I’m going to continue taking my turn asking questions, knowing that the correct answer is unattainable this early in the offseason.

It’s also another chance to veer away from the constant chatter about a new manager, which is lacking anything concrete beyond reports that Yankees third base coach Luis Rojas interviewed for the job.

Here are two more.

Who’s the center fielder on Opening Day?

This is a new question because Cedric Mullins spent parts of eight seasons with the Orioles and played center in 791 games.

Questions linger for the Orioles beyond their managerial search and whether they hire a general manager this winter.

Should they have matched the Dodgers’ 10-year, $700 million offer for Shohei Ohtani?

OK, maybe not that one.

Here are three randomly chosen inquiries, with many more to come.

How will the Orioles jam their starters into a five-man rotation?

Joe Flacco, age 40, outdueled 41-year-old Aaron Rodgers Thursday night in Cincinnati. The Blue Jays’ Max Scherzer, at age 41 and making the 500^th start of his career, earned the win in Game 4 of the American League Championship Series in Seattle.

My mailbag is 17, old enough to drive but not to drink. The fluctuating weight is normal. You fill it and I try to empty it.

Here’s my latest attempt. No editing, no disclaimers about editing. You ask, I answer, and we have the latest sequel to the beloved 2008 original.

Also, and this is important, my mailbag stretches singles into doubles and your mailbag stretches the truth.

Your thoughts on Albert Pujols as the manager? I am starting to warm to the idea. Keep Robinson Chirinos as bench coach.
I’m lukewarm to the idea of Pujols as manager, but maybe that’s just my personality. I also think it isn’t happening. Pujols has managed in the Dominican Republic, so he isn’t entirely new to the job. However, if major league experience isn’t important, the Orioles could just bring back Tony Mansolino, who has the advantage of his previous interim status and familiarity with the organization. Or they could hire Ryan Flaherty, who’s worked in a variety of roles, including Cubs bench coach. He’s also a big analytics guy. The Orioles are making it tough to project what they’ll do because their requirements are so broad. Experience is “overwhelmingly usually a big positive,’ as Mike Elias described it, and will carry a lot of weight. But it’s not a requisite for success. I don’t know if anyone constitutes a sure thing in his business, but other candidates would qualify more than a first-timer, which makes someone like Pujols a gamble to a team that must win.

We’ve reached the point in the offseason when we still don’t know who’s playing in the World Series, we don’t know who’s managing the Orioles and we don’t know how far along they’ve gotten in the interview process beyond a couple of reports linking them to Luis Rojas and Albert Pujols.

Rojas had an interview. Pujols might get an interview.

Ryan Flaherty might be among the favorites or he might not.

Here are a few facts from the 2025 season, on another slow day, that we do know:

* The Orioles posted a .235 average this year, 24^th in the majors, compared to .255 in 2023 and .250 in 2024 – seasons that concluded with a division title and the first Wild Card, respectively.

A last-place season isn’t going to bring many rewards. Heartaches, yes, but not rewards.

The Rawlings Gold Glove finalists were announced yesterday and the Orioles suffered another shutout.

Third baseman Ramón Urías was the last Orioles winner in 2022, which ended a six-year drought. Eighteen different players have earned a total of 72 awards since its creation in 1957.

First baseman Ryan Mountcastle and left fielder Colton Cowser were American League finalists last year. Mountcastle was a repeat finalist but went 0-for-2.

Catcher Adley Rutschman and left fielder Austin Hays also were finalists in 2023. Center fielder Cedric Mullins was a finalist in 2022 and right fielder Anthony Santander in 2020.

No matter what roster moves are completed in the offseason, the Orioles won’t go far unless their core group makes the necessary strides. You heard it before and will again. Help must come from within.

Theories are floated on why some players regressed, whether it’s the individuals or the messaging. The problem is much harder to fix without knowing the answer. 

There could be more than one.

