The American League Silver Slugger finalists will be announced later this morning, with the winners revealed on Nov. 7. The Orioles were shut out in Rawlings Gold Glove nominations. Do they get blanked again today?

Outfielder Anthony Santander won a Silver Slugger last year. Shortstop Gunnar Henderson and Jordan Westburg (utility) also were finalists but lost to Bobby Witt Jr. and Josh Smith, respectively.

Henderson won it as a utility player in 2023. Catcher Adley Rutschman also received the award.

Injuries and underproduction remove an obvious choice for the Orioles this year.

The Angels’ Zach Neto led AL shortstops with 26 home runs, followed by the Red Sox’s Trevor Story with 25 and Witt with 23. Story was first in RBIs with 96, followed by the Blue Jays’ Bo Bichette (18 homers) with 94 and Witt with 88. Witt slugged .501 and Bichette .483. Witt was first in hits with 184, followed by Bichette with 181, Story with 161 and Henderson with 158.

Henderson began the season on the injured list with an intercostal strain but appeared in 154 games and batted .274/.349/.438 with 34 doubles, five triples, 17 homers, 68 RBIs and 30 stolen bases. He joined Luis Aparicio as the only Orioles primary shortstops to lead the team in hits and steals in the same season. He joined Brooks Robinson as the only players in team history to lead in doubles, triples and hits in consecutive seasons.

We know that he can do better.

Will he?

Here are a few more questions to consider while waiting for a real update on the manager search beyond “interest,” especially the presumed kind with track-record candidates.

What’s next for Albert Suárez?

Baseball’s fickle nature grips Suárez. He was one of the feel-good stories in 2024, returning to the majors after a six-year absence, with stops in Japan and Korea, and posting a 3.70 ERA in 32 games. He made 24 starts, tied with Dean Kremer for second most on the team, and he received votes for Most Valuable Oriole.

This year was a disaster, beginning with a rotator cuff injury sustained in the season’s second game in Toronto. Suárez missed about five months, made five appearances in September and was shut down again with elbow soreness. A second opinion from Dr. Keith Meister brought a diagnosis of a mild forearm flexor strain.

Suárez is continuing his rehabilitation into the offseason and should begin a throwing progression later this month or in early November. In the meantime, the Orioles must determine whether to offer Suárez a contract after he made $825,000. MLBTradeRumors.com projected an arbitration raise to $900,000, which seems reasonable for the 2024 version.

The bullpen needs a pitcher with Suárez’s skills. The rotation should be full, but Suárez provides insurance as a swingman who also can be trusted in a high-leverage, late-relief role.

President of baseball operations/general manager Mike Elias traded Bryan Baker, Seranthony Domínguez, Gregory Soto and Andrew Kittredge. Closer Félix Bautista had labrum and rotator cuff procedures that probably will cause him to miss the entire 2026 season. Tendering Suárez a contract seems like a no-brainer as long as he avoids surgery.

Which starters could move to the ‘pen?

I recently wrote about the complication of whittling a group of starters to five for the Opening Day rotation. We know the locks with Kyle Bradish, Trevor Rogers and Kremer, and the assumed with Tyler Wells based on Elias’ comments at the season-ending press conference. Wells will enter spring training as a starter.

“That's the plan with Tyler,” Elias said.

For now, at least. Wells’ experience and success as a reliever automatically makes him a possibility.

Grayson Rodriguez had surgery to clean out his right elbow and should be ready for spring training, with the club being extra careful with his workload. He’s never pitched in relief in the majors and did it only once in the minors, the year he was drafted, but each injury increases speculation that his future could be in the ‘pen. The numbers and the need to control his innings might open a new door.

The Orioles will add at least one starter to create the excess, and they also have Cade Povich and Brandon Young coming back. Povich has made 36 starts among his 38 major league appearances, used twice in bulk relief this year. Seventy-three of his 76 minor league appearances came as a starter. Young debuted this summer and made 12 starts. Sixty-five of his 71 minor league appearances came as a starter.

They could provide Triple-A depth if unable to crack the Orioles’ rotation, which finished with a 4.65 ERA this year to rank 24^th in the majors and a 1.32 WHIP to rank 21^st. Or maybe they’d be considered for relief, depending on moves made over the winter.