The fatigue that I keep blaming on tryptophan, which makes no sense because I use the excuse year-round, limits how much heavy lifting I can do in one day.

The mailbag isn’t a priority compared to daily workouts, but I decided to empty it this morning while it’s still relatively light.

While I don’t need relatives to assist me.

This is the holiday sequel to the beloved original. You ask, I answer, you ask again, I answer again. Why do I still feel the need to explain it? You get it by now.

Also, my mailbag is in charge of carving the turkey, while yours is stuck washing the dishes.

Today is a day to find the best in a world that can be uncooperative throughout the search.  

To be thankful for more time in it.

Sure beats the alternative.

That actually should be done every morning when our feet hit the floor, but the fourth Thursday in November has become the official date.

The pressure builds if coaxed into expressing it at the dinner table between bites of stuffing, but the rest is gravy.

The Orioles contingent that traveled to Las Vegas this week for the general managers meetings huddled with about a dozen agencies that rep players of interest to the organization, feelings expressed as a method of identifying potential fits.

Making the most out of a couple days before returning to the B&O warehouse.

Executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias was joined by assistant general manager/analytics Sig Mejdal, senior director of international scouting Koby Perez, assistant GM/baseball operations Eve Rosenbaum, director of pro scouting Mike Snyder and director of baseball strategy Brendan Fournie.

“The meetings are always an invigorating event, and especially post-COVID, I think we’ve kind of learned to appreciate the face-to-face opportunities that we get with the other executives, with the league officials, and then probably most of all, with the agents that are there,” Elias said.

“I think one thing that was a little bit unique with these meetings is, because of the lockout and the late start to the season, there was still an ongoing quiet period, but that’s lifted as of (yesterday) and it feels like things are already starting to move fast.”

The conclusion of a baseball season often leads to major shakeups in coaching staffs, or at least some light jostling.

The Orioles didn’t find any reasons to make changes in 2023. They built a unit that worked for them. They weren’t going to authorize repairs if nothing broke.

Make a spirited run at the postseason and stand pat.

As I reported yesterday, Fredi González is back as bench coach, Chris Holt as pitching coach/director of pitching, Darren Holmes as assistant pitching coach, Ryan Fuller and Matt Borgschulte as co-hitting coaches, Tim Cossins as major league field coordinator/catching instructor, Anthony Sanders as first base coach/outfield instructor, Tony Mansolino as third base coach/infield instructor, and José Hernández as major league coach.

Pitching coach Doug Brocail and third base coach José Flores were replaced by Holt and Mansolino, respectively, after the truncated 2020 season. Holt already was employed as director of pitching. Mansolino came over from Cleveland’s organization.

Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman is in the thick of the voting for American League Rookie of the Year. While waiting for next month’s announcement, he has become the recipient of a local honor bestowed annually by media covering the team.

Rutschman has been voted Most Valuable Oriole, the third rookie since the award’s inception in 1954, joining pitchers Gregg Olson in 1989 and Rodrigo López in 2002. He’s just the third catcher to be named MVO, along with Gus Triandos in 1958 and Chris Hoiles in 1993.

The Orioles are 66-53 since Rutschman’s promotion on May 21 as baseball’s No. 1 prospect. And it isn’t a coincidence.

There’s lots of data to back it up.

The first-overall selection in the 2019 draft is slashing .251/.356/.444 in 110 games, with 34 doubles, one triple, 13 home runs, 42 RBIs, 61 walks and 84 strikeouts. Baseball-Reference.com assigns him a 5.0 WAR.

NEW YORK – The realization that the Orioles could be special in 2022, that they had the staying power to contend late into the season, hit some players at different points and for different reasons.

Can’t agree on everything, but can come pretty close sometimes.

Jordan Lyles saw a bullpen filled with unheralded relievers getting important outs and covering bulk innings and felt much better about the club’s direction. The shortened spring training after baseball’s lockout forced managers to reduce the early workload on their starters. The Orioles had a much stronger safety net than anticipated, especially after Cole Sulser and Tanner Scott were traded in March.

Outfielder Austin Hays remembers how it hit him in May.

“We were playing teams really tough, and then the bullpen just started rolling, and anytime we could get them the lead, the bullpen would just come in and close it down. And then our starters grew as the season went on, especially later in the year,” Hays said.

NEW YORK – Veteran pitcher Jordan Lyles is hopeful that the Orioles pick up his $11 million option for the 2023 season. He wants to stay. He’s grown extremely fond of the team, and he’s excited for a future that could include a soon-to-be 32-year-old starter.

“I would love to be back here,” he said this morning. “To see what we’ve done in the last calendar year as an organization, from what was expected of us coming into the season, and the transition to be where we are right now, it’s pretty special. I enjoy the guys. Hyder (Brandon Hyde) has been amazing. Definitely Manager of the Year in my eyes. A good clubhouse. Everything is positive here. I would love to come back.”

