“When do you head down to spring training?”

I was asked again this week during dinner with some friends. I smiled, shrugged and offered the usual time frame.

Major League Baseball hasn’t shared the report date for pitchers and catchers, which coincides with my report date. We usually know months ago.

The Rays arrive on Feb. 14, with their first workout held the following day. But they’re in upheaval after Hurricane Ian hit Port Charlotte hard in late September.

Every March home game will be played at Tropicana Field. The Orioles visit on the 5^th.

I’d have a bunch of non-sports questions if I were flying for the holidays.

“Why is this line so long? Why isn’t it moving? Where are my bags? Where am I supposed to sleep?”

"Do I dare try the sushi?"

Here are a few more relating to the Orioles:

Which free agent starting pitcher could sign with the Orioles?
Rich Hill is off the board after agreeing to a one-year, $8 million contract with the Pirates.

Tyler Nevin was designated for assignment on Wednesday and we still don’t know whether he’s staying in the organization as an outright or joining another team via a trade or waiver claim.

I have a few more questions before 2022 turns into 2023.

How will a new double play combination impact the proficiency in turning them?
Adam Frazier could get most of the starts at second base or he might be busy switching between the infield and outfield. He’s signed for one season and could get bumped over the summer for one of the prospects. But he’s here right now and his main position is second base.

Gunnar Henderson is expected be the third baseman despite Ramón Urías winning a Gold Glove in 2022. Henderson also will be used at shortstop. Urías will move around the infield, with his primary landing spot to be determined.

Rougned Odor is gone after contributing to a defense that turned 150 double plays, the second-most in the American League and fifth-most in the majors. Odor had his deficiencies, but this was one area where he seemed to excel.

The week between Christmas and New Year's tends to be a dead zone in baseball. Silent nights until after the last champagne cork and aspirin are popped.

The ball drops, jokes are made about teams that can’t field, and the next round of business commences.

Oh sure, there are exceptions.

The Orioles, for example, signed pitcher Kohl Stewart on Dec. 29, 2019. He opted out in 2020, citing underlying conditions that put him at risk during the pandemic, and he didn’t appear in another major league game until 2021 with the Cubs.

Free-agent pitchers Miguel Tejada, Paul Demny, Jon Link and Brooks Kieschnick signed minor league deals on Dec. 28, 2017, Dec. 27, 2015, Dec. 28, 2011 and Dec. 26, 2005, respectively. Small stuff, of course. Dinner didn’t get cold while the media filed stories. But it happened.

The plate of cookies is empty expect for a few crumbs.

The glass of milk has been drained, leaving those thin lactose lines clinging to the sides.

I can’t resist a late-night snack.

‘Tis the season to be jolly and to run up huge credit card bills. I have some Orioles gift suggestions for any holiday that they celebrate.

For Mike Elias: A starting pitcher and a left-handed hitting first baseman.

The Orioles today announced that they have acquired catcher James McCann and cash considerations from the New York Mets in exchange for a player to be named later.

McCann, 32, slashed .195/.257/.282 (34-for-174) with six doubles, three homers, 19 runs scored, 18 RBI, and three stolen bases in 61 games with the Mets last season but was limited in action due to nine weeks spent on the Injured List with a left hamate fracture (May 11 to June 24) and a left oblique strain (July 10 to August 4). He appeared in one postseason game in the Wild Card Series against the San Diego Padres, entering as a defensive replacement in the eighth inning of game three. McCann is a veteran of 783 MLB games between the Detroit Tigers, Chicago White Sox, and Mets, and caught Lucas Giolito’s no-hitter with the White Sox on August 25, 2020 vs. Pittsburgh. The 2019 American League All-Star was originally selected by Detroit in the second round of the 2011 First-Year Player Draft out of the University of Arkansas.

He was named the Mets’ 2022 nominee for the prestigious Roberto Clemente Award, which recognizes a player from each club who best represents the game of baseball through extraordinary character, sportsmanship, community involvement, philanthropy, and positive contributions, both on and off the field.

Additionally, infielder Tyler Nevin has been designated for assignment. The Orioles’ 40-man roster currently has 40 players.

My mailbag is the gift that keeps on giving. And that’s never truer than when I find some questions stuck to the bottom and share them with you.

I won’t share what caused them to stick. Not everything is your business.

I’m bringing you the old schtick before the New Year. You ask, I answer, you keep asking as if you lost a bet, I keep answering as if I have nothing else going on in my life.

