Ineligible for the postseason and unable to recapture his All-Star form from last summer, reliever Jorge López was designated for assignment this afternoon and replaced by left-hander Bruce Zimmermann.

The Orioles recalled Zimmermann from the Norfolk Tides, who are in Las Vegas for tonight's Triple-A championship game against Oklahoma City. The Baltimore native hasn’t pitched in the majors since making his sixth relief appearance on July 4 at Yankee Stadium.

Zimmermann allowed seven earned runs and eight total with 15 hits in 11 1/3 innings with the Orioles and posted a 4.42 ERA and 1.545 WHIP in 21 starts with Norfolk over 99 2/3 innings.

The last two outings in the regular season were rough, with Zimmermann surrendering a combined 14 runs and 24 hits in 9 1/3 innings. He started Game 1 of the best-of-three series against Durham in the International League championship and allowed one run in two innings.

The Orioles haven’t announced a Sunday starter. Kyle Bradish would be working on his normal turn but could be rested, with Zimmermann a candidate to replace him.

After a season when he rose to No. 1 in prospects rankings and has already been named Baseball America’s Minor League Player of the Year, today shortstop Jackson Holliday was named winner of the Orioles' Brooks Robinson Award as the organization's Minor League Player of the Year for 2023.

The Orioles named right-hander Chayce McDermott the recipient of the Jim Palmer Award as the club's Minor League Pitcher of the Year. Norfolk manager Buck Britton won the Cal Ripken Sr. Player Development Award. Dave Jennings won the Jim Russo Scout of the Year award.

Holliday has played at four levels in the 2023 season, beginning the year at Single-A Delmarva and later moving to High-A Aberdeen, Double-A Bowie and Triple-A Norfolk. He ended the regular season with Norfolk and will play with the International League champion Tides tonight against Oklahoma City, winners of the Pacific Coast League title, in the Triple-A Championship game in Las Vegas.

Over 125 games this year between the Shorebirds, IronBirds, Baysox and Tides, Holliday, 19, has hit .323/.442/.499/.941 with 30 doubles, nine triples, 12 homers, 24 steals, 154 hits, 101 walks, 113 runs and 75 RBIs.

“Yeah, I’ve got no complaints," Holliday said via a Zoom call today with reporters about his remarkable season. "This year has gone about as well as I could possibly imagine. My goal was Double-A, and to make it to Triple-A is quite something. It’s been quite a year."

Gunnar Henderson graduated from being baseball’s top prospect and is favored to win the Rookie of the Year award in the American League.

He’ll prep for that honor by walking onto the Camden Yards field before tonight’s game and receiving his Most Valuable Oriole award.

Keep ‘em coming.

Media covering the club selected Henderson first on a three-player ballot. The 22-year-old infielder is batting .257/.326/.492 in 148 games with 28 doubles, nine triples, 28 home runs and 82 RBIs. Baseball-reference gives him a team-leading 6.1 Wins Above Replacement (WAR), the highest in Orioles history for a rookie.

The 28 homers are tied with Anthony Santander for first. His nine triples are six more than Cedric Mullins and Ramón Urías have totaled. He’s second in RBIs and tied for second with 55 walks. He’s first in slugging and OPS (.818) and tied for second in OBP.

The emotions sneaked up on Brandon Hyde again. Made his eyes water and the words stick in his throat.

The fifth-year Orioles manager keeps experiencing firsts on the job that make him reflect on the hard times and challenge him to maintain composure. Hold it together while hugging anyone who’s close to him.

“It’s really a weak point of mine,” he said yesterday with a smile. “It’s something I need to work on.”

His players wouldn’t change a thing. They appreciate the soft side that’s exposed after wins to clinch a playoff berth and division title. How he treats them. How much he cares.

If tears are shed, that’s fine. Let them trickle or flow.

Orioles manager Brandon Hyde arrived at the ballpark today knowing that a victory didn’t really matter in the grander scheme. His team clinched the division title last night. It already established home-field advantage in the playoffs.

The original lineup was missing Anthony Santander and Gunnar Henderson to let them rest. Adley Rutschman and Ramón Urías were scratched due to being “under the weather,” per the club.

The Orioles could coast and not get hurt, but Hyde didn’t expect them to roll over.

“I still want to play well, you know? I want to play to win,” he said.

“Last night was special, and so today you reflect a little bit in the morning and still have a job to do tonight. Want to play well in front of our home fans.”

The Orioles are starting veteran Kyle Gibson on Saturday and remain undecided about Sunday, which would be Kyle Bradish under pre-clinching circumstances.

Uncharted territory for the franchise under the current regime.

“We’re still kind of playing with some things,” said manager Brandon Hyde.

Hyde isn’t ready to detail how the Orioles are handling their regular season finale or compensating for the extended break before Saturday’s Game 1 of the Division Series.

“It will be a lot of scheduled bullpen appearances for a lot of these guys,” Hyde said. “I didn’t want to schedule too much stuff, honestly, because I didn’t want to jinx anything. I wanted to make sure we clinched first. But now a lot of discussions are in place.”

