Gunnar Henderson won’t need to worry about innings and at-bats with the Orioles this season. He’s the everyday shortstop as long as he’s healthy.

He also won’t have any concerns about his role with Team USA in the World Baseball Classic, though regular duty isn’t as readily available.

Bobby Witt Jr. also is on the roster, but manager Mark DeRosa said at the Winter Meetings that Henderson is “gonna play.”

“We did it the last time,” DeRosa said. “We had Trea (Turner), we had Tim Anderson, we had Jeff McNeil. You’ve got Brice Turang at second. I know Gunnar won’t go over to second base, but there’s a way to make all these guys happy.”

Appearing as a call-in guest Thursday on the “Orioles Hot Stove Show” on WBAL Radio, Henderson said he was told that he’d play a game at short, a game at third, maybe serve as the designated hitter.

The Nationals are bringing in another controllable reliever, one with a track record for pitching multiple innings out of the bullpen.

The club claimed Paxton Schultz off waivers from the Blue Jays on Friday, picking up the 28-year-old right-hander five days after he was designated for assignment when Toronto needed to clear a 40-man roster spot to sign Japanese slugger Kazuma Okamoto.

Schultz has 13 games of major league experience, all of them coming last season when he posted a 4.38 ERA and 1.419 WHIP. He made two starts, but both were abbreviated outings in which he was held to 40-45 pitches.

A starter through most of his minor league career, Schultz moved to the bullpen in 2024 and earned his way to the big leagues the following year with his ability to throw multiple innings in relief. He totaled two or more innings in six of his 13 outings and threw 40 or more pitches in seven of them, including an April 20 debut against the Mariners in which he tossed 4 1/3 scoreless innings while striking out eight.

Schultz wound up striking out 28 batters in 24 2/3 MLB innings, walking only eight. Those numbers were better than he showed in 25 games with Triple-A Buffalo during the season, when he delivered a 3.31 ERA and 1.102 WHIP but struck out fewer batters (46) than innings pitched (49) while walking 17.

We've moved past the deadline for teams to sign their arbitration-eligible players before exchanging salary figures and risk a hearing. The next important offseason date is next Thursday with the opening of the international signing period.

In between could be the acquisition of another starting pitcher, reliever or position player. Or absolutely nothing.

Something happened yesterday but it might not impact the 2026 season. Outfielder Will Robertson cleared outright waivers and was assigned to Triple-A Norfolk, and the Braves claimed reliever George Soriano.

The Orioles took a depth hit with the bullpen but deepened their outfield options.

Let’s do another dozen-question mailbag dump.

The Orioles are inviting fans to the Senator Theatre in Baltimore for a “Meet the New O’s” Q&A session with manager Craig Albernaz and first baseman Pete Alonso, which highlights this year’s Birdland Caravan event.

The caravan runs from Thursday, Jan. 22-Saturday, Jan. 24 and makes stops in multiple locations throughout the region.

Current Orioles players participating in select events also include (alphabetically) Samuel Basallo, Dylan Beavers, Dietrich Enns, Ryan Helsley, Gunnar Henderson, Jackson Holliday, Jeremiah Jackson, Trevor Rogers, Adley Rutschman, Tyler Wells, Jordan Westburg and Grant Wolfram.

Locations include Baltimore, Bethesda, Ellicott City, Halethorpe, Linthicum Heights, Sykesville, White Marsh and a mystery Pop-Up Photo Op location in Prince George’s County. The Orioles say fans in Bel Air and Frederick also have the chance to meet and take photos with alumni that include former reliever Brad Brach, along with the Oriole Bird and Mr. Splash.

Tickets must be purchased for several events, including the “Meet the New O's,” breakfast with the O’s, family bingo, bowling and all happy hours. Fans are encouraged to get their tickets in advance at Orioles.com/Caravan due to limited availability.

Even the most exciting names claimed on the waiver wire are still just that: waiver wire additions. Their stays on a 40-man roster are far from guaranteed. 

Jhonkensy Noel, designated for assignment just two days after he was claimed off of waivers from the Cleveland Guardians, is the latest example. Big Christmas, a corner outfielder with experience at first base, struggled mightily to tap into his power potential in 2025 after bursting onto the season the previous year. Plus, in Baltimore, a laundry list of names at his primary positions sat ahead of him for playing time. As such, he’s free to be claimed by another team once again. 

