Minor League Pitching Coordinator, a role he had held since May 2022. Prior to joining the Orioles, he worked at the University of Missouri-Columbia as Pitching Coach (2022) and Director of Player Development - Baseball (2021-22). He began his coaching career at Premier Pitching and Performance (P3) in Missouri, where he served as Pitching Trainer (2019-22), Director of Remote Pitching (2019-21), and Director of Pitching (2021). Plassmeyer pitched three seasons at Bradley University (IL), where he received his Bachelor of Science in Business Management and Leadership from the Foster College of Business in 2019.

Anders, 27, was promoted from Major League Player Development Analyst, a role he had held since December 2021. He joined the Orioles organization as Double-A Bowie’s Development Coach in November of 2019, serving in that capacity through the 2021 season. Prior to joining the Orioles, Anders spent the 2019 season as a Baseball Operations Trainee with the Cincinnati Reds and the 2017-18 seasons as a Minor League Video Intern in the Kansas City Royals organization. He received his Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Radford University (VA), where he served as the Director of Player Development for the Radford Highlanders baseball team from 2015-18. He earned his Master of Sports Law and Business from Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University in 2019.

Hyde enters his sixth season as Manager after being named to the post prior to the 2019 campaign. In 2023, he led the Orioles to an AL-best 101-61 record, the first time since 1997 that the Orioles claimed the top seed in the AL. The 2023 season saw the O’s clinch their 10^th AL East title and first since 2014, as well as their first playoff berth since the 2016 AL Wild Card. Hyde guided the Orioles to their first 100-win season since 1980, joining EARL WEAVER as the only O’s skippers to manage a team to a 100-win campaign. He has now led the Birds to their first back-to-back winning seasons since 2013-14. He was voted the Baseball Writers’ Association of America AL Manager of the Year, becoming the fourth Orioles skipper to win the award. He was also voted the Sporting News AL Manager of the Year by fellow American League managers for the second consecutive year. 

It took the entire day, but the Nationals did sign all four of their arbitration-eligible players to 2024 contracts Thursday, with Lane Thomas ($5.45 million) and Luis García ($1.95 million) agreeing to their deals prior to Major League Baseball’s 1 p.m. deadline, then Kyle Finnegan ($5.1 million) and Hunter Harvey ($2.325 million) agreeing to their deals before the 8 p.m. deadline to file arbitration offers.

With that, the Nats avoided any awkwardness – or even nastiness – that could have come from an arbitration hearing next month. The best takeaway from the day: The team and the players appear to have been on the same page on those players’ value to the club. That’s always better than the alternative.

The other notable takeaway from the day: The team’s Opening Day payroll is starting to come into clearer focus.

The Nationals now have 13 players signed for the 2024 season. The list is top-heavy, with both Stephen Strasburg and Patrick Corbin set to earn $35 million this year (though each is deferring at least $10 million until a later date, so their actual income will be closer to $25 million.

Four other players are signed for $5 million to $7 million: Thomas, Finnegan, Keibert Ruiz ($6.875 million) and Trevor Williams ($7 million). Everyone else makes less than $3 million, that list including Harvey, García, Victor Robles, Dylan Floro, Nick Senzel, Tanner Rainey and Ildemaro Vargas.

For the first time in a long time, there will be Nationals news today. Not news about the signing of a prominent free agent (unless Mike Rizzo has a surprise up his sleeve). But news about the status of four players who must either agree to 2024 salaries today or file for arbitration.

The four players on the clock today: Lane Thomas, Kyle Finnegan, Luis García and Hunter Harvey.

What’s actually happening today? Major League Baseball requires all players who are arbitration-eligible (between three and six years of big-league service time, plus a percentage of the most experienced players with less than three years) to negotiate and ultimately agree to their one-year salary figures. Anyone who doesn’t real a deal on their own must then submit a formal salary request, with the team also submitting its formal contract offer, and then an arbitration hearing is scheduled for February before a three-person panel which decides which offer wins.

The all-important caveat: Even if players and teams file for arbitration today, they’re still free to negotiate a deal on their own over the next month. And more often than not, those cases are settled before ever reaching the arbitration panel.

The Nationals actually entered the offseason with eight arbitration-eligible players. But Dominic Smith and Michael Chavis each was cut loose months ago, and Victor Robles ($2.65 million) and Tanner Rainey ($1.5 million) already agreed to their 2024 salaries back in November.

