The Orioles aren’t focused only on their bullpen as the offseason has moved into a new month.

Outfield depth also must be addressed.

The team reached agreement last night with veteran Leody Taveras on a one-year contract pending the results of a physical. The deal pays $2 million, according to Spotrac.

Taveras, 27, is a switch-hitter who made $4.750 million this year while batting .205/.226/.304 in a combined 58 games between the Rangers and Mariners. Seattle selected him on waivers May 6 and designated him for assignment a month later. He became a free agent in October.

Taveras made his major league debut with the Rangers in 2020 and batted .240/.291/.370 in parts of six seasons. He appeared in 151 games in 2024 and stole 23 bases in 29 attempts. He hit a career-high 14 home runs with 67 RBIs in 143 games in 2023.

For generations, the division between a franchise’s front office and the manager’s office was clear-cut. The general manager’s job was to assemble the team’s roster. And the manager’s job was to use that roster as he saw fit.

That’s the way the Nationals operated under Mike Rizzo, who always insisted he let his managers make out their own lineup cards and decide on their own when to pull a starting pitcher and who to use out of the bullpen. That doesn’t mean Rizzo didn’t have opinions. Strong ones. Nearly every night during his 17-year tenure, he went into the manager’s office postgame and discussed all aspects of the just-completed game, often raising his voice about any decisions he didn’t exactly agree with.

But Rizzo never ordered his managers to fill out a lineup card a certain way. When Davey Martinez decided to move Kyle Schwarber into the leadoff spot, that was his own decision. When Dusty Baker decided to keep a slumping Jayson Werth in the 2-spot for Game 5 of the 2017 National League Division Series against the Cubs instead of starting Howie Kendrick in his place, that was his own decision. And when Matt Williams decided to pull Jordan Zimmermann in favor of Drew Storen with two outs in the ninth, a runner on first and the Nats leading the Giants 1-0 in Game 2 of the 2014 NLDS … well, that was solely his own decision.

That’s just the way it was always done. It’s not, however, necessarily the way it’s always done anymore.

Over the last decade-plus, more and more front offices have been dictating the usage of certain players to their managers. Smart executives well-versed in analytics create optimized lineups, mandates about starting pitchers only facing opposing hitters twice per game and specific situations that should fall upon specific relievers. And in some cases, these are some of the most successful teams in baseball: The Dodgers and Yankees, in particular, are among the organizations believed to operate this way.

When the clock strikes 5 p.m., free agency will officially be underway in Major League Baseball. 

The 2026 class doesn’t feature a headliner like Aaron Judge, Shohei Ohtani or Juan Soto, but there is plenty of talent to be had. Spotrac estimates a dozen players to earn at least $20 million annually, a list that includes six starting pitchers. 

Throughout the offseason, we’ll take a deep dive into some potential fits in Baltimore. 

Player: Framber Valdez, LHP, 31 years old  

2025 Stats: 13-11, 192.0 IP, 3.66 ERA, 1.245 WHIP, 8.8 K/9, 3.2 BB/9

Craig Albernaz brought his three children on the honeymoon phase of his hiring as Orioles manager.

The family posed for photos this week on the Camden Yards field, with sons CJ and Norman and 2-year-old daughter Gigi wearing their nicest clothes and batting helmets.

“I’ve got an eagle right here,” Gigi said, pointing at the bird.

Albernaz gently corrected her.

“That’s an Oriole,” he said.

The Orioles made another move with a potential impact on their bullpen.

Right-hander George Soriano was claimed on waivers today from the Marlins. The Orioles designated outfielder Daniel Johnson for assignment to create room on the 40-man roster.

Soriano, 26, has registered a 5.95 ERA and 1.475 WHIP in 72 games (one start) over the past three seasons. He’s struck out 117 batters in 118 innings. Soriano had an 8.35 ERA and 1,773 WHIP this year in 24 games.

The Marlins signed Soriano as an international free agent in 2015. He missed the entire 2017 season due to injury and 2020 after the pandemic forced the cancellation of the minor league season.

Soriano mostly used a slider/changeup mix this year but also incorporated a four-seam fastball and sinker. The mid-90s four-seamer was his primary pitch the two previous seasons.

The Orioles have made the following roster moves:

• Claimed RHP George Soriano off waivers from the Miami Marlins.
• Designated OF Daniel Johnson for assignment.