The Orioles gave Lyles a one-year guarantee and knew he could be flipped at the trade deadline, but he became too valuable to them. The anchor of a rotation that could have been dragged down by John Means’ elbow surgery and a collection of inexperienced starters.

A deal consummated right before the shutdown, with his physical put on a lengthy hold, turned out to work tremendously for both parties.

“Definitely has grown on me as time as went on,” said Lyles, who held the Yankees to one run in seven-plus innings last night in his career-high 32^nd start.

The opposing pitcher last night wasn’t going to influence the entirety of manager Brandon Hyde’s lineup. Just a couple of concessions.

Gunnar Henderson was playing third base despite the left-on-left matchup with Tigers starter Tyler Alexander. You can’t sit the rookie. Get him in the box as much as humanly possible.

He flied to the center field fence in the second inning, one of the few hard-hit balls against Alexander in an 11-0 loss.

Adley Rutschman was catching and batting second despite splits that are much more favorable from the left side of the plate. He began last night slashing .286/.389/.510 with 26 doubles, 10 home runs and 32 RBIs in 306 plate appearances against right-handers and .165/.295/.266 with five doubles, one home run and four RBIs in 95 plate appearances versus southpaws.

Hyde will catch Rutschman or use him as the designated hitter. It’s the stretch run. The triceps injury seems like a lifetime ago.

The Orioles are coming out of yesterday’s break in the schedule and hoping that their offense, which got a head start on it, shows up tonight in D.C.

They were shut out Sunday on three hits, the only slice of good news being how Austin Hays accounted for two of them.

Six of the last eight games ended in defeat, and the last two series have been lost. The Orioles started out 2-0 on the homestand and finished 4-6. They're going in the wrong direction - much like myself later today trying to find the parking garage.

Much of the blame lies with the bats. The Orioles struck out 14 times Sunday and suffered their ninth shutout. They’ve been held to three hits in two of their last four games. They're putting way too much pressure on the pitching staff to be perfect or darn close.

“We have really big swings and we need to get back to staying in the middle of the field,” manager Brandon Hyde said after the game, adding that his club is prone to getting into bad counts.

This is where the Orioles get up, brush off the dirt and go back to work.

The first two steps probably were completed before today. Otherwise, an off-day was wasted.

The last-place Red Sox are in town for three games, an unexpected 5 ½ behind the Orioles in the division standings. They lost three in a row, won five straight and just got swept in a three-game series at Tropicana Field.

The Orioles are 7-5 against the Red Sox this season, going 4-2 at home. They took two of three on April 29-May 1, and on Aug. 19-21.

The last game was played in Williamsport, Pa. for the annual Little League Classic, but it counts on the home side of the ledger.

CLEVELAND – Gunnar Henderson is batting sixth and playing third base tonight in his major league debut.

Henderson, the 55^th player to appear in a game with the Orioles, is sandwiched between Ryan Mountcastle and Austin Hays in the lineup.

Ramón Urías is batting fourth as the designated hitter.

Kyle Stowers and Terrin Vavra are on the bench.

For the Orioles
Cedric Mullins CF
Adley Rutschman C
Anthony Santander RF
Ramón Urías DH
Ryan Mountcastle 1B
Gunnar Henderson 3B
Austin Hays LF
Rougned Odor 2B
Jorge Mateo SS

Jordan Lyles RHP

CLEVELAND - Orioles manager Brandon Hyde spoke with Ryan Mountcastle yesterday afternoon, trying to get his first baseman to relax at the plate. To be the hitter he was a few months ago.

“It’s a young guy pressing. That’s what it is,” Hyde said before the series opener in Cleveland.

“A young guy who’s just trying to do way too much.”

Mountcastle flied to deep right field in the second inning, keeping his hitless streak at 14 at-bats in a row but scoring Ramón Urías with a sacrifice fly.

Lowered to seventh in the order for the first time since 2021, Mountcastle also grounded out and walked.

CLEVELAND – The Orioles are ready to increase their roster with two of the top prospects in the organization.

According to an industry source, infielder Gunnar Henderson and reliever DL Hall are flying to Cleveland on Wednesday to join the taxi squad.

Rosters can expand to 28 players on Thursday, when the Orioles complete their three-game series against the Guardians and head home.

Henderson is rated as the No. 1 prospect by Baseball America, and his promotion has been anticipated for more than a week. He played second base tonight for Triple-A Norfolk and collected three more hits.

The Orioles had Henderson making starts on the right side of the infield to increase their flexibility when he arrived in the majors. He’s primarily been a shortstop and third baseman since they drafted him in the second round in 2019 out of John T. Morgan Academy in Selma, Ala.

CLEVELAND - The Orioles leave Houston after winning two of three games against the team with the best record in the American League, and now they play three games in Cleveland against the leaders in the Central Division.

Yesterday’s off-day actually cost the Orioles a half-game in the wild card race. They’re two behind the Blue Jays for the last spot.

The Guardians won two of three games from the Orioles at Camden Yards on June 3-5. They’ve lost six of their last 11.

