MINNEAPOLIS – Zach Eflin accompanied the Orioles to Minneapolis and will throw a bullpen session tomorrow afternoon at Target Field as a follow-up to Sunday’s rehab start with High-A Aberdeen.

Eflin will make his return this weekend against the Angels in Anaheim. He’d be on normal rest Friday night if that’s the chosen date.

“I’m feeling great, obviously, here traveling with the team,” he said. “As close as I can be to being ready and kind of just waiting to get back out there.”

Eflin made three starts with the Orioles, completing six innings in each appearance and posting a 3.00 ERA. He went on the injured list with a right lat strain after holding the Diamondbacks to one run on April 7 in Arizona, vowing to make it a short stay and doing everything possible to get back quickly.

“I’d like to say so, but at the same time I have to listen to the training staff,” he said. “It’s an amazing training staff and if it was my way, I would have liked maybe a day or two extra and then not even go on the IL, but I understand there was something there in my lat and I had to listen to the trainers, I had to listen to my body. Nothing that you ever want to do, go on the IL. You just don’t feel like you’re a part of the team. You want to be out there kind of in the trenches with the guys every day, so it’s hard to kind of have that reality, but at the end of the day, I think it’s what my body needed to be able to go out and make every start for the rest of the season and the playoffs.

The pain has faded, but it took a while. The postseason silence in a clubhouse can ring in a player’s ears.

The Orioles won the American League East in 2023 and were swept by the Rangers in the best-of-five Division Series. They earned the top Wild Card in 2024 and were swept by the Royals in the best-of-three series.

Winning 192 games in the past two seasons doesn’t lessen the disappointment of those abrupt finishes. Making the playoffs three straight years for the first time since 1969-71 won’t mean much if eyes are filled with tears again and hugs are given to console rather than celebrate.

“That’s my No. 1 goal and it’s been my No. 1 goal since I’ve been up in the big leagues is to make a strong playoff push, and it stinks that we haven’t really done that,” shortstop Gunnar Henderson said at last week’s Birdland Caravan. “That’s something that I’m really looking forward to going through this year is getting over that hump and making a strong push.”

That hump has looked 50 feet tall, with the streak of playoff game defeats reaching 10 in a row dating back to the 2014 Championship Series. The Orioles had their roster battered by injuries last year but competed into October before their championship dreams died again.

The only news to pass through the Orioles organization yesterday was Livan Soto clearing outright waivers and being assigned to Triple-A Norfolk.

The previous times being designated for assignment gave Soto the freedom to refuse it. He also knows about the crowded infield that makes it harder to infiltrate the major league roster. But he stays.

Having Soto in the fold but off the 40-man roster doesn’t qualify as a surprise to me. I thought about five that I’ll post here.

Signing Tomoyuki Sugano.

It makes sense now, finding a veteran starter on a one-year deal in the international free agent market who’s had tremendous success in Japan and is viewed as capable of adapting to major league hitters with a six-pitch mix, strong work ethic and open mind. The cost is reasonable by today’s standards at $13 million. It comes across as a low-risk, high-reward type of situation.

I’ll be home for Christmas, and with a mailbag that should be a little lighter after another dumping.

You dared to ask and I deemed your questions worthy of my attention. Don’t take the honor lightly.

Also, my mailbag roasts chestnuts on an open fire and your mailbag wrestles squirrels for acorns.

How much of a language barrier will there be for Tomoyuki Sugano in the clubhouse next year? He obviously won't have an interpreter in a mound meeting with Adley Rutschman, pitching coaches and other infielders during a game.
Sugano is allowed to use an interpreter for mound sessions. That isn’t an issue. And I’ve watched teammates in the past welcome foreign-born players and bust down that barrier. Koji Uehara learned some new words that he couldn’t repeat in interviews, and he loved it.

Who was our interpreter for Koji?
I had to look it up. It’s been a while. Jiwon Bang was Koji’s interpreter.

In executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias’ session earlier today with media at the Winter Meetings in Dallas, he provided an update on the search for starting pitching and a willingness to explore every option available.

Here are some quick hits.

* Surrendering a draft pick for a pitcher who rejected the qualifying offer isn’t a deal-breaker for the Orioles.

“We’re in on everybody,” Elias said. “We’re talking to everybody. When there’s aspects of the rules that create wrinkles, you’ve got to weigh them, so we do that. But there is no player that we’re not interested in or pursuing in some shape or fashion if we feel like the talent is additive to the current roster that we have."