The Baltimore Orioles today announced that they will host an opening ceremony for their new, state-of-the-art training academy in Guerra, Dominican Republic on Tuesday, January 16, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. AST. Several dignitaries are scheduled to attend the event, including Dominican Republic President LUIS ABINADER, Dominican Republic Vice Minister of Sports ELVIS DUARTE, and Dominican Republic Commissioner of Baseball JUNIOR NOBOA, along with Orioles Executive Vice President and General Manager MIKE ELIAS, and Orioles Vice President of International Scouting and Operations KOBY PEREZ.

“This academy is the culmination of years of hard work by so many people, and I am grateful to everyone who made this a reality,” said Elias. “For the last several years, one of the main goals of our partnership group and front office has been to excel in Latin America, and I am very pleased by what we as an organization, led by Koby Perez, have accomplished in this sector. This grand opening marks another major milestone in scouting and player development that will keep our minor league pipeline flowing and preserve winning baseball in Baltimore for years to come.”

The 22.5-acre complex is home to the Orioles’ regional facility for Caribbean, Central, and South American player development operations, and includes three full fields, a sports turf agility field, batting and pitching tunnels, administrative buildings, dormitories, and educational facilities. The complex will house more than 100 players, coaches, and staff, providing dormitory-style rooms and entertainment spaces and includes three classrooms and a computer lab, which will provide on-site learning and an education plan for each player, as well as a dining room that will offer daily nutritious meals.

“I am incredibly proud to say that the Baltimore Orioles now have one of finest training facilities in the Dominican Republic,” said Perez. “The impact this complex will have on the future success of the Orioles, and the young players that we recruit and sign, is immeasurable. Having a state-of-the-art facility will not only allow us to continue to attract top international talent to the organization but will also allow us to teach them valuable life skills off the field that will benefit them for the rest of their lives.”

The project was led by landowner and developer BRIAN MEJIA of Brison SRL. The Orioles were represented by renowned Dominican academy architect JOSÉ MELLA, who is considered one of the foremost training facility architects in the Dominican Republic, having designed around half of the current academies in the DR today.

An organization that isn’t hurting for infield prospects and choices made a depth move this morning.

The Orioles signed 29-year-old utility player Errol Robinson to a minor league deal. The announcement didn’t include mention of a spring training invite but he’s likely on the list.

Robinson is a local product, growing up in Boyds, Md. and attending St. John’s College High School in D.C. The Dodgers drafted him in the sixth round in 2016 out of the University of Mississippi.

The Reds claimed Robinson on waivers in December 2020 and the Cardinals signed him to a minor league contract in July 2022. St. Louis released him three months ago.

Robinson is a career .251/.332/.347 hitter in seven minor league seasons and hasn’t reached the majors. He’s totaled 82 doubles, 10 triples, 28 home runs, 196 RBIs and 95 stolen bases.

It’s been 29 days since the Nationals last made a major-league transaction. Way back on Dec. 12, they announced the signings of Nick Senzel and Dylan Floro, plus the designating of Jeter Downs for assignment. Since then? Crickets.

This should be cause for alarm. A full month with zero transactions? And it’s not like the roster is already set. This team still lacks a left-handed bat to play either left field, first base or designated hitter, and could probably use players to fill two of those positions. Another starting pitcher remains on the wish list, as well.

So there’s no argument out there that can make the case the Nats are better off having done nothing for 29 days.

The only saving grace? They’re not alone.

It’s been an incredibly slow offseason across the baseball world, aside perhaps from the Dodgers and Braves, who seem to make major news every week. Most everyone else has made only a few moves, electing instead to wait this out and theoretically swoop in at some point to start signing free agents.

Tim Bogar, let go by the Nationals at season’s end, won’t be returning to the major leagues this year but will get a chance to manage professionally again.

Bogar was named manager of the Amarillo Sod Poodles, the Diamondbacks’ Double-A affiliate, on Monday. The longtime Nats coach under Davey Martinez will have the opportunity to re-establish himself overseeing an entire team for the first time since 2013.