Right-hander Cal Quantrill is 10-5 with a 3.59 ERA and 1.203 WHIP in 24 starts. He’s walked 38 batters and struck out 94 in 143 innings.

Quantrill is having his best month in August, going 3-0 with a 2.25 ERA and 0.781 WHIP in five starts. He’s tossed six, seven and seven scoreless innings in three of his last four outings, holding the Blue Jays to one hit in seven frames on Aug. 12.

The Orioles launched a few more significant minor league promotions this afternoon, including a first-round draft pick’s ascension to Triple-A. To be determined is whether the ripple effect touches the major league roster.

Outfielder Colton Cowser and shortstop Joey Ortiz are moving from Double-A Bowie to the Norfolk Tides. Infielder Darrel Hernaiz is going from High-A Aberdeen to the Baysox.

Grayson Rodriguez, the No. 1 pitching prospect in baseball, is starting for Aberdeen on Thursday night after recovering from a Grade 2 strain in his right lat.

Mondays are rarely dull in the minors, even with the lack of games.

Cowser, the fifth overall selection in the 2021 draft out of Sam Houston State, is speeding through the system. He began the year with Aberdeen and is reporting to his third affiliate with a combined .294/.422/.479 slash line in 502 plate appearances, 29 doubles, two triples, 14 home runs and 55 RBIs.

The Orioles create their own breaks and catch a few along the way. Or at least, it appears that way.

Doesn’t always lead to a win, but it happens.

Going for the three-game sweep yesterday in Houston, they were tasked with trying to beat Cy Young candidate Justin Verlander. The major league leader in ERA and OPS, and tied for the lead in WHIP. A tough matchup, to say the least.

A brief one, too, with Verlander leaving after three scoreless innings with right calf discomfort.

Nothing related to his surgically repaired right elbow or his shoulder. Just his calf muscle.

Jordan Lyles coaxed the double play grounder that he needed last night with runners on the corners with one out in the third inning. Catcher Adley Rutschman jogged to the first base line, gave Lyles a congratulatory pat and maintained a dialogue with him as they walked to the dugout.

Tim Cossins, the Orioles’ major league field coordinator, is watching from a distance this season after relocating from the dugout to the bullpen. He smiles at the mention of Rutschman’s enthusiastic routine. And he’s reminded of the conversations that were held to debate its merits.

The bottom line was this: Changing anything about Rutschman defied logic. Let the kid keep doing it.

Tweak some mechanics behind the plate to improve throwing accuracy. That’s fine. But otherwise, don’t fix the parts that aren’t broken.

Cossins, also the team’s catching instructor, believes that baseball’s former No. 1 prospect came as advertised, and this is a supreme compliment.

Jorge Mateo made his 108^th start at shortstop last night, his status as the position’s caretaker long ago established.

But what about 2023?

Gunnar Henderson is baseball’s No. 1 or 2 prospect, depending on the rankings, and his debut is coming. He played second base again last night with Triple-A Norfolk, his fifth consecutive game on the right side of the infield, including two at first base. But he’s a shortstop getting his footing at other spots for roster flexibility with the Orioles – if he is, indeed, promoted in 2022.

Beyond that, he’s always been projected as their shortstop unless Jordan Westburg pushed him to third. Or if Joey Ortiz pushed him to third.

It’s never been about Mateo, but now it must be, because, well, look at him.

Tyler Wells has been on strict pitch and innings counts this season, the Orioles wanting to get him through a full season as a starter without shutting him down. Push him a little in a start, then pull him back. Provide rest where it can be found.

They didn’t want an injury to factor into his usage, but it happened tonight.

Wells threw a slider down and away to Tampa Bay’s Yandy Díaz to begin the at-bat with one out in the fifth inning, twisted his torso slightly, grimaced and bent at the waist. Rougned Odor put an arm around his shoulder as manager Brandon Hyde, pitching coach Chris Holt and head athletic trainer Brian Ebel rushed to the mound.

The club announced that Wells experienced lower back discomfort. The Orioles received 4 2/3 scoreless innings from the bullpen in regulation but lost 6-4 after the Rays scored twice in the 10th.

Jorge Mateo hit a game-tying home run off Colin Poche with one out in the ninth inning. Adley Rutschman walked with two outs and Trey Mancini singled off Poche, who surrendered Ramón Urías’ go-ahead, two-run homer last night in the eighth. Anthony Santander struck out.

MINNEAPOLIS – If the Orioles encounter a save situation this afternoon against the Rangers to start their homestand, manager Brandon Hyde isn’t likely to shy away from Jorge López.

As long as López is available to pitch after resting yesterday in Minnesota, he’s going to get the ball and try to record a 14^th save that eluded him twice against the Twins.

The Orioles aren’t changing closers. López is their guy. And they’ll say it to anyone who’s listening.

The back-to-back walk-off hits against him, the first two home runs he surrendered this season, don’t drain the trust.

“He’s only had a couple tough appearances in the whole half,” Hyde said. “The stuff was still good. The hit that beat him (Saturday) was 99. Middle part of the plate, but the stuff was still there.