Asked at his season-ending press conference how much of a priority he’s placing on offensive improvement, president of baseball operations/general manager Mike Elias said, “When you have a season that misses the mark by this much, there’s a lot on the list of what went wrong. But certainly, that was amongst the most, I don’t know if I want to say ‘surprising,’ but kind of fundamental, that a lot of our core drafted players that have formed the spine of not only this winning team the last few years, but the rebuild leading into it, most of them were hurt or had down years or stagnating in some form or fashion, and it’s definitely concerning to watch it happen and concerning to watch it happen to a lot of them simultaneously.”

“We have talked a lot with them individually about it. I think all of us in the org, there’s a lot of soul searching and looking in the mirror individually what could each of us have done better to get a better result for the team, and that definitely applies to those guys. We’ve talked about it. We’re formulating plans. And we’re going to do everything that we can to kind of have them bounce back and get back on track.

Orioles 22-year-old minor league left-hander Luis De León pitched at three levels of the farm system this year, was selected for the Arizona Fall League and didn’t miss a beat.

De León, the 21^st-ranked prospect in the organization per MLB Pipeline, allowed an unearned run and one hit in four innings in his first AFL start with the Peoria Javelinas. He also struck out seven batters.

De León climbed from Class A Delmarva to High-A Aberdeen and Double-A Chesapeake, making three starts with the Baysox and allowing only three earned runs and striking out 24 in 16 innings. Overall, he posted a 3.30 ERA in 20 games this year, struck out 107 in 87 1/3 innings and didn’t surrender a home run.

A scout from outside the organization has watched De León multiple times, including the AFL start, and described him as “really exciting.”

“Really good (stuff),” he said. “Good fastball, a good slider, the changeup’s coming. Kind of gave him a chance at being a bottom-of-the-rotation type arm with upside. I think he’s gonna have to develop a fourth pitch, but he’s only 22.”

The Orioles will need to show improvement in many areas next season, the only way to pull themselves out of the division cellar. It isn’t just pitching and it isn’t just hitting. It isn’t just the constant injuries that forced almost daily roster moves.

The 70 different players used were one short of the major league record set this year by the Braves, who started former Oriole Charlie Morton in their final regular season game. The 41 pitchers came within one of the American League record shared by the 2021 Orioles and 2019 Mariners. The 34 position players tied the franchise record set in 1955.

Even the seven catchers were unprecedented.

Everywhere you looked, the Orioles were doing something unusual. And it isn’t bragging rights when it happens for the wrong reasons.

Here’s another one:

Ramón Urías appeared in 506 games with the Orioles over parts of six seasons. He played every position in the infield. Both of his managers praised his versatility and those stretches when he seemed like the only hot hitter in the lineup.

The trade deadline got him, too. Though under team control through 2026, Urías was dealt to the Astros for Class A pitcher Twine Palmer.

The roster priorities begin with pitching, both the rotation and bullpen, but the Orioles probably will check on infielders who can replicate Urías’ glove work. Jorge Mateo has a $5.5 million option in his contract that they could decline. Luis Vázquez has a great defensive reputation at shortstop but is 9-for-62 in the majors. His biggest contribution came on the mound with four scoreless relief appearances over 4 1/3 innings.

Jeremiah Jackson was head and shoulders above the other two, which got his foot in the door for 2026. He batted .276/.328/.447 with 10 doubles, two triples, five home runs and 21 RBIs in 48 games, but he doesn’t really fit the utility profile because his starts came at third base and in right field. He’s also made starts at shortstop and second base and in left and center field in the minors, but the Orioles don’t envision that kind of movement from him.

If the Orioles can’t make room on the roster for Jackson and a super-utility player, they could bank of the versatility of other infielders for coverage. Interim manager Tony Mansolino didn’t think that Jackson had to play shortstop in order to break camp with the team. They have backups, including Jackson Holliday, who handled the position while Gunnar Henderson was on the injured list.

The Orioles have a full 40-man roster that’s going to experience a significant shuffling of players.

A typical offseason.  

Pitchers Félix Bautista, Grayson Rodriguez and Brandon Young will come off the 60-day injured list. Pitcher Zach Eflin and catcher Gary Sánchez also are on the 60-day but will become free agents after the World Series.

