The international signing period starts today, one of the most significant dates on baseball’s offseason calendar.

It didn't used to be that way for the Orioles.

Baseball America reports that the Orioles have agreements with shortstop Jose Luis Acevedo, who’s projected to receive approximately $2.3 million, outfielders Ariel Roque ($1.8 million) and Pedro Gomez ($1.2 million), and catcher/outfielder Gabriel Rosario ($1 million).

Acevedo, who turned 17 in November, could match or surpass the franchise record signing bonus of $2.3 million for shortstop Luis Almeyda in 2023.

Baseball America ranked Acevedo 11th on its bonus board and MLB Pipeline ranked him 14^th on its top 50 prospects list.

On Oct. 17, 2024, the Guardians were one out away from finding themselves in a nearly insurmountable hole.

Luke Weaver, a failed starter turned high-leverage Yankees reliever, had the chance to give New York a 3-0 advantage in the American League Championship Series. All he had to do was put away a 22-year-old pinch-hitter with 74 big league games under his belt: Jhonkensy Noel.

Big Christmas, as he’s called, didn’t go down so easily.

On a 1-0 count, Noel punished a Weaver changeup that caught too much of the plate and drove it into deep left field for a game-tying two-run homer. It pushed the game to extras, where the Guardians emerged victorious. Cleveland lost the series, but between Noel’s heroic moment and his .958 OPS in the series, it seemed as if they had found a new middle-of-the-order bat for years to come.

The catchy nickname didn’t hurt, either.

The Orioles increased their total number of players in DFA limbo to three yesterday by adding reliever George Soriano. But that’s only half the story.

Not the most interesting part, either.

President of baseball operations/general manager Mike Elias claimed outfielder Jhonkensy Noel on waivers from the Guardians, a move that didn’t seem to be on the shopping list.

First a Polar Bear, and now “Big Christmas.”

Maybe J.T. Snow will come out of retirement.