Question:  Sometimes I just can’t understand the thinking behind the moves. Why, if you’re willing to give Trevor Rogers $23 million, why not offer $60 million for three years, which seems to be the predictions. From: Scott

Answer: Scott, David Lorenzo and Michael Llufrio of Timonium are among the others who’ve asked about Rogers. As I’ve written before, I hoped that the Orioles would have extended Rogers during the season as they did with Shane Baz and Kyle Bradish.

Mike Elias said on Tuesday that the team remains interested in him and, yes, they extended the $23.15 million qualifying offer to him. It’s extremely unlikely that he’ll accept that, but they want to make sure that if he signs elsewhere, they’ll get a compensatory draft pick.

I don’t know what the market is for Rogers. He should certainly be near the top of pitchers available after Tarik Skubal and might get four- and five-year offers.

I would be surprised if he re-signed with the Orioles, and I think his departure would leave a big hole. 

Question: Zach Eflin was slated to be ready July 1st. Do you think he stays? I think he’s very good when healthy. Do you think Ryan Mountcastle will be kept? If not, can they get something for him or is he a free agent? From: Rick 

Answer: Rick, Eflin had Tommy John surgery in April, and he could be ready to return by July. I know he enjoyed being with the Orioles, but this is a complicated issue. Not only do they not know when he’ll be ready, they don’t know what their staff will look like, and they don’t know when the labor talks will be settled.

With this timetable, it’s hard to predict when Eflin will sign. The guess here is that it’s after we have labor peace, and we’ll see where the Orioles are with their staff then.

I’m sure he’ll have interest from other teams, and I’ll predict he’ll sign elsewhere.

Ryan Mountcastle is a free agent, and Elias has indicated some level of interest in him, but I expect that he’ll get a fresh start somewhere else.

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.