We’re now less than a month away from pitchers and catchers reporting to spring training, although the weather lately makes it feel like spring is approximately 100 years away. (The forecast for next Tuesday calls for a high of 21 and a low of four. Four! As in, degrees!)

I won’t be holding my breath for the Orioles to make any significant moves between now and then, though of course they could always surprise us like they did with last year’s Corbin Burnes trade on Feb. 1. A few notable free agents are still lingering on the market, including slugging first baseman Pete Alonso, who looks increasingly unlikely to re-sign with the Mets.

I wouldn’t expect that the Orioles are interested in Alonso, but also…I wouldn’t hate it if they came out of nowhere to make him a three- or four-year offer with a high average annual value. It would be kind of fun, wouldn’t it? Alonso might not age well but the guy can still mash — 226 home runs in just six major league seasons is a heck of a thing — and he seems like a good dude. The O’s lineup could use someone to replace the 44 home runs that are walking out the door with Anthony Santander, and with Walltimore being brought in, Alonso could take aim at the left-field seats at Camden Yards.

Signing Alonso would of course force the O’s to unclog the roster elsewhere, probably by trading Ryan Mountcastle, which the Orioles may or may not be interested in doing. Most likely they don’t intend to go to great lengths to sign a player who doesn’t address a glaring roster hole, especially at the price tag Alonso would command.

So yeah, it’s not realistic at all. Just a what-if scenario. But as we slog through this cold winter without much real Orioles news to chew on, what-if scenarios are all we have to sustain us right now.

Links
Challenging readers with two more Orioles questions – School of Roch
Roch Kubatko is a bit more optimistic about the state of the Orioles’ bullpen than I am. I hope he turns out to be right.

Orioles Claim Jacob Amaya, DFA Roansy Contreras – MLB Trade Rumors
Find someone who loves you the way Mike Elias loves tinkering with the fringes of the 40-man roster.

With Mullins set in center, what do the corner OF spots look like for O’s? – Steve Melewski
At the moment the obvious alignment seems to be Colton Cowser in left and some sort of Tyler O’Neill/Heston Kjerstad time share in right. But there’s still time for the O’s to surprise us with an unexpected trade of Kjerstad or re-signing of Santander.

Who’s the face of the Orioles? – BaltimoreBaseball.com
I feel like the answer is Gunnar. Now if the question were “Who’s the baby face of the Orioles?”, there would be plenty of candidates.

Orioles birthdays and history
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! And a happy posthumous birthday to left-hander Jay Heard (b. 1920, d. 1999), who in 1954 became the first African American player in Orioles history. Other former Orioles born on Jan. 17 are right-hander Rob Bell (48) and the late catcher and scout Dick Brown (b. 1935, d. 1970).

On this date in 1970, the O’s drafted infielder Doug DeCinces in the third round of the secondary draft (the now-defunct January draft for players who graduated in the winter). DeCinces went on to play 858 games for the Orioles, capably replacing the great Brooks Robinson at third base and hitting the home run that was considered the birth of “Orioles Magic” in 1979.