With the first winter meetings of the new era of Orioles baseball under executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias wrapped Thursday, the first glimpse at how the team might be operated and what its short- and long-term goals are provided plenty to ponder.
Some things remained the same, including a flurry of Rule 5 draft action on the final day. But whether formally announced or confirmed by the team or not, the fact that they're coming home with a manager in Chicago Cubs bench coach Brandon Hyde exceeded expectations.
What began as a unique winter meetings experience as the first team without a manager at the event in recent memory was made even more so by the reporting of Hyde's selection on MLB Network as Elias was meeting the local media Tuesday night and saying emphatically that he hadn't selected a manager.