The Orioles made the following roster moves:

• Tendered 2023 contracts to OF Austin Hays, SS Jorge Mateo, OF Cedric Mullins, OF Anthony Santander, RHP Dillon Tate, and RHP Austin Voth, as well as all pre-arbitration 40-man players.

With the Orioles in the market for starting pitching and possibly poised to add one or more hurlers from the free agent ranks, today we’ll take a look at two more possibilities.

To be clear, these are just some stats and notes on these pitchers and not my speculation - or anyone’s, for that matter - in terms of the Orioles' interest level in these pitchers. As you know, they keep such information very close to the vest.

MLBTradeRumors.com has ranked nine pitchers among its top 20 free agents for this winter. Here they are, listed by the ranking and also the projected contract for each.

* No. 6 lefty Carlos Rodón – five years, $140 million

* No. 7 right-hander Jacob deGrom – three years, $135 million

Considering he walked off the mound with an injury in the sixth inning of a Triple-A game with Norfolk on June 1, returning to pitch this past season in September was big for the sport’s highest-rated pitching prospect, right-hander Grayson Rodriguez.

While the Orioles didn’t get him a late-year start in Baltimore to make his MLB debut, he did make one rehab outing for high Single-A Aberdeen and two for Double-A Bowie before ending his year with three starts and pitching to an ERA of 2.63 at Triple-A.

It was nice to get to prove he was over the Grade 2 right lat strain and that he was healthy again. Today, on an Orioles zoom call with local media on his 23rd birthday, Rodriguez talked about being added to the club’s 40-man roster this week. He could start next season in the Orioles' opening day rotation.

“Obviously, it’s honor to get put on anybody’s 40-man, especially ours,” Rodriguez said this afternoon. “So, pretty excited, pretty pumped up for it. Can’t wait for spring training. And really just looking forward to what this year has in store. Just getting back out there and throwing the baseball.”

In 17 starts in 2022, he went 6-2 with a 2.62 ERA, missing time between June 1 and Sept. 1 with the injury. Over a combined 75 2/3 innings he walked 28, fanned 109, posted an 0.99 WHIP and allowed a .176 batting average against. In 14 starts at Triple-A only, he went 6-1 with a 2.20 ERA and was a postseason International League All-Star.

Doing the math is pretty easy. Interpreting what it all means can be more challenging. But we do know the sport of baseball has gravitated toward placing increased value on pitchers with big strikeout totals. And while we used to be most enamored with raw strikeout totals, now stats like strikeout percentage might tell us a bit more.

Strikeout percentage is easy to get to. Simply divide the number of batters a pitcher strikes out by the total batters he faced. A pitcher that fanned 30 of 90 batters faced has a strikeout percentage of 33.3.

This year on the O’s farm, using a standard of 50 innings pitched for the year, the Orioles had seven minor league pitchers produce a strikeout percentage of 30 or above. Four of them are now on the 40-man roster and two were just added this week.

The list of seven:

36.6 – DL Hall and Grayson Rodriguez

The Orioles Adley Rutschman did not win the AL Rookie of the Year award. That was expected. Manager Brandon Hyde did not win the Manager of the Year award, which went to Cleveland's Terry Francona.

That was probably a bit less expected but certainly Francona was the favorite heading into last night. To have five of the 30 votes not place Hyde among the top three is a bit unexpected.

But Hyde was a reasonably close second losing out to Francona in points by 112-79. Francona got 17 first-place votes and Hyde got nine. 

So, he fell short last night. But for me, I think there are many reasons that Hyde has been and will continue to be the right manager for the Orioles. And ranking high among them in my opinion is his ability to work well with and get a lot of out of young players.

That fits so well with a rebuilding organization. Hyde seems to have an ability to get close with his players yet maintain a management relationship. He is open and honest with them, telling them what they need to hear, not what they want to hear.

The Orioles have made the following roster moves:

• Selected the contracts of RHP Noah Denoyer, RHP Seth Johnson, SS Joey Ortiz, RHP Grayson Rodriguez, and LHP Drew Rom.

The Orioles 40-man roster is at 39 players.

The Orioles’ rise from 110-loss team in 2021 to playoff contender this summer, their record settling above .500 to shock the industry, couldn’t launch manager Brandon Hyde toward another award.

Hyde was runner-up tonight to the Guardians’ Terry Francona for the American League’s Manager of the Year in voting by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. He finished first last month in The Sporting News balloting.

In his fourth season with the Orioles, Hyde guided the Orioles to an 83-79 record for one of the greatest turnarounds in baseball history. He received nine first-place votes, nine second and seven third for 79 points.

Francona, who won the AL Central with the youngest roster in the league, received 17 first-place votes and nine second for 112 points. The Mariners’ Scott Servais was third with one first-place, eight second and 14 third.

