SAN DIEGO – Justin Verlander is off the Winter Meetings board after reaching agreement with the Mets today on a two-year, $86.66 million deal. The Rangers already secured Jacob deGrom with a five-year, $185 million contract.

Left-hander Carlos Rodón is the top free agent pitcher on the market, and the Orioles have been linked to him based on how they “checked in” – a popular offseason term – their quest for a frontline starter and their willingness to expand payroll.

That’s basically it.  

They aren’t ignoring the top tier, but they’re most aggressive below it.

Rodón is seeking a six-year deal at an annual rate of $30 million or more, according to the New York Post, which is territory that the Orioles aren’t expected to wander into this winter. However, there is legitimate interest in veteran right-hander Jameson Taillon. He’s created the loudest lobby buzz on the first day.

SAN DIEGO – The recent moves made by Orioles executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias haven’t really shortened his offseason shopping list. The biggest items still seem to be missing from it, which keeps the interest in the Winter Meetings percolating.

Kyle Gibson, who agreed to a one-year contract, isn’t a guy who ideally slots at or near the top of the rotation. The Orioles have sought multiple veteran starters after declining Jordan Lyles’ $11 million option. Gibson comes from the Lyles mold.

Elias arrives in San Diego today trying to find a pitcher who’s more equipped to replace John Means, the staff ace recovering from Tommy John surgery in April.

Grayson Rodriguez is baseball’s No. 1 pitching prospect, but it’s unrealistic to expect him to be the opening day starter. This isn’t Norfolk. Give him time to climb.

Elias is focused on left-handed hitters, specifically first basemen/designated hitters, corner outfielders and second basemen. Lewin Díaz was a waiver claim Friday and Franchy Cordero signed a minor league deal later in the day that pays $1.35 million if he’s in the majors.

SAN DIEGO – Baseball executives and media are flowing into the Manchester Grand Hyatt in San Diego today for the start of the Winter Meetings that were held virtually two years ago due to the pandemic and canceled in 2021 during the lockout.

The Orioles haven’t announced the signing of veteran pitcher Kyle Gibson to a one-year contract because he must pass his physical before the deal is official.   

Other business is conducted that extends beyond the major league and minor league roster.

The club is operating behind the scenes to promote and hire members of the scouting and analytics departments.

Kevin Carter and Will Roberston have been promoted from Pro Scouting Analyst to Senior Pro Scouting Analyst. Ben Reed is promoted from Pro Scouting Fellow to Pro Scouting Analyst.

The Winter Meetings are back to normal after going virtual in 2020 and disappearing in 2021.

Media can storm the Manchester Grand Hyatt in San Diego, clog the lobby and wait in long lines for its morning coffee.

I’d expect the largest wave of reporters to arrive later today. Some team executives will wait until Monday morning. And then, it’s on.

The Orioles will be linked to pretty much everyone, based on the vow to be more aggressive this winter and to increase payroll - the lobby buzz will be deafening - but much of that money is set aside for arbitration raises. They’re at the stage of the rebuild to begin spending more in free agency and to inherit heftier contracts, but I’ll repeat that they aren’t in hot pursuit of the big four shortstops. I'll also stand by my earlier take that they aren't being super aggressive with the top-tier starting pitchers, as if primed to break the bank and leave everyone else wounded from lesser bids, but I'll happily pivot if they do.

Checking in with representatives isn't the same thing. That's happening a lot, at every tier, because it's the responsible thing to do. And they obviously like left-hander Carlos Rodón, but so do teams like the Mets and Yankees who live in a different financial neighborhood.

The Winter Meetings that begin Sunday in San Diego will maintain or create new dialogues between Orioles executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias and various executives and scouts. Talks aimed at producing a trade or free agent signing, or building momentum toward resolutions later in the offseason.

The Orioles have been fairly predictable in the past, but moving into a more competitive stage, with a more aggressive attitude, could change that entirely.

What should stay the same is the annual selection in the Rule 5 draft, the only interruption blamed on the lockout, unless picking 17^th costs them the players they wanted. They aren’t averse to passing.

They could add to the list of waiver claims that includes third baseman Rio Ruiz at the 2018 Winter Meetings, Elias’ first major league addition, reliever Marcos Diplán at the 2019 event and pitcher Ashton Goudeau in 2020.

It always leads to the line, “Assuring that they won’t go home with just a Rule 5 pick.”

The Orioles are prepared to arrive at the Winter Meetings next week with 37 players on their 40-man roster.

Multiple moves were announced earlier today, with one player joining the organization and two others removed from the 40-man.

The Orioles claimed first baseman Lewin Díaz off waivers from the Pirates. Outfielder Daz Cameron was assigned to Triple-A Norfolk after clearing waivers, and the Phillies claimed outfielder Jake Cave.

Díaz, 26, fits the profile of the left-handed hitting first baseman/designated hitter that the Orioles are shopping for, but they’ll keep checking the market to further address that part of the roster.

