Question: Thank you for the poignant tribute to Trey Mancini. I had forgotten what a standup guy he is. Wish we could always have a few players and classy guys like him active on the team. Speaking of that, how might we convince Orioles management to sign him to a one-day contract so he could officially retire as an Oriole? From: Steve Cohen
Answer: Steve, thank you. I certainly enjoyed writing it. Trey was a tremendous person to cover. He was never rude and always gave thoughtful answers to every question.
I don’t know this, but I think the Orioles should and will sign him to a one-day contract so he could officially retire as an Oriole. They did that with Adam Jones, and it was very thoughtful.
As for timing, there aren’t many home games left this season, so perhaps it will have to wait until 2027.
Question: Has anyone asked Craig Albernaz if there is any rhyme or reason to challenges (pitchers and unreliable hitters prohibited, no challenges where there isn’t a clear benefit, etc.) because it sure seems like everyone on the roster has a green light to challenge whenever they want? From: Bob West, Ellicott City, Maryland
Answer: Bob, because you asked, I asked Albernaz. “If it’s an egregious call, we want our guys [to have] the ability to make the call. Do it on their own, but ultimately a leverage spot is to me the biggest one. If it’s a 3-2 count and it moves the runner late in the game.
“If we’re down and we have the two challenges, we want our hitters to use them, and if we’re up, and we still have the challenges available, we want our catchers to use them.
“The biggest thing is, like we tell our guys, we give them our feedback on that and guardrails and what we think it should look like. When you’re in the box competing and you think it’s a ball, they’re going to challenge, so there is an educational piece component to it.
“The next day, if it’s ‘a bad challenge’ or ‘a good challenge,’ we always follow up with them.”
Most weekdays, I’ll be answering at least one Orioles question. If you’d like to submit a question, send it to: [email protected]. Questions may be edited for clarity, length and style.