The playoffs are clinched. The division is clinched. And now, the Orioles can intensify their focus on getting the rotation and roster prepped for the American League Division Series, and reveling in the rest that’s coming to them with the bye.

Cedric Mullins is batting leadoff tonight with Gunnar Henderson out of the lineup. Heston Kjerstad is in right field, Adam Frazier is the second baseman and Ramón Urías is at third.

Ryan Mountcastle gets the start at first base, with Ryan O’Hearn serving as designated hitter.

John Means is making his fourth start since coming off the 60-day injured list. He didn’t allow a hit for 6 2/3 innings in Cleveland. He’s allowed two runs in 12 innings in his last two starts to seemingly thrust himself into the postseason rotation.

Means owns a 3.70 ERA and 0.992 WHIP in eight career games (seven starts) against the Red Sox. Rafael Devers is 3-for-20.

Heston Kjerstad grabbed a bat to hit on the field yesterday afternoon but paused to satisfy a reporter’s request for a minute of his time. That’s exactly how much of it he could spare, doing so with the usual smile and polite nature.

Kjerstad would begin the game on the bench, hours after learning that he made Baseball America’s Minor League All-Star Team, along with shortstop Jackson Holliday and catcher Samuel Basallo. He delivered a pinch-hit, RBI double in the eighth inning. Three of his first six career hits have gone for extra bases.

The honors keep finding him, even in Baltimore.

“I spent the majority of the season down there, and you consider that I’ve only been up here a little bit,” he said. “Definitely a solid year, cool to be a part of that and everything. There’s a lot of O’s players on that list, too. It just shows the organization we’re in.

“It’s awesome to be up here and getting things rolling. It’s been awesome to be a part of this clubhouse so far.”

The wait is over.

For the last magic number to hit zero. For the first American League East championship since 2014. For the Rays to accept their wild card fate.

Pop those corks again.

Anthony Santander homered in the first inning, his fly ball traveling 405 feet to left field and clearing the wall. The crowd roared. Dean Kremer tossed 5 1/3 scoreless innings. Pinch-hitter Heston Kjerstad dumped a double into left field that scored Adam Frazier in the eighth.

The ballpark kept getting louder, reaching its peak volume when Trevor Story grounded out against Tyler Wells to seal the Orioles’ 2-0 victory over the Red Sox before an announced crowd of 27,543. The 11^th shutout of the season. The latest reason for the city to embrace its team and not let go.

The final out was made in the bottom of the third inning tonight and Orioles chairman and CEO John Angelos and Governor Wes Moore appeared on the video board in center field. They were applauding. Big smiles on their faces. Huge news printed below them.

The Orioles, Moore and the State of Maryland, and the Maryland Stadium Authority agreed to a deal that will keep the team in Baltimore and at Camden Yards for at least the next 30 years.

The current lease was set to expire on Dec. 31. Angelos, Moore and commissioner Rob Manfred kept insisting that the club wasn’t moving, but fans wanted a commitment.

They got it on a night when the Orioles are trying to clinch their first division title since 2014.

The agreement covers a guaranteed 30 years, with two five-year extension options, according to the Baltimore Banner, and enables the Orioles to unlock the $600 million in state bonds for stadium improvements. Same as the NFL’s Ravens, who signed a 15-year extension with options on Jan. 4.

The last two spots in the Orioles rotation this weekend remain vacant in case they clinch the division title early and manager Brandon Hyde can tweak it. Perhaps hold back Kyle Bradish, whose next turn is Sunday. Maybe give Jack Flaherty a start. Go against where it normally would flow.

Hyde knows that a win tonight or Friday, when John Means is listed, comes with certain perks.

“There’s a lot of reasons why you want to, whether it’s to rest guys, schedule some bullpen innings, those types of things,” Hyde said this afternoon. “But we’re a game away from that, so I’m just really focused on trying to win. Try to win tonight, hopefully that goes well, if not, try to win tomorrow.”

Players have traveled different roads to reach tonight’s possible clincher, the fourth at home in club history. Only one is a former All-Star who returned this summer from elbow ligament-constructive surgery.

Means has his own story and emotions.

When asked today when he saw a light at the end of the tunnel, and when center fielder Cedric Mullins thought the Orioles had turned from a losing team into a winning one, he cited an 11-day period in July during the 2022 season.

From July 3-13, 2022, the Orioles won 10 games in a row. A stretch that included seven wins by two runs or less and three walk-off wins. When it began the Orioles were nine games under .500. When it ended they were 45-44 and on their way to an 83-79 record. A 31-game improvement over the year before.

Now, a season later, that team is one win away from 100 victories and one win away from clinching its 10^th American League East title.

“There was a 10-game win streak that we had last year where we were playing really good ball. It was consistent,” Mullins said this afternoon in the Baltimore clubhouse of a turning point for the organization. “We had the same guys going out there doing their thing. The guys on the bench were coming through. And we have been able to stay consistent with that and progress even further this year.”

