Getting ready for the start of baseball's Winter Meetings

Flights will be landing at the Orlando airport all day and night as baseball executives, managers, scouts, agents, media and other personnel descend upon the Signia by Hilton Bonnet Creek and Waldorf Astoria for baseball’s annual Winter Meetings.

Be prepared to see the hotel referenced by multiple names. It’s already caused some confusion because it’s a combined facility with shared conference rooms. But it’s got to be easier than navigating the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center in Nashville, where employees at the front desk hand you a map, wish you luck and offer a small blessing as you walk away.

The agenda is pretty much the same, with only a few small tweaks.

Check into your room and quickly ascertain whether the Ravens-Steelers game is available to watch on television.

Find the lobby bar and quickly ascertain whether the Ravens-Steelers game is available to watch on television.

The Hall of Fame’s 16-member Contemporary Era Committee will announce its Class of 2026 selections tonight beginning at 7:30 p.m. on MLB Network. The candidates are Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Carlos Delgado, Jeff Kent, Don Mattingly, Dale Murphy, Gary Sheffield and Fernando Valenzuela. All are living except for Valenzuela, who appeared in 32 games with the Orioles in 1993.

I kept voting for Murphy until he was no longer eligible for the Baseball Writers’ Association of America ballot.

Manager media availability is Monday and Tuesday, and Craig Albernaz goes first for the American League at 2 p.m. The sessions are supposed to last 20 minutes.

Albernaz will be asked about new additions Taylor Ward and Ryan Helsley, along with Andrew Kittredge’s return to the bullpen. What else he’s hoping that the front office can accomplish. What else will be done with the coaching staff and how he feels about those additions. What he learned from Gape Kapler and Stephen Vogt to prepare him for his first managerial job. What philosophies and anything else he’s going to bring over from Cleveland.

Most of the topics hurled at him were covered at his introductory press conference. He touched on a few others on Thursday’s “Orioles Hot Stove Show,” so he’s warmed up and ready.

Albernaz won’t be able to offer specifics on the roster because it isn’t complete. He doesn’t know who’s batting first, fourth or whatever. He doesn’t know who’s starting and relieving. We’re curious about the possibility of Ryan Mountcastle and Coby Mayo co-existing at first base, with Samuel Basallo also expected to make plenty of starts at the position, but Albernaz doesn’t know who stays and who might go later in the offseason.

The good news for Albernaz is he won’t get peppered with injury update requests until at least the start of spring training.

The BBWAA will hold its annual meeting on Tuesday, and it can get testy. You try getting a room full of people to agree on anything.

Also Tuesday, the one-hour World Baseball Classic Media Day will be held at noon. Various representatives of participating countries, including several managers and general managers, will be available for interviews.

Nelson Cruz is the general manager of the Dominican Republic team. Rodrigo López is general manager of Mexico’s team. The United State’s team is managed by Mark DeRosa.

Ned Colletti, a finalist (and for a while the favorite) for the Orioles’ front office job that went to Mike Elias, is Italy’s general manager.

The MLB Draft Lottery will be held Tuesday beginning at 5:30 p.m., and as I’ve written – but you’re excused for forgetting – the Orioles have the fourth-highest odds at 9.24 percent to earn the first selection.

The lottery, in its fourth year, determines the order of the first six selections.

The consensus No. 1 pick is UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky. I’ve never had more interest in the draft lottery than I do right now.

If anyone cares, the Blue Jays will have a press conference at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday to announce the Dylan Cease signing. I ceased to care about him after it became official that the Orioles weren’t getting him.

The managers breakfast, which used to be a lunch, is Wednesday at 8 a.m. Invitation only.

Recorders are turned off and notepads are kept in back pockets. The conversations are off the record. It’s another way to get comfortable with the manager, and vice versa, which is especially important with Albernaz.

The meetings extend into Thursday but most of the media rushes to the airport after Wednesday’s Rule 5 Draft, which begins at 2 p.m. It used to be held Thursday morning, but MLB has shortened the length of theses meetings and I don’t hear anyone complaining.

The Orioles passed in the major league phase the past two years and currently don’t have room on the 40-man roster to participate. They can get busy in the Triple-A phase and tend to lose a handful of players.

Anyone chosen in the major league phase must remain with the club all season or be offered back, if clearing waivers, for half the claim price. The Padres selected Single-A pitcher Juan Nuñez last year, and he returned to the Orioles in March. There was absolutely no way that a pitcher coming off an injury and that far down the affiliate ladder was gonna stay.

Nuñez was left exposed again in the draft. The Orioles protected pitchers Anthony Nunez and Cameron Foster and outfielder Reed Trimble.

We could find out what’s next for first baseman/outfielder Ryan Noda, who was designated for assignment Friday.

Super agent Scott Boras will hold his annual media scrum, with the location unknown until shortly before it happens. Get there early or get left so far back that you can't hear a word that he says. It's a circus atmosphere but without the elephants. 

President of baseball operations/general manager Mike Elias will meet with the media in his suite for at least the first two days, and these sessions usually are the most productive parts of the Winter Meetings. Elias can provide updates on any negotiations, though careful not to share too many specifics. He might pass along some of the club’s plans for the roster, like whether a third catcher could fit on Opening Day. He might tell us more about the coaching staff than Albernaz. In the past, he's dropped strong hints whether the Orioles would participate in the Rule 5 Draft. 

I usually try to get some rumors shot down just to make reporting life easier. Names are gonna be attached to the Orioles simply because of their needs and deep-pocketed ownership. Dots can get connected that don’t actually exist. Be ready for it.

Top starters on the market are on the club’s radar and Elias will try to swing multiple deals in free agency or via trade. Kyle Bradish, Trevor Rogers, Dean Kremer and Tyler Wells would be the first four in the rotation if the season started today. Cade Povich and Brandon Young probably would vie for the fifth spot, with prospects Trey Gibson, Nestor German and Levi Wells waiting for a chance.

The Orioles have done their homework on Framber Valdez, Ranger Suárez, Tatsuya Imai and Michael King. They could be in play for anyone in the quartet. And they have the minor league depth again, along with a few players on the major league roster, to consummate a trade.  

The bullpen isn’t done. Elias won’t stop at Helsley and Kittredge. The lineup isn’t done. Elias won’t stop at Ward.

Who’s holding the big bat that Elias is trying to find? Would Elias take a full-time designated hitter?

Are those pockets deep enough to afford, let’s say, $400 million for an outfielder?

The hotel lobby in Orlando will be filled with people who think so. Be ready for it.