The Orioles and every other team in baseball are on the lockout clock, with the possibility of baseball shutting down on Dec. 1. Listen for the alarm. The snooze is disabled.

Get business done as the calendar allows and hope that the disruption is minimal.

Free agency begins after the World Series but signings can’t happen until five days after the final out at 5 p.m. There’s an exclusive window for teams to negotiate with their own players.

Trade talks officially can begin after the last out. The unofficial stuff, well, that’s none of our business.

President of baseball operations Mike Elias is in an interesting predicament, if that’s the proper way to describe it. Changes must be made to a roster with few holes unless Elias punches them.  

A backup catcher could be on the shopping list despite the presence of Carlos Narváez and Yohel Pozo. Starters and relievers always are prioritized. But the infield is stacked and the outfield also has enough returnees to stand pat if that’s the chosen direction.

It probably won’t be, which leaves Elias to make some counter moves.

Colton Cowser and Dylan Beavers are young-ish left-handed hitters who used to be prospects during their qualifying period. Cowser will be 27 in March and is projected by MLBTradeRumors.com to make $2.2 million in his first year of arbitration after batting .226/.317/.370 with a 2.5 bWAR in 142 games. Beavers, 25, hit .228/.307/.373 with a minus-0.5 bWAR in 104 games. They both struggled against lefties.

They can play anywhere in the outfield, with Cowser much better defensively at this point in their careers. They both could be platooned. They could get a shot to play every day. They could be trade bait. Elias and his staff, with input from manager Craig Albernaz, need to figure it out.

Tyler O’Neill has one more year and $16.5 million left on his contract after suffering through various injuries and batting .206/.296/.383 with 19 home runs in 139 games with the Orioles. His seven outfield assists led the club this season, but he’s posted minus-4 and minus-2 Outs Above Average with the Orioles. His Defensive Runs Saved improved from minus-8 last season to 2 in 2026, but that’s far from his 14 DRS in 2021.

The contract and being a right-handed bat that registered a .775 OPS against lefties probably keeps him on the roster. He’s more of a pricey role player since his Cardinals and Red Sox days.

Leody Taveras, Christian Franklin, Rece Hinds, Heston Kjerstad and Luis Robert Jr. also are on the roster to begin the offseason. Taveras is arbitration eligible with a projected raise to $3.7 million that might be too steep for a player who batted .219/.288/.345 with a minus-0.5 dWAR in 139 games. He’d probably be fine as a fifth outfielder on some rosters, but the Orioles could choose to cut ties as part of their redesign.

Franklin has minor league options and could be Triple-A depth if he doesn’t make the club as a right-handed hitting extra outfielder. Hinds is out of options after going 5-for-28 with 13 strikeouts and struggling in right field. Kjerstad didn’t get much of a chance with the Orioles in 2026, is out of minor league options and doesn’t appear to be in their plans, though it’s possible that he’s allowed to compete for a job whenever spring training begins while also being available to an interested team. The market might be light other than executives who still like his power potential and view him as a change-of-scenery guy.

Robert has a $20 million club option and $2 million buyout. I’m operating under the assumption that $20 million isn’t happening. The Orioles could set him free and try to negotiate a more team-friendly deal unless they view him as too much of a health risk. They already have a few of those in the organization.

Reed Trimble was put on the 40-man roster last November before the Rule 5 draft and didn’t make his debut. He’s a long shot to break camp with the team. Enrique Bradfield Jr. is expected to reach the majors in 2027, as Elias indicated over the summer, and he qualifies as a defensive upgrade. But the wait might continue past Opening Day.

Blaze Alexander can play the outfield, and he might need to if he’s going to get regular at-bats, but does he markedly improve the defense? And the lineup needs another offensive injection to keep the bats awake. Where else is that going to happen?  

We can’t leave out Coby Mayo, a School of Roch favorite to switch to the outfield. I hear you. I don’t agree with making assumptions that he’ll be fine when he hasn’t played the position, and this team doesn’t have the luxury of setting the bar at “fine.”

Yes, work him out in the corners in camp. Alert him in the offseason, before teams are prohibited from having contact with 40-man roster players. And stick to it this time. But approach it as an experiment and a possible option to get him in the lineup if Jordan Westburg is the regular third baseman, which also can’t be assumed. Westburg has to prove that he’s fully recovered from elbow reconstructive surgery and can give the Orioles a full season.

The Orioles’ outfield had a collective .986 fielding percentage that ranked 24th in the majors and a minus-9 OAA that was 22nd, and that included Cowser’s 10 DRS and 7 OAA. The supporting cast was a weakness that’s somehow got to be addressed.