ORLANDO – For the Orioles to make a huge splash in free agency, they might have to dip into agent Scott Boras’ pool of superstar talent.

They haven’t shown a hesitancy to talk about it.

Boras represents pitchers Ranger Suárez, Zac Gallen and Tatsuya Imai and first baseman Pete Alonso, among many others, and the Orioles have made it known that they want a frontline starter and an impact hitter.

Has Boras noticed that Orioles president of baseball operations/general manager Mike Elias is more aggressive this offseason in his pursuit of Boras clients?

“You know, you gauge that by the notice of how they and their ownership respond to the offer exchanges that occur, and that varies in every market,” said Boras, who drew another big crowd to his annual Winter Meetings presser in the lobby at the Signia by Hilton Bonnet Creek.

ORLANDO, Fla. – The deep pockets worn by the Orioles’ ownership group didn’t shrink on the trip to the Winter Meetings.

President of baseball operations/general manager Mike Elias met with the media earlier today in his suite at the Waldorf Astoria and confirmed that the club should be able to add an impactful hitter and frontline starting pitcher.

“Yes, I think so,” Elias said. “You look at our payroll as it stands right now and it’s still well below where we were at last year, and we’ll just consider opportunities as they come up and have those conversions with ownership. But we do have room for more moves, multiple more moves.”

Top starters don’t come cheaply, with Dylan Cease providing the latest reminder after accepting the Blue Jays’ offer of seven years and $210 million. Long-term contracts aren’t common in Baltimore, but Elias said length isn’t a roadblock.

“Trust me, we’ve offered them a lot,” he said, “and we’re absolutely willing to do that.”

ORLANDO, Fla. – New Orioles manager Craig Albernaz is acing his first Winter Meetings.

Albernaz came across as relaxed and prepared during his 20-minute media session this afternoon, eager to share information and toss out the occasional quip.

He confirmed that Ryan Helsley will be the closer rather than working multiple innings after signing a two-year, $28 million contract with an opt-out clause. He said the coaching staff is “pretty much done” but could have a fit for one more hire. The club is trying to figure out what that would look like or whether there’s a need. He feels “great” about the club as it’s presently constructed.

“We have a great young core and we have some really good veteran pieces around it, and our coaches right now, now that we’re almost in place, they’re having great conversations with them, start getting their plans going heading into spring training,” Albernaz said. “So I feel very good.”

The No. 1 strength cited by Albernaz is the team’s pure athleticism and the engines. He isn’t ready to talk about weaknesses based solely on what he’s watched on video and gathered through the numbers.

It’s easy for offseason waiver claims to slip through the cracks. 

Thaddeus Ward and René Pinto, claimed on the same day last November, didn’t end up seeing any major league playing time in 2025. Sam Hilliard, a claim in 2024, didn’t make an impact, either. 

Once in a while, though, an offseason waiver claim ends up contributing. 

Cole Sulser, claimed back in 2019, became part of a deal that netted the O’s a high draft pick and a couple of prospects. The same can be said for Bryan Baker, whose 3.73 ERA in Baltimore enticed the Rays to part with a high pick of their own. And, of course, how about the claim of Ramón Urías in 2020? The do-it-all infielder accumulated over 10.0 bWAR in his Orioles career. 

Baltimore is hoping that Drew Romo, recently claimed off waivers from the Rockies, falls into the latter category. 

Flights will be landing at the Orlando airport all day and night as baseball executives, managers, scouts, agents, media and other personnel descend upon the Signia by Hilton Bonnet Creek and Waldorf Astoria for baseball’s annual Winter Meetings.

Be prepared to see the hotel referenced by multiple names. It’s already caused some confusion because it’s a combined facility with shared conference rooms. But it’s got to be easier than navigating the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center in Nashville, where employees at the front desk hand you a map, wish you luck and offer a small blessing as you walk away.

The agenda is pretty much the same, with only a few small tweaks.

Check into your room and quickly ascertain whether the Ravens-Steelers game is available to watch on television.

Find the lobby bar and quickly ascertain whether the Ravens-Steelers game is available to watch on television.

Yesterday, the Orioles made the following roster moves:

• Claimed OF Will Robertson off waivers from the Pittsburgh Pirates.
• Claimed C Drew Romo off waivers from the Colorado Rockies.
• Designated 1B/OF Ryan Noda for assignment.

The Orioles’ 40-man roster currently has 40 players.