The Pirates claimed Díaz from the Marlins on Nov. 22 and designated him for assignment two days ago after signing free agent Carlos Santana. They also traded for first baseman Ji-Man Choi, lessening the chances of Díaz staying with the team.

One of the potential benefits of attending the Winter Meetings, held next week at the Manchester Grand Hyatt in San Diego, is the chance to gain more clarity on the Orioles’ preferences for the construction of their roster. Any specifics regarding the pitching staff or lineup. How they might pivot if the original plan begins to crumble.  

Daily media sessions with executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias can be enlightening, without any expectations of him providing play-by-play on his meetings with executives and agents. Information can be dispensed in broad terms and still satisfy the masses.

The desire to sign or trade for at least one veteran starting pitcher has been confirmed. Nothing new on that front. And the targeted areas in free agency are below the top tier, which you’d hope would douse any reports linking the Orioles to the priciest arms and suggesting that they’d engage in a massive bidding war.

Here's the question that hasn’t been answered: What is the exact level of importance in bringing in a left-hander?

John Means will head back to the 60-day injured list after undergoing Tommy John surgery. Bruce Zimmermann broke camp last spring as the No. 4 starter but made a few trips to the minors and isn’t a lock for the rotation after registering a 5.99 ERA and 1.480 WHIP.

The version of Seth Johnson that didn’t undergo ligament-reconstructive surgery in his right elbow was projected by some outlets to reach the majors next summer. He might have finished this season at Double-A, shortening his climb onto the Orioles’ active roster.

Johnson made seven starts at High-A Bowling Green before the injury, and prior to the deadline trade that sent him from the Rays to the Orioles. He didn’t pitch after May 20 and had his procedure on Aug. 3, which threatens to keep him away from an affiliate until 2024.

A throwing program is set to begin in the middle of January and the Orioles will get a clearer read on his progress. Johnson is hoping at a minimum to pitch in the Florida Complex League before the minors shut down.

The road to Sarasota already has been traveled. Johnson is cleared for weight training, which he’s done at the spring training complex except for a short period when it closed for some renovations.

Johnson has mostly kept his offseason on a normal trajectory other than the whole pitching thing.

The timing of the trade was so good that Seth Johnson didn’t dwell as much on the oddity of his circumstances.

Johnson had just arrived in Dallas on Aug. 1 for the surgical repair of his right elbow that would be done two days later. Waiting for his father to join him at the rental car counter, Johnson received a phone call from the Rays informing him of the three-team trade involving the Orioles.

“With the Rays, you get traded pretty quick and stuff happens kind of fast with them,” he said yesterday, “but it was still kind of a shock just because everything you’ve known goes out the window because you’ve got a new organization to learn.”

A coincidence weaved its way into the introduction.

“It actually worked out nice because later that night I was planning on going to the Orioles and Rangers game anyway, so I got traded like four hours before that game and got to go see the new organization play that night,” he said. “So, that was pretty neat.”

The most recent Orioles transaction remains the outright of catcher Mark Kolozsvary to Triple-A Norfolk on Nov. 17, two days after they selected the contracts of pitchers Grayson Rodriguez, Drew Rom, Seth Johnson and Noah Denoyer and infielder Joey Ortiz to protect them in the Rule 5 draft. The 40-man roster remains frozen at 38 players, but probably not for much longer.

The Winter Meetings begin next week in San Diego, where the Orioles could land the starting pitcher or hitter that they’re targeting, if it doesn’t happen before their contingent boards its flights. At least one selection is anticipated in the major league phase of the Rule 5 draft, which also will impact the 40-man.

A trade could be made that doesn’t touch it, with rival teams expressing interest in prospects who aren’t eligible for the Rule 5. Those talks are among the many happening behind the scenes.

Over the last few days, I’ve written about additional front office decisions that are pending and questions pertaining to a bullpen that could undergo some tweaking.

I've moved on to nuggets, and here are a couple worth tucking away:

The Orioles are concentrating on upgrades for their rotation, but they also could acquire at least one new reliever on a major league or minor league deal. They don’t usually bring back the exact same unit while expecting the exact same results. That's a dangerous little game.

If nothing else, they can increase the camp competition.

The trust that the bullpen instilled in manager Brandon Hyde keyed the 2022 turnaround. Leads didn’t dissolve like teaspoons of sugar in water.

The Orioles were 60-2 when ahead after the sixth inning, 64-3 after the seventh and 71-3 after the eighth. They kept deficits manageable and allowed for late comebacks.

The ‘pen’s 3.49 ERA ranked ninth in the majors. The Orioles were last in 2019 and 2021, and 27^th in 2018.

Armchair general managers stayed busy in the early days of the offseason. Imagine how hectic it’s become with the free agent and trade markets wide open and the Winter Meetings approaching.

Your mistakes can’t cost you a job that you don’t actually have, which makes it a sweet gig.

I already posed five questions: whether you’d re-sign first baseman Jesús Aguilar, whether you’d pick up Jordan Lyles’ $11 million option (the Orioles didn’t), whether you’d trade an outfielder, whether you’d stay in-house for a backup catcher, and whether you’d attempt to re-sign Rougned Odor.

