Good morning, Camden Chatters.

To the two or three Orioles fans who were hoping the O’s would sign Juan Soto: I hate to disappoint you. The slugger has made his decision and agreed to a whopping 15-year, $765 million contract with the New York Mets last night, the largest in MLB history in both years and in terms of total money.

Soto’s choice of team was pretty much a best-case scenario for the Orioles, as his other main suitors included three AL East rivals, the Yankees, Red Sox and Blue Jays. After his one fantastic season with the Yanks, he’s now out of the division, and the O’s only have to deal with him for three games each year instead of 12. His departure from the Bronx significantly weakens the reigning East champions, whose offense this year has been run almost exclusively by the Soto/Aaron Judge duo.

And if USA Today’s Bob Nightengale is to be believed, Soto turned down a similar offer from the Yankees – 16 years, $760 million – to join the Mets. You love watching it.

The baseball world had been waiting for Soto, a once-in-a-lifetime free agent talent, to make his decision. Now that he’s done it, the other pieces could fall quickly at the MLB Winter Meetings in Dallas over the next three days. The teams that missed out on Soto could move on to the second tier of free agent outfielders, which also includes long-time Oriole Anthony Santander. Likewise, teams that have offered Soto $600 million to $700 million could redirect some of that money toward Corbin Burnes, arguably the best free agent remaining regardless of position.

And yes, I fully understand that this could set off a chain of events that could lead to Burnes, Santander, or both ultimately signing with the Orioles’ AL East opponent. Personally, I don’t like the idea of ​​seeing Corbin Burnes in pinstripes or Santander mashing things up for the Blue Jays at the Rogers Center. But I’ll deal with it when or if it comes to that.

Still, the O’s themselves were pretty busy. They didn’t even wait for the Winter Meetings to begin before jumping into action, securing two free agents on Saturday with the signings of Tyler O’Neill and Gary Sánchez. The two signings fill two obvious needs for the Birds – a right-handed hitting outfielder in O’Neill, a backup catcher in Sánchez – so kudos to Mike Elias and the O’s front office for addressing this relatively early in the offseason .

The O’s still have a glaring weakness in the starting rotation that could desperately use a #1 starter. The best fit for Burnes himself would be with the Orioles after his phenomenal 2024 season, although longtime Braves star Max Fried is also available as a free agent. How far will David Rubenstein’s financial generosity extend after Elias hands his first multi-year free agent contract to O’Neill? Do the Orioles have a chance to compete with the top bidders for Burnes or Fried? It shouldn’t take long to find out.

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MLB free agency notes: What we’re hearing about the Orioles and Mets’ pitching moves – The Athletic
According to Rosenthal, the Orioles’ biggest obstacle to signing a big-name starting pitcher may not be money, but rather their hesitation about losing a draft pick. Listen, Mike, I know you love drafting, but you have to be okay with giving up a pick in your mid-30s if it means signing Max Fried.

A Guide to the Winter Meetings for Oriole Fans – BaltimoreBaseball.com
Rich Dubroff gives an overview of what happened at the winter meetings. While it doesn’t exactly make you want to hop on a plane to Dallas, few things would.

Merv Rettenmund, two-time World Series champion, dies at 81 – MLB.com
RIP Merv Rettenmund, an underrated slugger for the Orioles in the late ’60s and early ’70s who scored the game-winning hit in the Birds’ World Series in 1970.

Tyler O’Neill makes the Orioles better at what they were already good at – the Baltimore Banner
The signings of vulnerable guys O’Neill and Sanchez won’t necessarily fix the contact issues that plagued the Orioles’ offense in the second half. But that may not be a bad thing, as Jon Meoli writes.

Some notes and stats on future Oriole Tyler O’Neill (also Sanchez) – Steve Melewski
My favorite fun fact about Tyler O’Neill: He hit a home run in five straight Opening Days, an MLB record. Blue Jays, he’s coming to you March 27th.

Orioles birthdays and history

Is today your birthday? Happy Birthday! Five former Orioles were born that day: right-hander Hunter Harvey (30), outfielder Tony Tarasco (54), left-hander Darold Knowles (83), and infielders Tony Batista (51) and the late Billy Klaus (born 1928, died 2006).

The Orioles were remarkably busy on this day in history, making a number of transactions such as signing Harold Baines (1999), trading away Ramón Hernández (2008), and acquiring Kevin Millwood (2009). But no move on Dec. 9 was more significant than the O’s making the largest trade in franchise history in 1965 when they acquired slugger Frank Robinson from the Reds for three players.

Cincinnati owner Bill DeWitt famously thought Robinson — a former NL MVP, rookie of the year and six-time All-Star — was too old at 30, and the O’s took full advantage of the Reds’ stupidity. In his first year in Baltimore, Robinson won the Triple Crown and AL MVP and led the Orioles to their first championship, beginning his legendary O’s career.

And on this day in 2010, the O’s made another outstanding trade, although not on the level of the Robinson deal. The Orioles traded two pitchers to the Twins for veteran shortstop JJ Hardy, whose power and defensive prowess made him an integral part of the Birds’ renaissance from 2012 to 2016. Plus, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention its beauty.