Though there isn’t necessarily any intent, the Orioles are trending toward hiring full-time managers with catching backgrounds.

That’s two in a row.

Brandon Hyde was a catcher at Long Beach State and in the White Sox’s system. Craig Albernaz developed a reputation as a plus defender with a cannon arm behind the plate at Eckerd College and in nine minor league seasons, the first eight with the Rays.

Hyde had Tim Cossins as his catching instructor and Fredi González and Robinson Chirinos as bench coaches before his dismissal on May 17. The revamped staff under Albernaz includes Joe Singley as field coordinator and catching coach and Hank Conger as bullpen coach.

Conger is the more familiar name to baseball fans after playing five seasons with the Angels and one each with the Astros and Rays. Singley is 28 years old, making him unique by coaching standards. He played at Coastal Carolina and began his coaching career at the school before working as Reds assistant catching coach and bullpen catcher for two seasons and Marlins catching coach, assistant catching director and bullpen catcher this year.

The media’s fascination with baseball closers and the mentality required to succeed at the job runs at such a high level that Ryan Helsley was asked about it twice yesterday during his introductory video call.

Helsley has looked at pitching life from many sides, working as a starter at Northeastern State University in Oklahoma and in the minors, being a reliever in the majors and going from ninth-inning All-Star specialist to more of a setup role this year with the Mets.

The deadline trade that brought Helsley from the Cardinals contributed to the Mets’ freefall. His ERA climbed from 2.77 after his third appearance with his new team to 5.14 after his 16^th.

Though open to the idea of starting again, which the Tigers wanted him to do, Helsley found his ideal match with the Orioles, who needed him to close and were willing to pay him $28 million over two years but also let him opt out after the first.

Félix Bautista was an All-Star in 2023, winning the American League’s Reliever of the Year award but undergoing Tommy John surgery in October. He’s on the shelf again, this time recovering from a procedure to repair his labrum and rotator cuff.

The Orioles were aggressive in their pursuit of free-agent closer Ryan Helsley, and he used the same approach to decide whether they were the right team for him.

Helsley met with club officials, reached out to former teammates with the Cardinals who also played for the Orioles, spoke with a friend who knows new manager Craig Albernaz. Helsley did his homework. And he’s confident that he made the right choice in accepting their two-year, $28 million offer with the opt-out clause.

“It just seemed like a great fit, honestly,” Helsley said earlier today in a video call. “Playing this team the last few years and seeing their young core and how tight-knit they were, and I’ve known a couple guys that have played with this group the last few years and they had very good things to say about them and the new coaching staff. I’ve heard a lot of great stuff about it, so that really drew me to come to Baltimore. And obviously, it has to be a two-way street in free agency and they were very interested, as well, and obviously we were able to strike a deal.”

Helsley can reenter free agency after the 2026 season, which might make him a one-and-done with the Orioles if he pitches at his previous All-Star level.

“To have an opt-out was big,” he said. “We had a few offers on the table, but obviously, we felt like Baltimore was the best. And not only the best offer, but the best fit. I couldn’t be more excited to be a part of this organization.”

New closer Ryan Helsley passed his physical with the Orioles, signed his two-year, $28 million contract and awaits the opportunity to field questions from the media.

Half the league reportedly had expressed some level of interest in Helsley. What made him decide on the Orioles?

How much did the opt-out clause sway him? I wouldn’t expect him to go into too much detail on the money offered by other clubs.

How aggressive were the Orioles in their pursuit? Were they among the first teams to contact his agent?

Was he intrigued by the teams that viewed him as a potential starter, something he’s never done in the majors? Sixty-nine of his 87 minor league appearances came as a starter. He was in the rotation for 21 of his 26 college games.

The signing of reliever Ryan Helsley to a two-year contract with an opt-out clause increases the Orioles’ 40-man roster to 39 players. Twenty-two are pitchers, with three catchers, seven infielders and seven outfielders.

There’s room for the Orioles to make a selection in the Rule 5 draft on Dec. 10 that wraps up the Winter Meetings in Orlando, but they could choose to pass again.

The Orioles haven’t picked a player in the major league phase since 2022. Anyone remember his name?

Answer below.

Tyler Wells was the last Rule 5 selection to make the club after the Orioles plucked him from the Twins organization in 2020. The 2021 Winter Meetings and draft were cancelled due to the lockout.

Closer Ryan Helsley has passed his physical and signed his contract with the Orioles.