The Orioles’ 40-man roster currently has 40 players.

While the Nationals continue to make plans for new president of baseball operations Paul Toboni to formally introduce new manager Blake Butera, we now know how the two young heads will begin their journey together in the spring.

The Nats, in conjunction with Major League Baseball, announced their 2026 spring training schedule, during which we’ll get the first game action of the first team Toboni assembles and Butera puts through his first big league camp.

Grapefruit League play for the Nats will open on Saturday, Feb. 21 with a split squad traveling to Jupiter, Fla., to face the Cardinals while another group stays back in West Palm Beach, Fla., to open the CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches schedule with their co-tenant Astros.

The Nats will then welcome a rare cross-state trip from the National League East rival Phillies on Monday, Feb. 23 before making their own trip to Florida’s Gulf Coast to face the Yankees and Phillies on Wednesday and Thursday, Feb. 25-26. The Nats welcome the Yankees to West Palm on Saturday, March 7.

Another fun wrinkle in next year’s spring calendar is an exhibition game against Team Venezuela in West Palm on Wednesday, March 4 ahead of the World Baseball Classic.

While the Orioles work to build a coaching staff for new manager Craig Albernaz and give him a roster equipped to make a playoff run, they also know the official dates for players to gather at the spring training complex in Sarasota.

Pitchers and catchers participating in the World Baseball Classic must report by Feb. 9, with position players due three days later. The remaining pitchers and catchers report Feb. 11, followed by position players on the 16^th.

Fans will have enhanced and expanded access at Ed Smith Stadium on home and away dates, including free admission to open practices at home. Entry begins approximately four hours before the start time.

The Orioles will face 12 different opponents, beginning with the Yankees on Feb. 20 at Ed Smith Stadium, which is counted among 17 home games. Nine of those games will be played on Friday, Saturday or Sunday.

The exhibition schedule also includes a home-and-home series against the Nationals. The teams play at Camden Yards on March 22 and in D.C. March 23.

The Orioles today announced their 2026 Grapefruit League schedule, which is slated to begin Friday, February 20, at Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota, Fla. against the New York Yankees. The club’s 2026 spring schedule features 17 home games, including nine home games on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. The Orioles will host the Washington Nationals at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on Sunday, March 22, and travel to Nationals Park on Monday, March 23, to conclude Grapefruit League play.

Pitchers and catchers participating in the 2026 World Baseball Classic are scheduled to report to Spring Training on Monday, February 9, while position players participating in the WBC will report on Thursday, February 12. The remaining pitchers and catchers will report on Wednesday, February 11, and position players on Monday, February 16.

Enhanced and expanded fan access at Ed Smith Stadium will be featured on both home and away game dates, including free admission to open practices on home dates, with entry beginning approximately four hours before the scheduled start time.

The O’s will face 12 different opponents during Grapefruit League play, with 10 of the club’s 31 games coming against American League East divisional rivals: Boston Red Sox (two games; one at home), New York Yankees (four games; two at home), Tampa Bay Rays (two games; one at home), and Toronto Blue Jays (two games; one at home).

On March 3, the Orioles will face Team Netherlands in an exhibition game at Ed Smith Stadium, with the WBC officially beginning on March 5.

Blake Butera has officially been the Nationals’ new manager for five days. But we won’t hear from the 33-year-old skipper for a couple of weeks while he and his wife, Caroline Margolis, get settled after welcoming their first child, Blair Margaux Butera, literally hours after he signed his new contract.

Thankfully, new president of baseball operations Paul Toboni took questions from members of the local media over a Zoom call yesterday to give his perspective of his first major hire and what ultimately made Butera his choice.

“I think it just starts with the person that Blake is,” Toboni said. “I think he just very much aligns with the values that we hold sacred as an organization. And then, I think Blake's leadership skills really jumped out to us from the get-go. And so I think those two things, in conjunction with each other, were two of the main driving factors. And then also, he's got a pretty unique set of experiences that didn't necessarily lead us to making the decision in isolation, but I think were very beneficial as we considered Blake's candidacy relative to the other candidates.”

That “unique set of experiences” Butera has includes serving as the Rays' senior director of player development over the past two seasons following a successful run as a minor league coach and manager in one of the best farm systems in baseball.