* Elias is immersed in trade talks that also could remove major league talent from his roster.

Making the qualifying offer to Corbin Burnes and Anthony Santander probably was the most predictable act performed by the Orioles since the playoffs. Tendering contracts to the top players on their arbitration list also could be seen from miles.  

Like any offseason, there also have been a fair share of surprises. Here are a batch, in no particular order.

The return of Daz Cameron.

Cameron spent the 2023 season with Triple-A Norfolk, appearing in 110 games and batting .268/.346/.452 with 23 doubles, 16 home runs and 67 RBIs in 446 plate appearances. He didn’t make the club in spring training and didn’t have his contract selected.

That seemed to be the conclusion of a Cameron connection to the Orioles, who had selected him on waivers from the Tigers in November 2022. The son of three-time Gold Glove winner Mike Cameron signed with the Athletics a year later and hit .200 with a .587 OPS in 66 games. The Orioles acquired him for cash considerations on Oct. 31.

A few questions stuck to the bottom of the mailbag again.

An attendant at Sinai Hospital told me that eight ounces or more of cherry juice lowers blood pressure. The bottle must have leaked.

It never should have been inside the mailbag. That’s my fault.

You ask and I answer. Here we go.

Any new minor league signings to report?
Yes. The club announced yesterday that right-hander Robinson Martínez signed a minor league deal. Martínez, 26, pitched in the Phillies system from 2015-19 and in the Marlins system in 2021-22. He has a 4.92 ERA and 1.502 WHIP in 133 games (seven starts) and averages 5.2 walks, 9.6 strikeouts and 0.6 home runs allowed per nine innings. He hasn’t pitched above Double-A. The Orioles assigned him to the Bowie Baysox.

So, what did I miss?

I’m using open-heart valve-replacement surgery as a convenient, albeit painful, excuse for being so far behind on transactions and other news. It’s also why I’m resting after every sentence that I’m typing.

A quick but heartfelt thank you to everyone who cared for me at Sinai Hospital, beginning with Dr. Peter Cho, who removed my faulty valve and gave me one from a cow. I just hope that one day I get to meet its family and show my appreciation.

My gratitude extends to Woodholme Cardiology’s Dr. Jonathan Rogers and Dr. Charles Cummings, who remained patient as the Orioles dictated when I could schedule pre-surgery appointments and the actual procedure. They were skilled and tremendous comforts. And everyone at Sinai who gathered after the surgery and yelled at me to “breathe!”

Can’t remove the tube unless you’re breathing on your own, and that’s solid advice in any situation.

Yep, surprising news indeed. Of the five players the O’s held contract options on for the 2025 season, most would have guessed one they surely would bring back at $4 million for next year is lefty reliever Danny Coulombe. 

He’s been a reliable high-leverage reliever for two years for this team. A 2.12 ERA in 2024 and an ERA of 2.56 and WHIP of 0.951 in 94 games in two seasons for the Orioles.

But while the club picked up contract options yesterday on pitchers Seranthony Domínguez and Cionel Pérez and position player Ryan O’Hearn, they declined Coulombe’s option.

Why do that?

We didn’t get to interview anyone yet on this decision so we can only guess at the club’s thinking. Coulombe missed a big chuck of this past season, from June 11 to Sept. 20 after a left elbow procedure to remove bone chips. Now at 35, is there concern about that – also that this was his second career elbow procedure in addition to his 2022 hip surgery?

The Orioles have picked up 2025 contract options on first baseman/outfielder Ryan O’Hearn, lefty reliever Cionel Pérez and righty reliever Seranthony Domínguez. But in a surprise move, they declined the $4 million 2025 contract option on lefty reliever Danny Coulombe.

The club today also made the procedural move of reinstating pitchers Félix Bautista, Kyle Bradish and Tyler Wells and infielder Jorge Mateo from the 60-day injured list. 

Coulombe has been a dependable reliever for the club since they acquired him just ahead of Opening Day 2023 from the Twins for cash considerations. But now he officially becomes a free agent where he could re-sign with the Orioles or sign with any other club. 

Perhaps the team has injury concerns here as Coulombe was on the injured list last year from June 11-Sept. 20 as he underwent a procedure to remove bone chips from his left elbow.

But he finished the year throwing 3 2/3 scoreless over four games and pitched 0.2 innings scoreless in the playoffs.