Taking Noel’s spot on the roster, ironically, is another big-name waiver claim: Marco Luciano.

That name may ring a quieter bell, as Luciano hasn’t found the same kind of big league success as Noel. But the former international signing was once considered to be one of the best prospects in the game, ranked as high as the No. 13 in baseball entering the 2022 season, according to MLB Pipeline. 

Could this big-name waiver claim fare better than his predecessor? 

Will Paul Toboni’s first offseason running the Nationals end with his first arbitration hearing against a player? If the club and Cade Cavalli can’t settle on their own in the next few weeks, they will indeed have to let a three-judge panel decide the right-hander’s 2026 salary.

Cavalli was the only one of the Nats’ seven arbitration-eligible players who did not agree to terms with the team prior to Thursday night’s leaguewide deadline. The two sides were required to file arbitration figures, with Cavalli asking for $900,000 and the club countering at $825,000, according to USA Today.

The $75,000 difference represents the smallest gap between any of the 18 major leaguers who filed for arbitration this year, paled in comparison to the record-setting $13 million gap between Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal and the Tigers ($32 million vs. $19 million).

Given the relatively modest difference, there’s reason to believe Cavalli and the Nationals will be able to continue negotiations and possibly settle on their own before a trial actually takes place prior to the start of spring training. But given the lack of any track record from Toboni and his front office, it’s hard to say how the new president of baseball operations will approach these cases, whether he follows the lead of some other executives who refuse to extend negotiations once they’ve already filed for arbitration.

Cavalli’s case is an unusual one, because the 27-year-old has far less experience than most players who reach this stage of their careers, having made only 11 MLB starts.

Gunnar Henderson has a new $8.5 million contract, the largest salary for an Orioles player in his first year of arbitration eligibility.

Now, he’d like a fresh start.

Henderson strained his right intercostal muscle on Feb. 27 after making a leaping backhand catch of Bo Bichette’s line drive in the first inning. He grounded out in his only at-bat and came out of the game in the top of the second.

Henderson was held back in camp in 2024 due to soreness in his left oblique, but he had no issues making the Opening Day roster, appeared in 159 games, was selected to the All-Star team and finished fourth in the American League’s Most Valuable Player voting. However, he didn’t appear in his first game last season until April 4 and experienced a decline in most of his numbers.

Among the biggest drop-offs were his home runs, from 37 to 17, and in RBIs, from 92 to 68. His slugging percentage fell from .529 to .438 and OPS from .893 to .787.

There hasn’t been a whole lot of baseball news coming out of South Capitol Street the last few weeks, but we will have some news today.

It’s arbitration deadline day across the major leagues, with teams and players who have more than three years but fewer than six years of service time required to either agree to terms on their salary for the 2026 season or officially file competing arbitration figures.

It’s hardly the most exciting day of the year, and really all we’re talking about here is how much money these guys will make this season. Nobody’s in danger of losing his job.

But it’s a necessary step in the often complicated arbitration process. And with a new front office now running the show, it may give us some clues about how this group approaches things differently than the previous one did (if at all).

The Nats had seven arbitration-eligible players when the offseason began, but they already agreed to terms with two of them on 2026 contracts. Right-hander Josiah Gray, who is finally ready to return from his 2024 Tommy John surgery, agreed to the same $1.35 million salary he earned last season. Catcher Riley Adams, who faces an uncertain future with Keibert Ruiz already locked up and top prospect Harry Ford acquired from the Mariners last month, agreed to a $1 million deal (up from $850,000 last year).

The Orioles held at three players in DFA limbo yesterday by outrighting left-hander Josh Walker to Triple-A Norfolk and designating outfielder Jhonkensy Noel for assignment.

Noel has joined outfielder Will Robertson and reliever George Soriano in the land of uncertainty.

The club wants to retain these players to improve depth, making them non-roster invitees to camp, but one step at a time.

In an offseason defined by its hirings, trades, signings and waiver claims, the Orioles haven’t done much with their arbitration-eligible players unless there’s a frenzy of activity behind the scenes.