Not many people make the jump from a front office role in player development to first-time major league manager, but Butera now has. Given the Nats’ young group of players (Trevor Williams is the only player on the 40-man roster who is older than the new skipper and only by 3 ½ months) and need to continue developing players at the major league level, was experience in player development something Toboni was searching for in this hiring process?

Perhaps this was the plan all along.

Trade four relievers at the deadline and then try to bring them back one at a time.

Andrew Kittredge is walking through that door again, after the Orioles reacquired him yesterday from the Cubs for cash considerations. Kittredge was dealt on July 31 for teenage Dominican shortstop Wilfri De La Cruz, though the $9 million option on his contract made him controllable for a team hoping to contend in 2026.

So, to review: President of baseball operations/general manager Mike Elias loaned Kittredge to the Cubs and got the No. 20 or 24 prospect in the organization, depending on whether you trust Baseball America or MLB Pipeline. That’s pretty savvy.

De La Cruz, a switch-hitter praised for his advanced offensive approach, signed for $2.3 million in January, the largest bonus in the Cubs' 2025 international class and the ninth highest on the entire market. He appeared in 12 games with the Orioles’ Dominican Summer League team and posted a .509 on-base percentage, going 8-for-34 with two doubles, a triple and 20 walks.

Though he didn’t literally know Blake Butera before, Paul Toboni felt like he already knew all about the young man he just hired to be Nationals manager, long before either was employed by the franchise.

During Toboni’s 10 years working in the Red Sox front office, Butera’s name came up a number of times. They had overlapping circles of baseball friends. They came from similar backgrounds. Toboni even vaguely remembers scouting Butera when the latter played at Boston College, despite the fact they’re only separated by two years in age.

So when it came time to assemble a list of candidates for the Nats’ open managerial position, Toboni knew he wanted to meet with Butera. And once they did meet on multiple occasions, the 35-year-old president of baseball operations jumped at the opportunity to hire the 33-year-old rookie skipper.

“I really went into this process having an understanding of what I thought it was going to be like, but didn’t honestly know until I really hopped into it,” Toboni said today during a video conference with reporters. “I’m really fortunate that we did reach out to interview him, because he blew me away throughout the process.”

Butera, who worked for the Rays as a minor league manager and front office executive, was hired by the Nationals last week. He won’t be formally introduced for a couple more weeks, because he and his wife just welcomed their first child into the family on the same day he signed his contract.

The introduction of new Orioles manager Craig Albernaz earlier today revealed his sense of humor, passion for the game and the lives he’s intersected with along the way, and how family always is going to be a huge part of who he is both on and off the field.

His first managing act was sitting through a nearly 44-minute press conference with attention split among media and his 2-year-old daughter Gigi, who held and occasionally dropped her Oriole Bird bobblehead and a bottled water meant more as a toy than a means of hydration, engaged in cute conversations with her mother Genevieve and eventually was lifted up by control owner David Rubenstein and handed to Albernaz, who sat her on his lap, kissed her and whispered to her at one point so he could finish his answer.

Handling a 26-man clubhouse should be a breeze.

The crowd also included young sons CJ (8) and Norman (6), and Guardians manager Stephen Vogt and his wife Alyssa, who left her seat for a while to play with Gigi away from the dais.

“My kids are the greatest gift I can ever, ever have,” Albernaz said, before his daughter interrupted.

The Orioles today announced that they have acquired right-handed pitcher ANDREW KITTREDGE from the Chicago Cubs in exchange for cash considerations.

Kittredge, 35, went 4-3 with five saves, 15 holds, and a 3.40 ERA (20 ER/53.0 IP) on 41 hits (7 HR), 11 walks (1 IBB), and 64 strikeouts in 54 appearances between the Orioles and Cubs in 2025.

On July 31, Kittredge was traded from Baltimore to Chicago in exchange for minor league shortstop WILFRI DE LA CRUZ. De La Cruz, 18, is currently ranked as the No. 20 Orioles prospect by Baseball America and No. 24 by MLB Pipeline.

The Orioles have made the following roster move:

• Agreed to terms with LHP Josh Walker on a one-year major league contract for the 2026 season.

The Nationals’ focus since the season ended five weeks ago has been fixed on the remaking of the front office and now the manager’s office as well. At some point, though, Paul Toboni will need to start addressing the roster of players he has inherited.