These are just leftovers, but the same rules apply to the editing. I don’t do it.

Also, my mailbag can drink an entire punch bowl of eggnog and your mailbag is lactose intolerant and unable to search the internet for alternative recipes.

I reached inside my holiday mailbag last night and found a lump of coal.

At least, I hope it was coal. Or I need an exterminator, pronto.

This is lovely weather for a sleigh ride together or to just chill out at home and field more questions in the latest sequel to the beloved original mailbag from 2008.  

The editing here remains sparse. Be clear or unclear, have style or no style, be succinct or ramble.

This is the internet. You can’t crash it like you did with your neighbor’s ugly sweater party.

Armchair general managers must always check their cell reception after walking into a mall to do some holiday shopping. Can’t miss an important call or text.

I literally took a few steps inside the Columbia Mall on Monday, scrolled Twitter and found breaking news about Mychal Givens reaching agreement with the Orioles.

Rookie mistake to leave the laptop at home.

I went to bed last night and received notifications on my phone about the Orioles acquiring catcher James McCann from the Mets for a player to be named later, which no longer makes Anthony Bemboom the favorite to back up Adley Rutschman.

At least I was near my laptop.

The Orioles found their backup catcher late last night.

James McCann has been acquired from the Mets along with cash considerations for a player to be named later. The team made the announcement.

McCann, 32, appeared in 61 games with the Mets this season and batted .195/.257/.282 with six doubles, three home runs, 18 RBIs and 19 runs scored. He spent nine weeks on the injured list with a fractured left hamate bone that kept him sidelined from May 11 to June 24 and a left oblique strain that left him inactive from June 10 to Aug. 4.

The right-handed hitting McCann is a career .243/.296/.380 hitter in 783 major league games. He was an All-Star with the White Sox in 2019, when he hit a career-high 18 home runs.

The Mets are paying $19 million of the $24 million remaining on McCann’s contract over the next two years, according to reports.

Mychal Givens remembers when sitting in the Orioles’ bullpen felt like a family gathering.

Now he’s back home. A little older, and perhaps a little wiser about the business side of the game that keeps forcing him to change locations.

Givens’ one-year contract with a mutual option for 2024 became official today, returning him to the team that drafted him as a shortstop in 2009, converted him to relief and watched him blossom.

The Orioles are guaranteeing Givens $3 million next season, with a $6 million option for 2024. He’ll receive $1 million if he declines it and get a $2 million buyout if he accepts and the Orioles decline their end.

The family theme also played out during today’s video call with the media. Givens had daughters Ahmya and Makaylah – the “wild card baby” born in 2016 - on each side of him.

The reviews from Orioles fans on the Adam Frazier signing can be described most succinctly as mixed.

Arguments that he’s an upgrade and sensible pickup are countered mostly by one word:

“Why?”

As in, why pay $8 million for Frazier when the Orioles can play Ramón Urías, Terrin Vavra and Jordan Westburg at second base?

All three of them could do it in 2023, but the Orioles wanted a left-handed bat. Urías and Westburg don’t check that box. Vavra is in the early stages of his major league career, though it’s an impressive start with his .340 on-base percentage in 40 games.

The Orioles’ bingo card is beginning to fill up.

A veteran starting pitcher, a left-handed hitter for second base and the corner outfield, left-handed bats on minor league deals, and now a veteran reliever with last night’s news of the agreement with Mychal Givens.

Another starter and a backup catcher must be found. I can confirm the reported interest in left-hander Rich Hill. I was told about a meeting with the Orioles. But I haven’t heard a word about any catchers.

A left-handed hitting first baseman/designated hitter also could be added, unless the club is satisfied with Lewin Díaz and Franchy Cordero. Díaz is on the 40-man roster and Cordero signed a split contract.

The bullpen wasn’t billed as a priority during the Winter Meetings, but the Orioles intended to sign a veteran. I didn’t think a reunion with Mychal Givens was in the works, but here we are, writing and reading about him again.

Executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias stated after trading Mychal Givens at the 2020 deadline that the reliever would be “an Oriole for life.”

“He’s going to be part of this organization well after he retires,” Elias said in a video call with the local media. “He’s meant a lot to our organization on and off the field for a really long time, and we’re going to miss him.”

He wasn't gone that long.

Givens is coming back to the Orioles before moving onto the next phase of his professional life.

The right-hander and former second-round draft pick has agreed to a one-year contract with a mutual option pending a physical, according to an industry source.

The Orioles are conducting some minor league business, along with trying to fill out their major league roster.