Dusty Baker, whose Astros won the World Series, was fourth with three first-place, three second and seven third. The Yankees’ Aaron Boone was fifth with one second and one third. The Rays’ Kevin Cash, who won it the past two seasons, was sixth with one third-place vote.

The Orioles added five players today to their 40-man roster. By adding these players, they now cannot be taken by another organization in the upcoming Dec. 7 Rule 5 draft. And they will all report to major league spring training in Sarasota, Fla. in February.

They added two of their three top pitching prospects in right-handers Grayson Rodriguez and Seth Johnson along with lefty Drew Rom, right-hander Noah Denoyer and shortstop Joey Ortiz.

At 34 players this morning, the Orioles' 40-man roster now holds 39 players.

Rodriguez is the Orioles No. 2 prospect behind only Gunnar Henderson and is rated as the No. 4 national prospect in top 100s by both Baseball America and MLBPipeline.com.

In 17 starts this year, he went 6-2 with a 2.62 ERA, missing time between June 1 and Sept. 1 with a Grade 2 right lat strain. He left his start early June 1 with Triple-A Norfolk and returned three months later to make three rehab starts between high-A Aberdeen and Double-A Bowie before returning to end the year with Norfolk.

He wasn’t named the American League Rookie of the Year last night. The Orioles' Adley Rutschman finished second to Seattle’s Julio Rodriguez. But there is no shame in that, and it doesn’t diminish from the strong rookie year he had or what is expected for his future.

And that is simply, greatness, so the expectations, as always for Rutschman, are high. He could be the face of this franchise for many years to come.

Rutschman did get one first-place vote and Rodriguez got 29 of 30 to easily win with 148 points to 68 for Rutschman and 44 for Cleveland’s Steven Kwan, once an Oregon State teammate of Adley.

Rutschman, over 113 games, batted .254/.362/.445/.807 with 70 runs, 35 doubles, one triple, 13 homers and 42 RBIs. After his call to the majors on May 21, the Orioles went 67-55. He produced 18 Defensive Runs Saved, which was second among MLB catchers and tied for eighth in the majors.

Among FanGraphs.com’s Wins Above Replacement, Rutschman produced 5.3 WAR and so did Rodriguez with Kwan at 4.4. In the baseball-reference WAR version, Rodriguez produced 6.2 with Kwan at 5.5 and Rutschman 5.2. But Rutschman’s projected WAR over 162 games was 7.5.

The baseball free agent market is underway. And the Orioles' Mike Elias told my colleague Roch Kubatko that the market could move swiftly this winter. Maybe some things will even heat up before the Winter Meetings early next month.

The Orioles are targeting pitching and hitting via both free agency and possibly trade routes also.

"I think this is going to be a very competitive market for players,” he said. “I think there’s a lot of teams out there that are looking to get better. People feel good about the health of the industry and I expect this will be a pretty active and maybe fast free agent market,” said Elias.

So, without any knowledge of how much money or far the Orioles are willing to go after free agent pitchers, we’ll take a look at a few of them over the next few weeks in this space. Today we start with three right-handers, who all pitched in New York in 2022.

* RHP Taijuan Walker: He is ranked as the No. 11 free agent via ESPN and projected to get four years at $60 million. MLBTradeRumors.com lists him at No. 16 and predicts a four-year deal for $52 million.

Sure, the Orioles will be looking for a top-end rotation pitcher this winter, and maybe they actually add that guy or guys through free agency or via a trade.

But their rotation hopes for 2023 also would include seeing two young pitchers that took steps forward last season building on that. Those pitchers are right-handers Dean Kremer, who went 8-7 with a 3.23 ERA, and Kyle Bradish, who was 4-7 with a 4.90 ERA.

While these young pitchers completed their development, or are doing so on the Orioles watch, they both came in trades. All teams want to draft and develop young pitching, but you are happy to get it anywhere you can.

These pitchers did some encouraging things, especially later in the year, in 2022. Like shutting down the eventual World Series champion Houston Astros on back-to-back nights at Camden Yards on Sept. 22-23.

They combined to throw 17 2/3 scoreless innings with two walks and 16 strikeouts combined. During that series, former Oriole Trey Mancini was among those impressed by the Baltimore right-handers, and he talked to me about the pitchers in the visiting clubhouse at Oriole Park.

Baseball’s free agency period has begun. As of 5 p.m. yesterday, teams could pursue free agents that were not their own. The offers can now be made, the rumors will heat up and some signings should start to trickle in of players changing teams.

Will the Orioles be active? Quite possibly and according to ESPN, quite probably.

In Jeff Passan’s offseason preview story there was this excerpt:

Which teams are most likely to go really big this winter?

Certainly, this list could change, said Passan, depending on market dynamics and the whims of ownership, but the most active teams this winter, according to sources, are expected to be:

A big week is reaching its weekend.