Pitcher Tomoyuki Sugano also is a pending free agent. Infielder Jorge Mateo ($5.5 million) and reliever Dietrich Enns ($3 million) have team options in their contracts that could be declined. Fourteen players are eligible for arbitration and a few are candidates to be non-tendered, including first baseman Ryan Mountcastle, outfielder Dylan Carlson and reliever José Castillo.

Here’s the current 40-man:

The first offseason mailbag filled up quickly and required a second dumping.

Here are some extras from earlier this week. Same rules against obsessive editing and crowing about it. Same weird mix of baseball and anything else.

Given Grayson Rodriguez’s health issues, and Kyle Bradish (and Tyler Wells) coming back from injury, might the Orioles reconsider starting the season with a six-man rotation? If/when someone gets hurt, they could drop down to five if they don't see it as a season-long thing.
The issue with a six-man rotation always has been the added stress it places on a bullpen. You’re a man short. I see your logic, but you’d need relievers to cover those innings. I think Rodriguez is the only one who could be babied at the beginning because he hasn’t pitched since July 31, 2024. We’ll know more about the team’s plans after camp opens, but my expectation is a standard five-man rotation with the possibility of expanding it later in the summer.  

How many former catchers will interview for the manager's job?
Rick Dempsey would love a shot at it. Not happening. But he needs to be on the guest coaching list at spring training. The man only caught in the majors for 24 years and won a couple World Series. But back to your question. The odds are much better for David Ross, Bob Melvin, Brad Ausmus and Mike Matheny.

Does being a former Oriole weigh into the club's decision on a new manager?
The Orioles aren't saying much about the search but that doesn't make much sense. Brandon Hyde had no ties to the Orioles. Ryan Flaherty, as another example, played under Buck Showalter. Why would that matter to the current regime? His playing career ended with Cleveland in 2019. Maybe the Guardians will call if they need another manager. If the Orioles hire Flaherty, it will be because of his coaching background after retirement, his knowledge and implementation of analytics, his intelligence, what he learned as a player.  

Orioles pitcher Albert Suárez received a second opinion on his right elbow Tuesday during an examination by Dr. Keith Meister.

According to a team spokesperson, Suárez suffered a mild forearm flexor strain in his last appearance on Sept. 14 in Toronto.

Suárez is continuing his rehabilitation into the offseason and is expected to begin a throwing progression in the coming weeks, which is a positive development following concerns over the severity of his injury. Second opinions often lead to bad news. 

The club will provide a further update when it has more information to share.

Suárez made his lone start of the season at Rogers Centre and allowed one run and two hits in three innings before being shut down. He couldn’t undergo an MRI until the swelling subsided.

Samuel Basallo played in only 31 games with the Orioles and already began to blend with his teammates and understand how life works in a major league clubhouse.

What you see and hear in there stays in there.

Basallo might have taken it to the extreme, but he had an impressive response to a question at Yankee Stadium about a team meeting to discuss how the Orioles could avoid a repeat of their disappointing 2025 season.

“I don’t want to talk about specific things, but I think we’ve talked about a number of different topics and things that we need to do better, things that we need to get better at,” he said through interpreter Brandon Quinones.

“I don’t think it’s the smart thing to talk about it on camera, but we’ve spoken about a few different things and we know what we need to do.”

A team’s offseason business usually includes deciding which arbitration-eligible players should be tendered contracts and which ones are allowed to walk into free agency. Or given a shove.

The deadline to grab or let go is Nov. 21.

Players with three-to-six years of service time are eligible, and most fans know every step of the dance. The sides exchange figures if an agreement isn’t reached, and a three-person panel chooses a winner in hearings that run between late January and early February.

The Orioles prefer the file-and-go approach (and I prefer calling it file-and-trial), but they make exceptions for contracts that include options and aren’t just for the upcoming season.

Arbitration contributes to the hikes in payroll. Players don’t take cuts. And some raises are more extreme than others.

As we’ve learned through years and years of testing and experimentation, you can’t have an offseason mailbag without an offseason. It’s literally in the name.

Let’s break out the first one here, the latest sequel to the beloved and often celebrated 2008 original.