For manager Brandon Hyde, that 10-game streak was a big moment.

A win tonight gives the Orioles their 10^th division title and first since 2014. It’s that simple.

The magic number is one and the Orioles are entering a four-game series against the Red Sox at Camden Yards. A 100^th victory would match their total in 1980.

Ryan Mountcastle returns to the lineup and is playing first base. He was reinstated from the 10-day injured list yesterday after dealing with left AC joint inflammation.

Austin Hays stays in the leadoff spot after reaching base four times last night. Adley Rutschman is the designated hitter again.

Aaron Hicks is the center fielder. 

While picking the brain of a scout from outside the organization about the Orioles’ farm system, which players stood out to him, which ones graded highly, I noticed how he paused the minor league analysis and headed straight to Baltimore.

“Of course, your big league club is loaded. It’s loaded,” he said.

“I mean, you guys are impressive.”

And then, within seconds, the focus and curiosity rewind.

“I just wish I was a fly on the wall,” he said, “to know what they were going to do.”

One more night.

Maybe that’s how much longer the Orioles must wait to clinch the American League East for the first time since 2014.

A night when they don’t need anyone’s help.

Adley Rutschman homered, singled and drove in three runs, the bullpen retired all 10 batters behind starter Grayson Rodriguez, and the Orioles won 5-1 before an announced crowd of 24,278 at Camden Yards.

Tampa Bay defeated the Red Sox 5-0 to leave the magic number at one, and fans checking on ticket availability for Thursday night.

Ryan Mountcastle pulled a hoodie over his head this afternoon at his locker, with full range of motion in his left shoulder and the ease of a healthy player, and went outdoors to take some early swings.

He smiled. As if knowing that his stay on the injured list was concluding on the date of his eligibility. An expression that was missing for more than a week.

The Orioles reinstated Mountcastle this afternoon and optioned outfielder Ryan McKenna. He isn’t in tonight’s lineup but will start Thursday against Red Sox left-hander Chris Sale.

Manager Brandon Hyde indicated yesterday that it could be a few more days with Mountcastle.

“He took batting practice yesterday, we wanted to have another day of batting practice on the field,” Hyde said. “We put the machine out there, did some high-velocity stuff. He’s hit on the field twice, so I didn’t want to jump the gun and say he’s going to be activated if it didn’t go very well.

Austin Hays is the leadoff hitter tonight and Anthony Santander makes his seventh start at first base as the Orioles try to clinch the division.

The magic number is down to two. The Rays play the Red Sox at 6:10 p.m.

Gunnar Henderson moves down to fifth against left-hander Patrick Corbin. He has 65 extra-base hits to tie Cal Ripken Jr.’s club rookie record. Last night’s leadoff home run was his 100^th career RBI.

Adley Rutschman is the designated hitter. Aaron Hicks is in right field and batting cleanup. Jordan Westburg gets the start at second base, with Adam Frazier on the bench.

Frazier’s 11 stolen bases equal his career high.

The Orioles haven’t clinched the American League East, and that’s the item on manager Brandon Hyde’s mind. That’s where his focus lies this week. The unfinished business before the playoffs begin.

Has he thought about specific roles for players during the postseason?

“No,” he said.

Short and to the point.

I’m sure that the club has considered various options regarding the roster, who might be added depending on health, how the rotation could line up. But Hyde, while trying to be accommodating to the media, doesn’t want to get too far ahead of himself.

Gunnar Henderson swung at the seventh pitch thrown to him tonight and moved closer to ranking first on more Orioles all-time rookie lists. Kyle Bradish was handed the ball and demonstrated again why he should be the first starter in the playoffs.

Henderson’s home run over the center field fence, a 400-foot shot leading off the bottom of the first inning, provided an immediate lead for the Orioles, and Bradish shut out the Nationals through the eighth in a 1-0 victory before an announced crowd of 20,823 at Camden Yards.

Their division lead is 2 1/2 games with the Rays defeating the Red Sox 9-7, and the magic number is two to clinch it.

The 98 wins are the most since 1997.

The champagne celebrations could reach two as early as Wednesday.

Amid the excitement of the Orioles making the playoffs for the first time in seven years came the sad news that Baltimore had lost one of its legends.

Hall of Fame third baseman Brooks Robinson passed away today at the age of 86. And nothing else seemed important.

A statement from the team and Robinson’s family read:

“We are deeply saddened to share the news of the passing of Brooks Robinson. An integral part of our Orioles Family since 1955, he will continue to leave a lasting impact on our club, our community, and the sport of baseball.”

Nicknamed “The Human Vacuum Cleaner,” Robinson won 16 consecutive Gold Glove Awards in a 23-year major league career spent entirely with the Orioles. He also made 18 All-Star teams – chosen Most Valuable Player in 1966 – was named MVP in the American League in 1964 and was selected MVP of the 1970 World Series, when everyone learned of his defensive prowess.