The team announced the signings today of right-handers Eduard Bazardo, Wandisson Charles and Kyle Dowdy to minor league deals.

Bazardo, 27, made 12 relief appearances with the Red Sox this year and allowed five runs in 16 1/3 innings. He walked four batters and struck out 11.

The Red Sox used Bazardo twice in 2021 and he tossed three scoreless innings with one hit, two walks and three strikeouts. He was added to their 40-man roster the previous November.

Bazardo was designated for assignment on April 7, cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Worcester. The Red Sox selected his contract in September and he elected free agency the following month after being designated again.

The Triple-A phase of the Rule 5 draft, previously known as the minor league phase, tends to be skimmed in the minds of fans and some media because the players don’t land on the 40-man roster. They aren’t spring training storylines.

My personal experience is I’m busy looking up statistics and writing about the major league selection or selections and which players are lost to other teams, and must pause to tweet out the other stuff. Those names get tagged at the bottom.

The Orioles made three selections in the Triple-A phase: right-hander Alfred Vega from the Yankees’ system, left-hander Trey McGough from the Pirates and catcher Randy Florentino from the Rangers.

McGough was interesting because he attended Mount St. Mary’s in Emmitsburg, Md. Who doesn’t love a local angle? We learned later that he is recovering from Tommy John surgery.

Nothing else really stood out among the group. Vega is 21 and he pitched in the Florida Complex League. His story requires some deep digging.

The Orioles experienced a quiet Friday in terms of transactions.

There were none.

Executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias has been in contact with a large number of agents and executives throughout the offseason, and it’s hardly the kind of news that qualifies as “breaking.” This is front office due diligence that we often talk about, even if a player is likely out of its price range.

Doesn’t hurt to check the market unless the cringing causes a headache.

I’ve got some lingering questions, to be expected in the third week of December, that probably are shared by many people in the industry and the team’s fan base. The first one went from a possibility to unlikely to perhaps in the discussion again.

The Orioles found their left-handed hitting second baseman.

Adam Frazier signed a one-year contract this afternoon worth a guaranteed $8 million. The club announced the length of the deal and an industry source confirmed the amount.

Frazier, who turned 31 yesterday, will be joining his fourth team since 2021. He appeared in a career-high 156 games for the Mariners this season, most on the club, and slashed .238/.301/.311 with 22 doubles, four triples, three home runs, 42 RBIs, 61 runs scored, 46 walks and a career-high 11 stolen bases.

The four triples also led the Mariners and tied for ninth in the American League.

Frazier was an All-Star in 2021, which he split between the Pirates and Padres. He hit a combined .305/.368/.411 in 155 games with 36 doubles, five triples, five home runs, 43 RBIs, 48 walks and 10 steals.

The Orioles have arranged a video introduction in a few days between Adam Frazier and their hitting coaches who want to learn more about him before they tackle the reasons why his offensive production took a nosedive this summer.

The front office already has gotten ahead of the process.

Frazier signed a one-year, $8 million contract on Thursday to wrap up a recruiting mission that began early in the offseason. Executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias and others in the organization sold him on the data available to hitters, the favorable aspects of Camden Yards, the chance to stay in the lineup.

Their interest was made abundantly clear through words and actions.

“I didn’t have my best offensive performance last season and Mike had asked what kind of adjustments I was making or trying to make this offseason, and then pulled up a frame of exactly what I had said,” Frazier said today in a Zoom call with the media, “so it seems like they’ve done their homework on myself and it seemed like we kind of view things in a similar manner.”

With so much attention thrown at the Orioles’ rotation and the free-agent starters who keep signing with other clubs, Adam Frazier looked like a guy yesterday sneaking through the back door.

The Orioles signed Frazier to a one-year, $8 million contract, increasing their offseason spending on the major league roster to $18 million.

Left-handed bats have been a priority. Finding a player who can replace Rougned Odor at second base has been a priority. Frazier checks those boxes, and he also can play the corner outfield.

That’s three boxes. Or four if breaking it down to left and right.

Frazier won’t duplicate Odor’s power, but he makes contact - he ranked in the top five percent in the majors with a 12.1 percent strikeout rate and 14.4 whiff rate this year, per Statcast – and he hit .305/.368/.411 in 2021 during his only All-Star season. He’s an above-average fielder at second, with 15 defensive runs saved, a 1.5 ultimate zone rating and 11 outs above average, and he's twice been a finalist for a Gold Glove.