Here are two more:

Would you stay in-house for a shortstop?
Four of the top five free agents are shortstops, according to the MLBTradeRumors.com rankings – Carlos Correa, Trea Turner, Xander Bogaerts and Dansby Swanson. The cheapest contract projection is Swanson’s seven-year, $154 million deal.

The fatigue that I keep blaming on tryptophan, which makes no sense because I use the excuse year-round, limits how much heavy lifting I can do in one day.

The mailbag isn’t a priority compared to daily workouts, but I decided to empty it this morning while it’s still relatively light.

While I don’t need relatives to assist me.

This is the holiday sequel to the beloved original. You ask, I answer, you ask again, I answer again. Why do I still feel the need to explain it? You get it by now.

Also, my mailbag is in charge of carving the turkey, while yours is stuck washing the dishes.

Baseball’s regular season ended on Oct. 5. The World Series finished exactly a month later. The Arizona Fall League wrapped up two weeks ago.

There’s still the annual game of seeing how far the Thanksgiving leftovers can be stretched. And its spinoffs.

Does this smell right? Didn’t that used to be gravy? If that's a mushroom, why is it moving?

The sport has its own leftovers. Delicious nuggets from the Orioles’ public relations staff.

I’ll heat up another batch this morning.

Today is a day to find the best in a world that can be uncooperative throughout the search.  

To be thankful for more time in it.

Sure beats the alternative.

That actually should be done every morning when our feet hit the floor, but the fourth Thursday in November has become the official date.

The pressure builds if coaxed into expressing it at the dinner table between bites of stuffing, but the rest is gravy.

An area of improvement that can’t be predicted or counted upon in 2023 is the Orioles’ success in close games.

A better bullpen deserves much of the credit.

Eighty-three were decided by two runs or fewer, the fifth-most in the American League and ninth-most in the majors. Manager Brandon Hyde would playfully remind everyone that there were no rules prohibiting big early leads and coasting to victories.

His club went 43-40, which tied for the fifth-most wins in the AL and sixth in the majors.  

Flip back to 2021 and you’ll find that the Orioles played 63 games decided by two runs or fewer, tied for the least amount in the majors. Their 24 wins were the second lowest.

The Orioles are keeping two openings on their 40-man roster as they get closer to the Thanksgiving holiday shutdown.

This isn’t a mandated quiet period. It just typically works out that way.

Thanksgiving 2005 was an insane exception. The Marlins traded Carlos Delgado to the Mets and Mike Lowell, Josh Beckett and Guillermo Mota to the Red Sox for Hanley Ramírez, Aníbal Sánchez, and two others.

Reporters covering the Marlins almost tossed their turkey.

(The judges also would have accepted “yacked their yams”)

An immediate takeaway from Friday night’s announcement that the Orioles tendered contracts to their six arbitration-eligible players:

No one in the group was non-tendered, and there were some questions surrounding pitcher Austin Voth based on projected salary and uncertain role.

MLBTradeRumors.com has Voth’s contract rising from $875,000 to $2 million. He’s got to make the club out of spring training and he’s out of minor league options.

Will the Orioles run out of room in their rotation?

Voth could make a simple transition to bulk relief/swingman if he isn’t starting every fifth day. He’s worked out of the bullpen, including 19 times with the Nationals before the Orioles claimed him off waivers. And he’s a poster child for the benefits of the team’s pitching instruction.

The Orioles had four prospects they intended to place on the 40-man roster by Tuesday’s deadline, and an undrafted pitcher trending upward who couldn’t be denied.

Wasn’t worth the risk of losing him.

Noah Denoyer probably felt like the fifth of five players protected in the Rule 5 draft behind pitchers Grayson Rodriguez, Drew Rom and Seth Johnson, and shortstop Joey Ortiz. A foursome that is found within the top 20 prospects in the system, per MLBPipeline.com’s rankings.

Denoyer didn’t spend much time breaking it down or reflecting on its meaning, whether he should appreciate the honor more given his circumstances.

“My goal is always to just make the big leagues and do as well as I can for as long as I can, and help a team to win a World Series,” he said during Thursday’s video call with local media.

The business conducted by the Orioles can be brought out into the open, whether from the outset or at its conclusion, or held behind closed warehouse doors. The public finds out about decisions made on the 40-man roster and in arbitration talks without knowing all of the mechanisms.

Negotiations with free agents and executives usually are kept private, as least by the club. Too much leaked information can wash away the progress made, with other teams perhaps using it to their advantage.

The Orioles were occupied yesterday with tendering contracts to arbitration-eligible players Anthony Santander, Cedric Mullins, Austin Hays, Jorge Mateo, Dillon Tate and Austin Voth, and the non-eligible group on the 40-man roster. They can negotiate contracts until Jan. 13, and if unsuccessful, head to hearings.

But there’s always something else going on beyond what we see.

Catcher Mark Kolozsvary passed through waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Norfolk on Thursday, a process hidden until the Orioles announced the outcome. It was significant because only one catcher remained on the 40-man roster, and the overall number of players dropped to 38.