No, I don’t mean the McRib’s farewell tour.

The GM Meetings have concluded in Las Vegas. The Orioles didn’t make any trades, but they’re now cleared to begin negotiating with free agents outside the organization. The exclusive window has shut.

A much nicer sound than the slamming of the playoff contention window after 2017. Or was it ’16?

The year is open to debate. The repercussions can’t be argued.

Outfielder Yusniel Diaz, formerly a top prospect in the Orioles’ farm system and the centerpiece of the Manny Machado trade with the Dodgers, has been removed from the 40-man roster.

The Orioles assigned Diaz to Triple-A Norfolk today after he cleared outright waivers.

The number of players on the 40-man remained at 34 after left-hander John Means was reinstated from the 60-day injured list, a procedural move due today. Means is continuing his rehab from Tommy John surgery and won’t be ready to pitch on opening day.

Diaz, 26, finally made his major league debut Aug. 2 in Texas after the Orioles traded Trey Mancini, and he struck out in his only at-bat. He was optioned the next day to make room for outfielder Brett Phillips and didn’t return to the active roster, though he served as the 27^th man in the Little League Classic.

An assortment of injuries, both in the minors and the Arizona Fall League, have wrecked Diaz’s career after he’s impressed in spring training. He appeared in 70 games at Triple-A Norfolk this summer and batted .251/.346/.360 with nine doubles, six home runs and 66 strikeouts in 286 plate appearances.

The Orioles have made the following roster moves: 

• Reinstated LHP John Means from the 60-day Injured List.
• OF Yusniel Diaz has cleared outright waivers and been assigned to Triple-A Norfolk.

The 40-man roster is at 34 players.

Former high draft picks of the Houston Astros were coming and going from the Orioles roster on Wednesday. The club did not pick up the 2023 team option on pitcher Jordan Lyles, taken No. 38 overall in 2008. But later in the day they added via waivers outfielder Daz Cameron, taken No. 37 overall by Houston in the 2015 MLB Draft.

So, the Orioles, at least for now, are parting ways with Lyles, who becomes a free agent. That means he is free to sign with any team including the Orioles, who seem to have interest but at a lower price than $11 million for next season.

On the plus side, Lyles finished 14^th in the American League in innings with 179 and he lowered his homer rate from 1.9 the previous year to 1.3. He was good in the expanded Oriole Park, going 5-3 with a 3.47 in home games and the Orioles went 17-15 in his 32 starts. He also led the club throwing 100 pitches or more 11 times, most by an O’s starter since 2018. He provided outstanding leadership for the young pitchers and enjoyed a role where he mentored that group. He led the club with 13 quality starts and the Orioles went 9-4 in those games.

He wanted to come back.

“I would love to be back here,” Lyles said during the season’s final days. “To see what we’ve done in the last calendar year as an organization, from what was expected of us coming into the season, and the transition to be where we are right now, it’s pretty special. I enjoy the guys. Hyder (Brandon Hyde) has been amazing. Definitely Manager of the Year in my eyes. A good clubhouse. Everything is positive here. I would love to come back.”

The Orioles have decided to decline pitcher Jordan Lyles’ $11 million option for the 2023 season, choosing to give him a $1 million buyout and allowing the veteran to test the free agent market.

An announcement was made this afternoon.

The door isn’t closed on Lyles’ return, however. They could double back to Lyles over the winter, with the possibility of reaching an agreement on a new contract.

The early juncture of the offseason and the current price point led the Orioles to decline the option. But conversations with his representative could be held later.

The Orioles had until Thursday to make the decision, which lowers their 40-man roster to 33 players. Left-hander John Means will be activated from the 60-day injured list this week and return the total to 34.

At just 32, and five years removed from a five-season major league career, Cody Asche became the Orioles' 10^th coach this week. On Tuesday when the staff for 2023 was officially announced, he was the only new addition, hired as offensive strategy coach.

Asche joined the Baltimore organization in 2022 as an upper-level hitting coordinator on the farm. He began his pro coaching career in 2021 as the hitting coach for the Clearwater Threshers, the Low-A affiliate of the Phillies. He played parts of five seasons with the Phillies (2013-16) and White Sox (2017).

He said his role for next season is still being completely defined.

“Right now the way I see it, I will be an asset to (co-hitting coaches Ryan) Fuller and Borgs (Matt Borgschulte), hopefully an asset to Brandon (Hyde) and Fredi (González) in-game-wise. Have contact with the front office and the analysts and just really kind of be hopefully a jack of all trades and just be there to support and help our hitters get better.

“I just feel really fortunate and am excited that the front office believes in me and trusts me to be around their major league assets. And they trust me to help our team get better.”

The Baltimore Orioles have declined the 2023 club option on RHP Jordan Lyles.