The 57-year-old former infielder was the most prominent (and perhaps unexpected) of the four Nationals coaches who were dismissed in October. A member of Martinez’s staff since 2018, he served as first base coach for two seasons and then became the skipper’s right-hand man as bench coach for four seasons.

The Nats wound up replacing Bogar with Miguel Cairo, the White Sox’s former bench coach and interim manager. They also dismissed first base coach Eric Young Jr., third base coach Gary DiSarcina and assistant hitting coach Pat Roessler, replacing them with Gerardo Parra, Ricky Gutierrez and Chris Johnson, respectively.

“Obviously, it was a tough decision,” Martinez said in December when asked about the coaching changes. “Very close to all those guys. I’m going to miss them. But I thought it was an opportunity, being where we’re headed, to bring some fresh guys in and some guys that are very well capable of coaching young players. So I decided to make that change.”

The Orioles have announced participants and shared details for their three-day Birdland Caravan later this month.

Current Orioles players and coaches participating in select events include, alphabetically, executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias, manager Brandon Hyde, coaches Cody Asche, Matt Borgschulte, Ryan Fuller, Fredi González, Ryan Klimek and Tony Mansolino, and players Keegan Akin, Mike Baumann, Danny Coulombe, Colton Cowser, DL Hall, Austin Hays, Cole Irvin, Ryan McKenna, John Means, Ryan Mountcastle, Cedric Mullins, Joey Ortiz, Grayson Rodriguez, Anthony Santander, Dillon Tate, Nick Vespi, Jacob Webb, Tyler Wells, Jordan Westburg and Bruce Zimmermann.

Also attending are prospects Jackson Holliday, Chayce McDermott, Coby Mayo and Cade Povich.

The weekend-long celebration runs from Jan. 25-27. A fourth day was eliminated to avoid a possible conflict with the Ravens, who qualified for the playoffs as the No. 1 seed in the AFC. The conference championship games are slated for the 28^th.

Buses will be arriving at Bowlero Timonium and Topgolf Germantown that give fans an opportunity to interact with players and staff. The caravan will make stops in 13 cities, including Baltimore City, Capitol Heights, Catonsville, Columbia, Frederick, Gambrills, Hagerstown, Halethorpe, Hanover, Havre De Grace, Laurel, and Timonium.

The Orioles today announced the return of the club’s ‘Birdland Caravan,’ a three-day winter tour, that will take place from Thursday, January 25, through Saturday, January 27, at multiple locations throughout the region. The weekend-long celebration will include meet and greet photo opportunities, community projects, fan rallies, and happy hours.  

The caravan will include experiential events at Bowlero Timonium and Topgolf Germantown to give fans a unique and fun opportunity to interact with Orioles players and staff as they bowl and tee off together. Designed to take the Oriole Park experience directly to the fans, the Birdland Caravan will make stops throughout Maryland in 14 different cities throughout the three-day winter tour, including Baltimore City, Capitol Heights, Catonsville, Columbia, Frederick, Gambrills, Germantown, Hagerstown, Halethorpe, Havre De Grace, Laurel, and Timonium. Fans in Easton and Westminster will also have the opportunity to meet and take photos with the Oriole Bird and Mr. Splash while holding the American League East Champions flag. 

Current Orioles players and coaches participating in select events include KEEGAN AKIN, CODY ASCHE, MIKE BAUMANN, MATT BORGSCHULTE, DANNY COULOMBE, COLTON COWSER, RYAN FULLER, FREDI GONZÁLEZ, DL HALL, AUSTIN HAYS, RYAN KLIMEK, TONY MANSOLINO, RYAN McKENNA, JOHN MEANS, RYAN MOUNTCASTLE, CEDRIC MULLINS, JOEY ORTIZ, GRAYSON RODRIGUEZ, ANTHONY SANDERS, DILLON TATE, NICK VESPI, JACOB WEBB, TYLER WELLS, JORDAN WESTBURG, and BRUCE ZIMMERMANN along with Orioles prospects JACKSON HOLLIDAY, CHAYCE McDERMOTT, COBY MAYO, and CADE POVICH. Additionally, Orioles Executive Vice President, General Manager, and MLB Executive of the Year MIKE ELIAS and American League Manager of the Year BRANDON HYDE will attend select events throughout the weekend. 