The new president of baseball operations has actually made a few transactions in the last week, letting several players go via the outright waivers process in order to clear up space on the 40-man roster. That roster now has 37 players on it with the activation of those who ended the year on the 60-day injured list. So there’s already room to add three players, whether from the outside or from within in the form of prospects who need to be protected from the Rule 5 Draft.

But there’s plenty more that needs to be done, and there are plenty more current players who could be removed in the days and weeks ahead to allow for even more additions.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at the state of the organizational depth chart as the offseason commences, getting a sense of what’s already in place and what needs to be addressed. We’ll go position-by-position, with players on the 40-man roster listed first and then some minor leaguers who aren’t listed next (with an asterisk next to their names) …

CATCHER
Keibert Ruiz
Riley Adams
Drew Millas
Caleb Lomavita*
Brady Lindsly*
Maxwell Romero Jr.*
Kevin Bazzell*

Baseball’s offseason calendar is loaded with significant dates. A few others develop over the course of the fall and winter.

Today is a prime example.

The media will be introduced to new manager Craig Albernaz at a press conference at Camden Yards that airs live on MASN beginning at 11 a.m. President of baseball operations/general manager Mike Elias and control owner David Rubenstein also will attend.

Albernaz can explain why he viewed the Orioles as a good match. Everything he knows about the organization and what he’s got to learn. Whether he’s spoken to any of his players. His level of confidence that a turnaround is imminent for a team that finished in last place.

What did Albernaz observe about the Orioles from the opposite dugout?

The Orioles are holding onto left-hander Dietrich Enns as part of their offseason business that’s gaining momentum after the World Series.

Rather than exercise a $3 million option on Enns’ contract, the club reached an agreement on a one-year deal with another option for 2027.

Enns, 34, was involved in the last of nine deadline trades this summer, coming to the Orioles in a cash transaction with the Tigers. He made 17 appearances and posted a 3.14 ERA and 1.326 WHIP over 28 2/3 innings. He also recorded two saves.

High-leverage situations kept falling to Enns with the bullpen depleted from four earlier trades and Félix Bautista’s shoulder injury that required surgery on his labrum and rotator cuff. He’s out of minor league options and seemingly in the team’s plans for next season.

It wasn’t easy to predict.

The 2025 Major League Baseball season ended early Sunday morning, in just about as dramatic fashion as possible. Whether you were happy, upset or indifferent to the result, you have to admit Game 7 of the World Series was an all-timer.

Now, as the Dodgers prepare for another victory parade and the Blue Jays come to grips with as narrow a defeat as it gets, the rest of the baseball world enters the offseason. And around here, there’s a lot to do.

It’s already been plenty busy for the Nationals, who named Paul Toboni their new president of baseball operations one month ago and named Blake Butera their new manager four days ago. In between, Toboni made a number of changes to the front office. But there’s still so much more to do, and that’s before we even get to the roster.

There are plenty more openings to fill in the front office, and though Toboni so far has brought in several execs who previously worked alongside him in Boston, he’s also going to need to look outside his comfort zone as he assembles the rest of the baseball operations department. Perhaps next week’s GM Meetings in Las Vegas will provide an opportunity for him to meet with candidates in person.

Butera, meanwhile, needs a coaching staff. The Nationals aren’t holding a press conference to formally introduce the 33-year-old for a couple more weeks because his wife just so happened to give birth to the couple’s first child Thursday, the same day he signed his contract. The club will give him and his growing family time to get settled before flying him up to D.C. for his public unveiling, but in the meantime he needs to start figuring out who is going to work alongside him in the dugout.

The end of the World Series gives teams an exclusive five-day window to negotiate with their own free agents before other clubs can begin making their own pitches.

The Orioles are waiting to be turned loose in the market.

The general manager meetings begin a week from today in Las Vegas, which can ignite trade discussions in the Orioles’ quest for pitching and an impact bat. It’s time to ditch the quiet period and get loud.

Among the questions I’ve posed in recent weeks involve cramming five starters into the rotation, who bats first, who’s in center field, does Tyler O’Neill homer again on Opening Day, will some starters be on innings limits, what happens to Albert Suárez, if any starters could move to the bullpen, what the Orioles will get from Trevor Rogers, and who leads the staff in innings.

Here's another one for the discussion.