Today is the deadline for the sides to reach agreement on contracts or exchange salary figures. Negotiations can continue until the scheduled hearings, though the Orioles tend to live by the trial-and-go (aka trial-and-file) approach unless offering an option year.

The Orioles have made the following roster moves:

• Claimed OF Marco Luciano off waivers from the Pittsburgh Pirates.
• Designated OF Jhonkensy Noel for assignment.
• LHP Josh Walker cleared outright waivers and has been assigned to Triple-A Norfolk.

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

The depth moves keep coming from the Orioles.

They aren’t solely geared toward making big splashes. Smaller transactions are trickling in, as well.

A source confirmed today that the Orioles claimed infielder Marco Luciano, 24, on waivers from the Pirates. A full 40-man roster will require a corresponding move to make him fit.

The holiday slowdown kept Luciano in limbo since the Pirates designated him for assignment on Dec. 19. They selected him on waivers from the Giants on the 5^th.

Luciano appeared in 41 major league games with San Francisco from 2023-24, batting .217/.286/.304 in 126 plate appearances. Baseball America previously had ranked him among its top 15 minor league players when he was a teenager.

While making a point to say every hitter on his roster will have his own strengths and weaknesses and individualized game plans, Matt Borgschulte does believe in an overarching philosophy as the Nationals’ new hitting coach. And it really gets to the entire point of the game of baseball.

“The goal of the offense is to score runs,” he said. “And we’re going to value every aspect of hitting that we can to maximize that run scoring potential of the offense. Whether that’s hitting the ball over the fence, in the gap and driving for extra bases, or whether that’s taking a good at-bat, taking our walks and really owning the zone.”

Officially hired last month, Borgschulte fits the basic profile of manager Blake Butera’s new coaching staff. Like so many others he’s now working with in the big leagues, he never actually played in the big leagues. And at 35, he’s still extremely young, potentially younger than one or more of his players if the Nats end up signing a veteran or two free agents before spring training.

But Borgschulte does have something Butera and many others on the staff do not have: Actual MLB coaching experience. He spent 2022-24 as the Orioles’ co-hitting coach with Ryan Fuller. Then he spent the 2025 season as the Twins’ hitting coach, losing that job after manager Rocco Baldelli was fired.

In Baltimore, he oversaw an incredibly young but talented lineup that included Gunnar Henderson, Adley Rutschman and Jackson Holliday, one that ranked among the most productive units in baseball while winning 101 games in 2023 and 91 games in 2024.

A busy offseason for the Orioles feels like it’s got a lot left in the tank.

How does a team make this many moves and still project to do so much more?

They aren’t sweating the small stuff, either, with their latest depth move being yesterday’s signing of left-hander Eric Torres to a minor league deal.

He isn’t the southpaw acquisition that fans wanted to hear about, of course, but the Orioles also are stocking the Triple-A roster. He was assigned to the Norfolk Tides.

Torres, 26, was a 14^th round draft pick of the Angels in 2021 out of Kansas State. He posted a 2.31 ERA in 27 relief appearances with the Double-A Rocket City Trash Pandas in 2024 and struck out 55 batters in 35 innings, but he allowed seven runs and walked 11 batters in 7 1/3 innings with Triple-A Salt Lake.

The Orioles have made the following roster move:

• Agreed to terms on a 2026 minor league contract with LHP Eric Torres.

The Washington Nationals today announced the hiring of Jason Sinnarajah as the Club’s President of Business Operations. Sinnarajah will oversee all business-related aspects of the franchise.

Sinnarajah’s appointment is an important milestone in building the next generation of the Nationals organization, aligning the Club’s business and baseball operations under a new generation of leadership. He joins a front office that recently welcomed Paul Toboni as President of Baseball Operations and Anirudh Kilambi as General Manager.

“Jason is a transformative leader with a proven track record of using data and innovation to enhance the fan experience and drive organizational excellence,” said Nationals Managing Principal Owner Mark D. Lerner. “By creating the President of Business Operations role, we are ensuring that our business strategy is as modern and forward-thinking as our baseball strategy. We believe Jason is the ideal person to lead the Nationals into a bright future.”