Tickets are required for meet and greet photos, as well as the experiential events at Bowlero and Topgolf. Fans must purchase tickets in advance as availability will be limited. Proceeds from the meet and greets will go to the nonprofit organizations the caravan visits throughout the weekend. Tickets for meet and greet photos, Bowlero, and Topgolf will go on sale tomorrow, Tuesday, January 9, at 12:00 p.m. ET at Orioles.com/Caravan.  

Birdland Caravan will begin on Thursday, January 25, at Banditos Taco & Tequila in Columbia with a live Justin, Scott, and Spiegel Show on 98ROCK, the flagship station of the Orioles Radio Network. The event, sponsored by Corona, is open to fans of all ages and will feature live in-person interviews and photos with current players and coaches.  Thursday will continue with a private community project with ShareBaby, where players and staff will craft care packages of diapers and essential items for young children in Baltimore with unmet needs. In the evening, fans may purchase tickets for a screening of the new documentary 101: The Story of the 2023 Baltimore Orioles at The Charles Theatre in Station North. Tickets for the 7:00 p.m. showing will be available to purchase at Orioles.com/Caravan starting on Tuesday, January 9 at 12:00 p.m. Ticket proceeds will benefit the Y in Central Maryland.  Fans who purchase a ticket and attend the screening will receive a 101: The Story of the 2023 Baltimore Orioles movie poster autographed by Brandon Hyde.

The 2024 season, as has been mentioned before, is a big one for the Nationals. After tearing down the last vestiges of a championship roster in 2021 and 2022, then starting to see a new group of young players come together in 2023, there is legitimate reason for optimism heading into the new year.

There’s another reason why this upcoming season is really important for the Nats, though. It’s time for the organization to win back a fan base that has willingly remained patient through the first 2 1/2 years of a rebuild but is now itching to see actual positive results on the field.

That fan base has done a pretty impressive job sticking with the club through a turbulent time. Hardly anything has gone right since the night of the 2019 World Series parade, when Stephen Strasburg opted out of his previous contract and set in motion a chain of dominoes that could not be stopped until every last one fell, at which point the Nationals could only pick up the pieces and try to build a new, sturdier track.

To the immense credit of the fan base, attendance at Nationals Park hasn’t been that bad. Yes, it went down in 2022, but it still topped the 2 million mark for the ninth consecutive non-COVID-impacted season. And though that streak finally ended last season, a total attendance figure of 1.865 million for a team coming off a 107-loss showing and featuring few known marketable players was still respectable.

But eventually, it takes more wins than losses to keep the turnstiles moving. And it’s going to take more than 71 wins this year to flip the attendance trend back in an upward line.

Johnny DiPuglia, who led the Nationals’ international scouting department for a decade-plus before his departure late in the 2023 season, has joined the Royals’ front office.

Kansas City announced this week it has hired DiPuglia as special assistant of international scouting, adding one of baseball’s most respected Latin American evaluators to its staff.

DiPuglia’s new position is not as high-ranking as his previous one with the Nats was. He’ll report to Royals senior vice president of major league and international operations Rene Francisco. But it’s nonetheless a prominent landing spot for the 60-year-old, who surprisingly found himself looking for work this offseason.

Initially hired by the Nationals in 2009, DiPuglia was one of the organization’s longest-tenured employees and one of general manager Mike Rizzo’s most-trusted confidants. Tasked with overseeing a Latin American program that was in disarray following a scandal involving the falsifying of supposed top prospect Esmailyn Gonzalez’s name, age and playing ability, he helped turn the operation around during his 15 years in charge.

DiPuglia’s most notable achievement with the Nats was the discovery and signing of teenage outfielder Juan Soto, but he signed a number of other young Latin American prospects who reached the big leagues, including Victor Robles, Luis García, Joan Adon, Jose A. Ferrer, Wander Suero, Reynaldo López, Wilmer Difo, Jefry Rodriguez and Israel Pineda. Among the homegrown Latin American prospects still in the Nationals’ farm system are Jeremy De La Rosa, Cristhian Vaquero and Andry Lara.

It's been three weeks since our last Q&A, and I'd like to say a lot has happened since then. That, of course, would be a lie. The Nationals have made no consequential news since mid-December, and though one of these days they're going to do something, that day hasn't come yet. (Watch them announce a big move this morning while we're in the middle of the Q&A!)

