A guide to the early part of Orioles’ offseason

Now that the American League Championship Series are set and the World Series will begin on October 24^th, the timeframe for Orioles’ offseason decisions has become narrower.

Let’s look at some of the key dates and decisions that must be made as the offseason revs up.

Who manages the Orioles in 2026?

President of baseball operations Mike Elias has been quiet about the process. We don’t know who’s been interviewed or when a decision is expected.

In 2018, when Elias took over the Orioles’ baseball operations, he didn’t have a full offseason to make a managerial hire and then Chicago Cubs bench coach Brandon Hyde was spotted in Las Vegas at the Winter Meetings, leading to speculation, which turned out to be correct, that Hyde would be the Orioles’ hire.

That won’t happen again. The hire should be made before the General Managers meetings in Las Vegas November 10^th-13^th.

What happens to the coaching staff?

The Orioles don’t disclose contract lengths for any of their baseball operations personnel, and we don’t know if any of the coaches have contracts that extend past October 31^st, which is when most contracts expire.

The Orioles ended 2025 with 11 coaches. There were hitting coaches Cody Asche, Tommy Joseph and Sherman Joseph; pitching coaches Drew French and Ryan Klimek; bullpen coach Mitch Plassmeyer, who began the season as an assistant pitching coach before being moved to the bullpen to replace Tim Cossins, who was fired when former manager Brandon Hyde was.

The most senior member is first base coach Anthony Sanders, who came to the team in 2020. Third base coach Buck Britton, who also coaches infielders, began the season as major league coach before replacing Tony Mansolino, who replaced Hyde on May 17^th.

Bench coach Robinson Chirinos, development coach Grant Anders and senior advisor John Mabry, who joined the team in early June, were also on staff.

Even if Mansolino is selected the manager, changes to the coaching staff are likely.

Who are the team’s free agents?

Free agency arrives the day after the World Series ends. Starting pitchers Zach Eflin and Tomoyuki Sugano and catcher Gary Sánchez will become free agents. Eflin and Sánchez are on the 60-day injured list and not on the 40-man roster.

Will the Orioles make any qualifying offers?

The qualifying offer hasn’t been set but is expected to be about $22 million. It’s unlikely the Orioles will offer that to either Eflin or Sugano.

How much juggling of the 40-man roster will there be?

Quite a lot. The 40-man roster is full, but that won’t be the case much longer. In the coming days, the Orioles will remove some players from the list to make room for pitchers Félix Bautista, Grayson Rodriguez and Brandon Young, who are all on the 60-day IL and must be put on the 40-man roster. Eflin and Sánchez proceed directly to free agency from the IL.

The guess here is that the Orioles will remove between five to 10 players from the 40-man roster to create room. They might also claim players that other teams have put on waivers.

Are there any players with options?

Infielder Jorge Mateo has a $5.5 million option, and after playing in just 42 games with a .483 OPS,  the Orioles are expected to decline the option.

Reliever Dietrich Enns has a $3 million option for 2026, according to the Detroit Free Press. It seems unlikely the Orioles will exercise that option.

Outfielder Tyler O’Neill can opt out of the remaining two years on his three-year, $49.5 million contract but since he was on the injured list three times in 2025 and played just 54 games with a .199 average, nine home runs and 26 RBIs, he’ll return to the Orioles for the final two years of his contract.

40-man roster deadline

Major league teams have a mid-November deadline to add players from within their organization to the 40-man roster. None of the Orioles’ top 30 prospects needs to be protected from the Rule 5 draft this year.

Contract tender deadline

The Orioles have until 8 p.m. on November 21^st to decide whether to offer contracts to their 14 players eligible for arbitration. It’s unlikely they’ll offer arbitration to all of them.

Call for questions: I answer Orioles questions most weekdays. Please send yours to: Rich@BaltimoreBaseball.com.