The Orioles made one decision today regarding club options for 2025 and it was the easiest to forecast.

The team announced that it declined the $16.5 million option on Eloy Jiménez’s contract, which puts him on the free agent market. His deal with the White Sox included a $3 million buyout.

Jiménez wasn’t staying with the Orioles after batting .232/.270/.316 with five doubles and a home run in 33 games. And after going 1-for-24 with eight strikeouts in September.

He also couldn't play in the field while recovering from a left hamstring strain that slowed him on the basepaths.

The Orioles carried 12 position players on the Wild Card roster and Jiménez wasn’t among them. They optioned him to Triple-A Norfolk on Sept. 24 while activating first baseman Ryan Mountcastle from the injured list, but he was brought back to Camden Yards as an extra in case of an injury.

Reliever Burch Smith doesn’t rate as one of the bigger decisions awaiting the Orioles. However, he’s on their agenda.

Smith is eligible for arbitration despite his name being missing from some lists. He made $1 million this year, with the Orioles paying the prorated minimum salary after selecting his contract on July 11.

The Rays signed Smith as a free agent on Jan. 2. The Marlins acquired him on March 27 in a cash transaction and released him on June 20. The Orioles signed him a week later.

The Orioles optioned Dillon Tate on the day that they brought Smith to the majors. As if you’d forget.

Smith appeared in 25 games and posted a 5.74 ERA and 1.050 WHIP in 26 2/3 innings. He started out with four scoreless appearances, allowing one hit, walking none and striking out six, but he endured some rough patches, including five home runs over seven outings.  

Cionel Pérez sat frozen on the Orioles’ bench on a 65-degree night at Camden Yards. Most of his teammates who stood at the dugout railing and watched the Royals celebrate on their field had gone inside. Pérez didn’t budge except for the moment when he lowered his head.

Pérez rubbed his hands across his face, but he couldn’t make it all go away.

The Royals did that to the Orioles in the Wild Card round, winning 2-1 to sweep the series. It’s always jolting, the elongated and exhausting stretch from report dates in spring training to the playoffs followed by an abrupt finish. The slamming of brakes can rattle bones.

The Orioles traded for ace Corbin Burnes and got a new ownership group. They won 101 games in 2023 and thought they’d do better. But the second half was “mid,” as the younger generation says, and in the truest sense at .500. Injuries devastated the team, and it doesn’t matter that others had similar experiences throughout baseball. That fact does nothing to minimize the impact on the Orioles, who lost their rotation except for Burnes as well as key members of their bullpen and lineup. It bordered on cruel. Some would say exceeded it.

Media entering the visiting clubhouse at Globe Life Field in Texas last October were met with an eerie silence, players sitting with stunned and pained expressions. It was like walking into a viewing before the funeral. Last night was similar in some areas but mostly teammates circled the room and hugged. That was the only sound created, the smacking of backs.

The Orioles must set their Wild Card roster by 10 a.m. Tuesday morning and they have more meetings to conduct. They’re talking about the composition of it heading into Game 1 of the Wild Card Series against the Royals at Camden Yards, as well as the identities of the next two starters.

Nothing came out of today’s media sessions that offered any hints.

“We’re gonna keep talking about it today,” said manager Brandon Hyde.

Corbin Burnes is confirmed for Game 1, but the club hasn’t committed to Zach Eflin for Wednesday afternoon’s Game 2. What happens Tuesday might influence the decision.

“It could,” Hyde said. “We’re going through every scenario, just kind of covering all the bases on it. Seeing a little bit how Game 1 goes, seeing how deep Burnsie goes, all those type of things."

MINNEAPOLIS – Orioles pitching coach Drew French says he “fancies himself” as an optimist. That’s just the way he’s built. He grabs the silver linings while hunting for gold. But limits are real, and the number of significant injuries and second-half losses could darken anyone’s sunny disposition.

The rotation was battered beyond recognition with Kyle Bradish, John Means and Tyler Wells undergoing elbow surgeries and Grayson Rodriguez twice landing on the injured list and being shut down in September. Reliever Danny Coulombe missed three months following his own elbow procedure and Jacob Webb was sidelined with elbow inflammation.

A pitch smashed into second baseman Jordan Westburg’s right hand and fractured it. Infielder Ramón Urías was the club’s hottest hitter until rolling his ankle a month later. Infielder Jorge Mateo won’t play until 2025 due to reconstructive elbow surgery.