But press on we must, and that means another chance for you to pose whatever questions you have on the Nats. Be creative. Come up with something different. The way this offseason has gone so far, there's nothing to lose!

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

The Orioles have made the following roster move:

• Signed undrafted free agent RHP Dominic Freeberger to a minor league contract.

Pick any lineup the Nationals fielded in September out of a hat, and you’re guaranteed to find the names of several players who have received scant attention around here all winter.

Jake Alu. Alex Call. Carter Kieboom. Ildemaro Vargas. Jacob Young.

Every single lineup card Davey Martinez filled out in September included at least two of those players. Many of them included three, or even four of them.

They received some of the most regular playing time on the roster late last season, and they’re all still part of the 40-man roster. But who – if anyone – is actually in the Nats’ 2024 plan?

If the rest of the winter plays out as expected, none should be in line to start Opening Day. And only a couple or three of them should even wind up on the Opening Day bench.

As they sought reasons for optimism one year ago, the Nationals knew they could point to the development of their young players, the potential bounce-back performances of some veterans and improved defense (especially around the infield).

They also hoped Major League Baseball’s new schedule format would make a positive difference.

The 2022 Nats were bad at everything, but they were especially bad at beating their division rivals. They finished an atrocious 17-59 against the NL East, a .224 winning percentage that was the worst by any big-league club since division play began in 1969.

Ah, but in 2023 the schedule underwent its most dramatic makeover since interleague play debuted in 1997. For the first time in baseball history, every NL team would play every AL team in at least one three-game series.

The domino effect of that increase in interleague play: A dramatic drop in intra division games, from 76 (19 vs. each opponent) to 52 (13 vs. each opponent). And boy did the Nationals benefit from that.

On his way to recording 417 saves – the eighth-most in MLB history – with a chance this year to move to fourth on the list, new O’s closer Craig Kimbrel has featured a most unusual set-up out of the stretch position.

Bent over at the waist, his right arm dangles out to the right and there is a bit of a stare-down before each pitch. When Kimbrel talked to O’s reporters early last month, he discussed how he got to that pre-pitch routine, also hinting it could change at times next season.

“It’s pretty simple,” Kimbrel said on an O’s video call with media. “There was never really much behind it. I’ve always leaned over, but my arm for a long time was behind my back. In growing up and going from being a young kid playing the game to an older man playing the game, my arm just wasn’t going behind my back anymore. So, I started to let it hang and it kind of transformed into something that I would use to lock in. To say, ‘OK, It’s time to go.’ The fun, the happy, the joking, the loving Craig we get for most of the day, it’s time for him to get serious and to focus. It was a tool I was able to use over the years to really lock in pitch-to-pitch.

“You know I have a couple of ideas this year to try to work with that with the new rules of the game – the pitch clock and windup and things. The game is changing, so I need to change a little bit. Kind of excited this spring to try and make that work. The game is forever changing and if we don’t keep up with that, we’ll be left behind. It’s something I’ve done for a long, long time and something I will continue to do, but I think this year we might see something a little quicker and a little better.”

It will be interesting to see how that plays out. The biggest concern for the team will be, of course, not how he looks in throwing the ball but what happens after he lets it go.

When the calendar shifted from 2022 to 2023 one year ago, the Nationals had already addressed two of their stated needs, signing a third baseman (Jeimer Candelario) and a No. 5 starter (Trevor Williams). They still needed a left fielder and a first baseman (or designated hitter), and they proceeded to address both of those needs within the first 10 days of January, first signing Dominic Smith to play first base and then signing Corey Dickerson to play left field.

As the calendar now shifts from 2023 to 2024, the Nationals have already addressed two of their stated needs, signing a third baseman (Nick Senzel) and a veteran late-inning reliever (Dylan Floro). They still need a left fielder and a first baseman (or designated hitter). And maybe a No. 5 starter.

Anybody ever experienced déjà vu?

Yeah, there’s a very familiar pattern playing out here this winter. Only Mike Rizzo knows whether that’s legitimately by design or pure coincidence. But the similarities are impossible to ignore.

The Nats do have more promising pieces already in place than they did a year ago, feeling more secure about their catcher, their shortstop, their right fielder, two (or maybe three) of their starting pitchers and multiple relievers. And they know the most promising pieces are close to joining the party sometime before the year is up.