Helsley agreed to terms over the weekend on a two-year, $28 million deal with an opt-out after 2026. The right-handed will receive a $500,000 bonus if he’s traded, according to The Athletic.

The Orioles announced the signing tonight but only confirmed the years and opt-out.

The hunt for a closer led the Orioles to Helsley, 31, who ranked first in the majors with 49 saves while pitching for the Cardinals in 2024, made his second All-Star team and finished ninth in National League Cy Young Award voting.

He also won the Trevor Hoffman Award as the league’s top reliever.

The Orioles today announced that they have agreed to terms with right-handed pitcher RYAN HELSLEY on a two-year major league contract for the 2026-27 seasons with a player opt-out following 2026.

Helsley, 31, is a two-time All-Star and the 2024 Trevor Hoffman National League Reliever of the Year. He went 3-4 with 21 saves, a 4.50 ERA (28 ER/56.0 IP), 61 hits (8 HR), 25 walks (3 IBB), and 63 strikeouts in 58 appearances between the St. Louis Cardinals (36 G) and New York Mets (22 G) last season. All 21 saves came with the Cardinals before being acquired by the Mets in exchange for three minor leaguers on July 30. The right-hander has recorded 77 saves since returning from injury on September 1, 2023, second most in the majors during that period behind Cleveland’s Emmanuel Clase (79 SV). The Tahlequah, Okla. native set the Cardinals single-season saves record with 49 in 2024, the most by a major leaguer since New York-NL’s Edwin Díaz (57 SV) in 2018.

Since the start of 2022, opponents are batting .141 (50-for-354) against his slider, the sixth-lowest average among major league relievers off a single pitch (min. 250 AB) during that time. According to Baseball Savant, Helsley’s slider had a run value of 12 in 2025, tied for the fifth best in the majors. He was also tied for fifth in slider run value with 13 in 2024, but the pitch’s run value per 100 pitches was 2.8, the best in the majors on a slider and tied for the third-best pitch in the majors that season behind Cleveland’s Cade Smith’s four-seam fastball (3.0 RV/100) and Emmanuel Clase’s cutter (3.1 RV/100).

Helsley was originally selected by St. Louis in the fifth round of the 2015 First-Year Player Draft out of Northeastern State University (OK). In 297 career appearances between the Cardinals (275 G) and Mets (22 G), he’s 31-18 with 105 saves, a 2.96 ERA (105 ER/319.2 IP), and 377 strikeouts.

The Orioles’ 40-man roster currently has 39 players.

The Orioles aren’t tip-toeing into the upcoming Winter Meetings.

Mike Elias got his power-hitting right-handed bat when he traded for outfielder Taylor Ward. He got his closer yesterday by reaching agreement with Ryan Helsley on a two-year, $28 million contract, which a source confirmed last night.

Executives won’t convene in Orlando until Dec. 7. Elias might check another box on his list before his flight lands.

Two starting pitchers, at least, are priorities for a team whose rotation posted a 4.65 ERA this year that ranked 24^th in the majors, traded Grayson Rodriguez and apparently won’t bring back Zach Eflin or Tomoyuki Sugano. Elias indicated that he could pursue another impact bat, and he’d like to find a center fielder to provide options beyond Colton Cowser and Leody Taveras. The Orioles might not be able to carry three catchers, but he could use more depth at the position, just in case. A true utility infielder also might be desired.

Sleeves aren’t rolled down. Ward and Helsley just scratched the surface.

The Orioles remained hopeful that they could get back Félix Bautista sometime after the break, but they had to find a closer to assist in their push to go from last place to first in 2026.

They didn’t wait for the Winter Meetings.

Multiple reports have the Orioles agreeing to terms with closer Ryan Helsley on a two-year, $28 million deal pending the results of a physical. The contract includes an opt-out.

Bautista had surgery in August to repair his labrum and rotator cuff. He didn’t pitch after July 20, and he missed the entire 2024 season while recovering from ligament-reconstructive surgery in his right elbow.

Helsley, 31, was drawing interest from the Tigers as a potential starter, but all 297 of his appearances in seven major league seasons came in relief. He led the majors with 49 saves in 53 chances with the Cardinals in 2024, made his second All-Star team and finished ninth in National League Cy Young voting. He also won the Trevor Hoffman award as the league’s top reliever.

Sammy Stewart’s life story is filled with chapters documenting his athletic successes, including a World Series championship with the Orioles in 1983, and tragedies that left him incarcerated, homeless and broken.