It’s fair to question how much one man or one team can endure.

Could French honestly have envisioned a home Wild Card if told back in February that the Orioles would go through this kind of trauma?

Anthony Santander is predictable but never boring. He also knows how to shake an offense out of its slumber. Make loud noises and see who follows.

A line formed behind him.

In his next at-bat after setting off a wild celebration Thursday afternoon with a walk-off homer to beat the Giants, Santander muscled a cutter from Detroit’s Tyler Holton into Section 86 in left-center field in the first inning.

Santander approached second base and motioned to the bullpen, bumped fists with third base coach Tony Mansolino, crossed home plate, looked up to the sky and slapped his hands together. He pointed at his parents in the stands and jogged to the dugout.

The scene is replayed over and over in 2024. He’s on a tear and on a loop.

Two events today made it clear that the Orioles were preparing for a roster move.

Reliever Burch Smith walked to the bullpen this afternoon with pitching coach Drew French, assistant Mitch Plassmeyer and head athletic trainer Brian Ebel. He completed a session and returned to the clubhouse, exiting it after the media arrived at 3:30 p.m.

Left-hander Danny Coulombe returned to the club after three rehab appearances with Triple-A Norfolk, stopping by his locker multiple times and offering a smile to reporters as he passed. He wasn't able to speak about his status until it became official.

Manager Brandon Hyde offered confirmation during his session, saying that Coulombe was reinstated from the 60-day injured list and that Smith would go on the 15-day IL with a right adductor/groin strain.

Coulombe hasn’t pitched for the Orioles since June 8. He underwent surgery later that month to remove bone chips from his left elbow, robbing them of a high-leverage reliever with a 2.42 ERA and 0.615 WHIP in 29 appearances.

Orioles left-hander Danny Coulombe is reinstated from the injured list and available to pitch tonight. Burch Smith goes on the IL with a right adductor/groin strain.

Coulombe is returning from June surgery to remove bone chips in his left elbow.

Smith threw in the bullpen earlier today with head athletic trainer Brian Ebel watching him.

The Orioles lost two of three games to the Tigers last weekend at Comerica Park. They meet again beginning tonight at Camden Yards, but there’s more at stake than revenge.

Yesterday’s 5-3 win over the Giants brought the Orioles within four games of the first-place Yankees with nine more to play. They lead the Royals by three for the home wild card.

Executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias took his turn today providing injury updates to the media, asking in a joking manner for questions to be broken up individually rather than in one lump inquiry. Just trying to simplify the process.

Ryan Mountcastle (wrist) is in a hitting progression down in Sarasota, the most positive news about the first baseman since he was shut down.

“I was there during instructional league yesterday and had a chance to see him work out,” Elias said. “He has a sore wrist and he’s making his way back from that, and that takes a few steps, but I do think we have a really good chance of seeing him playing for Norfolk here pretty soon, and I do think we’re going to get him back, and he’s making a push. And we definitely will take what we can get from him, and we’re hopeful to get him back before the season’s over.”

Jordan Westburg took batting practice for the first time since fracturing his right hand. “Like a normal citizen,” Elias said.

“Jordan’s doing great, too,” Elias added. “We can’t wait to have him back, and we are expecting him back before the end of the regular season. We’re not totally there yet, but it’s going really well.”

One matter was resolved yesterday with the Twins claiming left-hander Cole Irvin on waivers only one day after the Orioles designated him for assignment. Irvin won’t stay in the organization, and now we track reliever Kyle Virbitsky’s progress while grading the Jan. 26, 2023 trade with Oakland.

Virbitsky went a combined 7-2 with a 3.43 ERA and 1.197 WHIP in 41 relief appearances between High-A Aberdeen and Double-A Bowie. He surrendered only five home runs and struck out 69 batters in 57 2/3 innings.

The Orioles dug into their infield prospect pile and sent Darell Hernáiz to the Athletics. He’s appeared in 44 games this season as a rookie and batted .193/.268/.239.

The honeymoon period with Irvin was short. They optioned him last year after only three starts, when he allowed 15 runs and walked eight batters in 12 2/3 innings. The rest of his brief Orioles career was spent bouncing from the rotation to the bullpen to the minors.

Irvin is joining Minnesota’s expanded roster today. The Orioles won’t be deciding whether to offer him arbitration this winter, which probably wasn’t in the cards but didn’t come with any sort of confirmation.