The Orioles have their new skipper, officially. 
After days of speculation, the Orioles announced Brandon Hyde has been tabbed to replace Buck Showalter and become the 20th manager in club history. The hiring highlights what has been a busy offseason for Hyde, who also interviewed for managerial vacancies in Texas, Toronto, Minnesota and Anaheim this winter. 
Now, Hyde is headed to Baltimore, a place to which he has little connection. So what should O's fans expect? What follows is a skinny on the man tabbed to lead Baltimore's rebuild from the dugout. 
What's his background?
Hyde, 45, has spent most of his two-decade-plus career in coaching and player development, all in two extensive tenures with the Marlins and Cubs. Long viewed in the industry as a future manager, he's held a variety of positions on Chicago's big league staff since joining the organization in 2013, including two stints as bench coach. He was the first-base coach for the Cubs' '16 World Series title team, then replaced Dave Martinez as Chicago manager Joe Maddon's bench coach last season.
Earlier this decade, Hyde held the same position under manager Jack McKeon for the Marlins, where he previously spent nearly a decade on the player development side. Hyde's ties to both Maddon and McKeon have painted Hyde as a strong communicator, with a willingness to incorporate analytics into in-game decision-making. He interviewed for managerial openings with the Angels, Twins, Rangers and Blue Jays this offseason.
A native of Santa Rosa, Calif., Hyde played collegiately at Cal State Long Beach in the late 1990s. He is married with three children.
Does he have managerial experience?
All of one game's worth, at least at the Major League level. Hyde was in his second season as Marlins bench coach when he was temporarily promoted to acting manager on June 19, 2011, following Edwin Rodriguez's unexpected resignation. The Marlins lost that night, 2-1, to the Rays, the defeat extending their losing streak to 10 games at the time. McKeon was named the club's interim manager the following day.
Hyde's Minor League managerial experience is much more extensive. He managed for five years in the Marlins farm system before joining their big league staff, compiling a 351-342 record and helping groom the prospect likes of Giancarlo Stanton, Logan Morrison, Andrew Miller and Josh Johnson. Hyde led Double-A Jacksonville to the Southern League title in 2009.
Did he play?
Signed as an undrafted free agent out of Long Beach in 1997, Hyde hit .256 with 14 home runs across four seasons in the White Sox system as a catcher/first baseman. He reached Triple-A in 2000 at age 26, playing the final nine games of his Minor League career with Charlotte of the International League. Hyde then played 17 games with the Chico Heat of the independent Western League the following season before getting into coaching.
Does he have any ties to Baltimore?
They are few and far between, consisting almost entirely of relationships with players who have since left the O's. Hyde coached former Orioles Pedro Strop, Jacob Arrieta and Koji Uehara with the Cubs. He also coached Miller in Florida and Welington Castillo in Chicago before both eventually played with the O's.
What are people saying about Hyde?
Few have gone on the record, given the unofficial nature of Hyde's reported deal, but Maddon spoke generally this week about the challenge of overseeing a rebuild, which Hyde would have to do in Baltimore. Maddon is something of an expert on the subject, having inherited a 95-loss team ahead of his first season in Tampa Bay. He led the Rays to the World Series two years later and eventually became the winningest manager in franchise history.
"You've got to build relationships from the ground up," Maddon said. "You've got to get to know people first. And they've got to get to know you. When you do that, you start trusting each other. And once you trust each other, I promise you the ideas flow more freely. And then when you're constructively critical of one another you're not pushing back."