Sinnarajah comes to Washington from the Kansas City Royals, where he served as Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. During his tenure in Kansas City, he led a revitalization of the stadium experience, including the implementation of cutting-edge fan entry technology and a reimagined concessions program.

“I am honored and excited to join the Washington Nationals at such a pivotal moment in the franchise’s history,” said Sinnarajah. “The organization has a clear vision for the future—one built on innovation, excellence and a deep commitment to the fans and the D.C. community that my family and I are excited to make our home. I look forward to working alongside Paul and this talented staff to build an organization that benefits our players and our fans, and which sets the standard for organizations within and beyond Major League Baseball.”

The Nationals have hired Jason Sinnarajah as president of business operations, adding a new position to the organization that lines up with previously hired president of baseball operations Paul Toboni.

Sinnarajah, who spent the last two years as senior vice president and chief operating officer of the Royals, will oversee all business-related aspects of the franchise, reporting directly to ownership.

“Jason is a transformative leader with a proven track record of using data and innovation to enhance the fan experience and drive organizational excellence,” managing principal owner Mark Lerner said in a statement. “By creating the president of business operations role, we are ensuring that our business strategy is as modern and forward-thinking as our baseball strategy. We believe Jason is the ideal person to lead the Nationals into a bright future.”

The Nationals haven’t employed someone with the title of president on the business side of the organization since Stan Kasten, who was part of the Lerner family’s original ownership group and was team president (overseeing both business and baseball) from 2006-10.

Unlike Kasten, Sinnarajah won’t have any input on baseball operations, with Toboni hired in September to assume that role three months after the firing of longtime president of baseball operations and general manager Mike Rizzo.

On Oct. 17, 2024, the Guardians were one out away from finding themselves in a nearly insurmountable hole.

Luke Weaver, a failed starter turned high-leverage Yankees reliever, had the chance to give New York a 3-0 advantage in the American League Championship Series. All he had to do was put away a 22-year-old pinch-hitter with 74 big league games under his belt: Jhonkensy Noel.

Big Christmas, as he’s called, didn’t go down so easily.

On a 1-0 count, Noel punished a Weaver changeup that caught too much of the plate and drove it into deep left field for a game-tying two-run homer. It pushed the game to extras, where the Guardians emerged victorious. Cleveland lost the series, but between Noel’s heroic moment and his .958 OPS in the series, it seemed as if they had found a new middle-of-the-order bat for years to come.

The catchy nickname didn’t hurt, either.

The Orioles have made the following roster moves:

- Claimed OF Jhonkensy Noel off waivers from the Cleveland Guardians.
- Designated RHP George Soriano for assignment.

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

The Orioles increased their total number of players in DFA limbo to three yesterday by adding reliever George Soriano. But that’s only half the story.

Not the most interesting part, either.

President of baseball operations/general manager Mike Elias claimed outfielder Jhonkensy Noel on waivers from the Guardians, a move that didn’t seem to be on the shopping list.

First a Polar Bear, and now “Big Christmas.”

Maybe J.T. Snow will come out of retirement.

The Nationals’ first acquisition of the new year added a speedy outfielder to a position group already filled with several others who fit the same profile.

The Nats claimed Joey Wiemer off waivers from the Giants, bringing aboard a 26-year-old with modest pop, good speed and a strong defensive reputation.

Wiemer was designated for assignment by San Francisco last month, only four weeks after he was acquired from the Marlins for cash considerations following another DFA transaction. He immediately goes on the Nationals’ 40-man roster, which is now full. And because he’s out of options, he would have to clear waivers before the club could demote him to the minors.

Originally a fourth round pick of the Brewers in 2020 out of the University of Cincinnati, Wiemer made a name for himself as a rookie in 2023, hitting 13 homers with 19 doubles, 42 RBIs and 11 stolen bases in 132 big league games. He hasn’t been able to recapture that form since, limited to only 48 MLB games the last two seasons.

Wiemer has endured through a nomadic journey, traded three times since 2024. The Brewers dealt him along with right-hander Jakob Junis to the Reds for righty Frankie Montas at the 2024 trade deadline. He played in only two games with Cincinnati before getting traded that fall with infielder Jonathan India to the Royals for right-hander Brady Singer.