As you’d expect, many of the questions pertained to the pending managerial and GM hirings and specifics about the roster. And as you’d expect, I can’t provide many definitive answers because it’s too early or the club hasn’t shared the necessary information.

It’s hard to see clearly in the dark.

What’s much more obvious is that my mailbag sacks quarterbacks and your mailbag wants its quarter back after tipping a waiter.

Orioles' reliever Yennier Cano will bring an unheralded streak into the 2026 season, as long as he’s with the club.

We can’t make assumptions after Cano labored through most of 2025 and still has minor league options.

Cano has led the club in appearances for three consecutive seasons, topping the pitching staff with 72 in 2023 while also compiling a 2.11 ERA and making the American League’s All-Star team, 70 in 2024 and 65 in 2025 to edge out Keegan Akin (64).

The next five were traded or injured: Gregory Soto (45), Seranthony Domínguez (43), Bryan Baker (42), Félix Bautista (35) and Andrew Kittredge (31). Dean Kremer tied Kittredge.

Eddie Watt (1967-70) and Stu Miller (1963-66) are tied for the club record with four straight seasons with the most appearances, per STATS. Cano, Jim Johnson (2011-13), Jesse Orosco (1995-97), Tippy Martinez (1981-83) and George Zuverink (1956-58) are next with three.

The needs of a 75-87, last-place team that should have contended for a third straight playoff appearance and challenged for the organization’s first World Series title in 42 years are so long and varied that it’s hard to agree on a starting point.

Finding a new manager is a top priority, but the front office can conduct its roster business without him. He’ll play the hand that he’s dealt.

His life will be easier if the Orioles give him a veteran bat for the lineup.

Make sure that it’s gripped by a leader.

The Orioles are counting on the young core, as it’s called, to step up in 2026. They also counted on it in 2025 and results were mixed at best. Mostly below expectations.

When the Orioles vow to hire a new manager “as soon as possible,” it’s a good bet to get done faster than in past years under previous ownership.

Peter Angelos often handled his baseball business as he would in court, with the lawyer coming out of him. You couldn’t rush him. Efforts to gain approval on anything, including possible trades, might stall as if having transmission trouble. Past general managers just learned to deal with it. Some candidates for various jobs lost patience with the indecisiveness of the organization. 

The Orioles will operate with a greater sense of urgency in their search for a full-time manager, though they’ve got more time on their side than in 2018. The Winter Meetings are two months away. News probably won’t break and appear on an MLB Network scroll while Mike Elias meets with the media in his suite in Orlando.

Every outlet is going to post lists of possible hires and every name at this point is a hunch or guess, unlike in 2018, when six finalists were confirmed – Brandon Hyde, Manny Acta, Mike Bell, Pedro Grifol, Chip Hale and Mike Redmond.

The White Sox hired Grifol in November 2022 and fired him in August. 2024.

The flurry of deadline trades massively altered the Orioles’ roster, made it much harder to stay competitive but also provided a nice bump to a farm system that slipped in the rankings due to the many promotions and the graduations from eligibility.

They also took away a chunk of the team’s pending free agents, including Ryan O’Hearn, Cedric Mullins, Charlie Morton, Seranthony Domínguez and Gregory Soto. Some players under team control or with options also were dealt, including Bryan Baker, Andrew Kittredge, Ramón Laureano and Ramón Urías.

Three players on the current roster will become free agents five days after the World Series and the Orioles can negotiate to bring them back, though the chances of the entire trio returning are pretty much nil.

Let’s start with the reason why.

Catcher Gary Sánchez

The end-of-season press conference Monday with president of baseball operations/general manager Mike Elias and interim manager Tony Mansolino covered such a wide range of topics that it’s going to be referenced for weeks.

The copy during a down period for non-playoff teams is stretched like leftovers. And every sentence gets dissected in the search for clues. 

Here are a few more items: 

* Don’t mistake a desire for veteran leadership for a fractured clubhouse.

The Orioles didn’t quit on Brandon Hyde or Tony Mansolino. They weren’t bickering. They weren’t demanding trades.