A childhood friend wants to pen the final one.

David Cody grew up with Stewart in the small town of Swannanoa in western North Carolina. They played baseball together. Everyone in the community had a bat and glove. None were better than Stewart, a major league pitcher for 10 seasons, the first eight with the Orioles, who signed him as an amateur free agent out of tiny Montreat College.

Stewart and Cody attended Charles D. Owen High, a 2A school where former NFL quarterback Brad Johnson and NBA center Brad Daugherty also roamed the halls. Johnson won a Super Bowl with Tampa Bay. Daughtery was the first-overall pick in the 1986 draft and a five-time All-Star who retired as the Cavaliers’ all-time leading scorer and rebounder.

Why isn’t Stewart included in the Charles D. Owens and Buncombe County Halls of Fame?

The Orioles didn’t make any roster moves or hires yesterday. News didn’t break or leak.

The next important date is Dec. 7, the start of baseball’s Winter Meetings at the Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek. That’s a switch from the Swan and Dolphin hotel that’s hosted in past years.

Mike Elias will bring a shopping list that’s reminiscent of the one he carried to Nashville in 2023. He’s trying to find a couple of starting pitchers, with one of them worthy of high placement in the rotation, and he needs a closer.

The Corbin Burnes trade wasn’t finalized until Feb. 1, about two months after veteran reliever Craig Kimbrel signed a deal that paid $12 million and included a $1 million buyout and $13 million team option for 2025. He was designated for assignment Sept. 18 and released a week later.

Good first half, though.

In the latest unexpected development in the offseason, former Padres manager Mike Shildt is joining the Orioles to work in player development.

According to a source, Shildt has been hired as upper-level minor league coordinator of instruction. Samuel Vega is going from Latin American coordinator of instruction to lower-level coordinator of instruction.

Shildt, 57, announced his retirement last month after managing the Padres to back-to-back playoff appearances, saying "the grind of the baseball season has taken a severe toll on me mentally, physically and emotionally."

The news came nine days after the Cubs eliminated the Padres in the National League Wild Card series.

Shildt compiled a 183-141 record as manager in San Diego. The Padres won 90 games this season.

“I live in a small town, and to avoid dealing with ex girlfriend’s moms, they go ‘oh do you still play for the Angels,’” Taylor Ward said with a laugh. “And I say ‘yeah, sure, yeah.’ So now, it’s one of those ‘oh hey, you just got traded to Baltimore!’” 

He had, of course, not been traded to the Orioles. That would be quite a career shift for Ward, who has been covering the Angels for Baseball America since 2013. 

Instead, it was a player that he had covered for a long time in Anaheim, Joseph Taylor Ward, who goes by Taylor, that had been sent to Baltimore in exchange for Grayson Rodriguez. 

“We actually played baseball against each other a long time ago, high school days,” Baseball America’s Ward said of the new O’s outfielder. “His introduction after getting drafted, the PR Director was introducing him in the Angels’ media room and said ‘we’re going to start our questions with Taylor Ward.’ And I said ‘hey Taylor,’ and he looked at me and it was one of those connections of like ‘we’ve met before but where have we met.’ And I said ‘I’m Taylor Ward,’ and he said ‘I’m Taylor Ward,’ and it was an old connection that kind of came to fruition.” 

The duo, a reporter and a player sharing the same name, were the center of plenty of jokes in the clubhouse and on social media. So, on the day when the outfielder was traded, you can imagine what the day was like for the reporter. 

Taylor Ward is about three weeks away from celebrating his 32^nd birthday and four months from the start of his ninth major league season. He’s changing his address from Anaheim to Baltimore but keeping the responsibilities that come with age and experience.

None of the Orioles’ hitters bring as much of it except for outfielder Tyler O’Neill, who’s only 30 but also made his debut in 2018. Ward was chosen 10 picks ahead of Ryan Mountcastle in the first round of the 2015 draft, but the homegrown first baseman is entering his seventh season and is 28.

Reliever Keegan Akin, awaiting his 31^st birthday on April 1 and with six major league seasons, inherited a leadership role in the bullpen after the deadline trades.

Ward will tackle the job with the same enthusiasm that he brings as a middle-of-the-order bat and left fielder.

“Yeah, absolutely,” he said yesterday during his video call with the media. “Even with the Angels having a young core that they have right now, too. Yeah, anything that they need, any questions that they have, I’m absolutely available to tell them how I do things and just try to educate them the best I can to just speed up their development.