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For anyone still processing what happened with the Orioles last week … Ryan Noda stayed in the organization after clearing waivers.
We don’t know what’s going on with catchers Maverick Handley and Drew Romo after they were designated for assignment.
There’s a little more to talk about, of course. The Orioles have a new first baseman. The buzz hasn’t faded.
Let’s keep the discussion going.
* Pete Alonso’s homework on the Orioles extended to a ballpark where he played 10 games as a visitor, resulting in three doubles, five home runs and 11 RBIs.
Moving the fence back in, though not to the ballpark’s original dimensions, apparently wasn’t a factor in Alonso’s decision. He would have come to Baltimore under any measurement.
“Yeah, I definitely think so,” he said. “I know they had the fence like just straightaway left. But for me, it’s a really nice batter’s eye. I can see the ball. The times I’ve played here, I’ve seen the ball really, really well out of the backdrop. Obviously, other just straightaway left field for me, just in my general approach, I hit most of my balls to the big part of the field – left-center, right-center, and thankfully they didn’t move the fence back where the bullpens are, or move dead center or right-center back.
“But ultimately I think the culture, I think the core and I think like just how like pretty much their entire, ‘Hey, we plug you in, this is our plan. This is what we’re doing. This is the blueprint for the foreseeable future with you in this jersey in this lineup.’
“And I mean really, just kind of seeing that I’m like, this is exciting, this is really exciting, and yeah, this is it.”
* Manager Craig Albernaz participated in the recruiting of Alonso at the Winter Meetings, which made sense, considering that the five-time All-Star would be playing for him.
You have only one chance at a first impression and Albernaz nailed it.
“Craig just did an unbelievable job of just kind of like outlining just like manager style and also like overall baseball philosophies. Being in SF and then going to Cleveland and just responsibilities, just outlook, just how he approaches the game,” Alonso said.
“Just like, yeah, that’s going to be the guy. That’s going to be the guy driving the ship. Seeing that, hearing him talk and not just in the meetings, we texted a couple of times, just like general passion, appetite for the game. And I’m just so excited.
“When you have the passion, not just from the manager, the front office, ownership, players, it’s like having that group attack to whoever is coming into town or wherever we go, that’s really special. I mean, again, I feel like this will be the type of situation as we kind of grow chemistry and get closer over time and during the regular season, it’s like everyone’s going to want to run through a wall for each other. That’s going to be the type of culture. I feel like, that’s what we need and that’s what we’re going to have.”
Agent Scott Boras also praised Albernaz, who sat in the front row with wife Genevieve.
“He did a remarkable job of making someone in a room understand how that would be if he played here,” Boras said. “That’s a very hard thing to do in an hour, but it says a lot about the communication skills and what they do.”
Boras said he pulled Mike Elias aside after the meeting and told him, “Something happened here.”
Alonso would put pen to paper. That also happened.
“I’m gonna be me and always be me and authentic and be transparent, and that’s all I know,” Albernaz said. “Obviously, Pete resonated with that, which is awesome. As did Scott, which you don’t know during those meetings how that’s going to go, and the variety of factors that come into play.”
* The Orioles aren’t guaranteeing 162 games for Alonso, but they’re excited that he’s done it and clearly wants to keep that streak alive. That’s a broad part of the appeal, a big-time bat that posts every single day.
Taylor Ward has appeared in 156 and 157 games the past two seasons with the Angels. The Orioles used a franchise-record 70 players in 2025. They had 34 different position players appear in a game, the most by a major league team in three years. The 1,804 player games spent on the injured list ranked fourth.
Durability is a must. This team won’t go anywhere without it.
“I think that’s the theme that you’ve heard me talk about was guys going out there, the players play,” Albernaz said. “Himself, bringing in Taylor Ward, as well, and complement with the rest of our guys who love to play. And to me, the biggest driver is the person. I think we got to see a glimpse of the person that Pete is, the family man, so I’m just excited for us to bring in a person like that for our culture.”
* What else could kill the 2026 season beyond injuries? The failure of “the core” to step up and play better.
The Orioles deserve all of the praise coming to them for bringing in Alonso, Ward, Ryan Helsley and Andrew Kittredge. These are impactful players and relievers, especially with Helsley needed to close while Félix Bautista recovers from shoulder surgery. These are moves to build trust with a fan base that long ago tired of hearing that the Orioles were “in on” top free agents but didn’t sign them.
Wanna sell more tickets? Well, this is one way.
Wanna win the first World Series since 1983? Combine these moves and the frontline starter who’s coming with the necessary advancements from Adley Rutschman, Colton Cowser, Jackson Holliday and Jordan Westburg. Keep them on the field – only Holliday avoided the injured list – and get the kind of production expected from players drafted with the first, fifth, first and 30th picks.
Elias called the core “the backbone of the team.” It’s a back-breaker if they regress or fail to take the necessary leaps forward.
“I think when we hit Pete in the middle of the lineup that we have, we have arguably the best batting lineup in Major League Baseball right now,” Elias said.
“I think adding, not only a talent, but a persona like Pete is attractive because our team looks a lot stronger now and players want to play on winning teams. I think adding him to this positional core gives us a big boost, and we’re going for the American League East. It’s a non-stop division. Those teams are out adding, as well. So for us to secure a player of this caliber, a perennial All-Star type player at this point in the winter really puts us in a stronger position going forward this offseason.”
