This story was excerpted from Jake Rill’s Orioles Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

BALTIMORE -- The Orioles have an ownership group willing to spend money this offseason. David Rubenstein, the private equity billionaire and Baltimore native who became the club’s control person in March, has publicly proclaimed his financial support for the baseball operations department.

The O’s have a front office that has successfully rebuilt the franchise and turned the MLB club into one of the best in the American League over the past two seasons. Mike Elias is on the hunt, now knowing the finances will be there, and the general manager got going Saturday.

The night before Elias and his staff were set to depart for Dallas for the 2024 Winter Meetings, the Orioles agreed to deals with outfielder Tyler O'Neill (three years, $49.5 million) and catcher Gary Sánchez (one year, $8.5 million), sources told MLB.com. The club has not confirmed either deal.

It’s seemingly the perfect time for the Orioles -- now in a window of contention for a World Series title -- to make major moves, and their participation in baseball’s Hot Stove season has started to heat up. That should only continue over the next four days at the Hilton Anatole, the site of MLB's marquee offseason event.

Here's everything to know about the O's before the Winter Meetings get underway.

Key events

• Sunday: HOF Classic Baseball Era Committee results released
• Tuesday: Draft Lottery
• Wednesday: Rule 5 Draft

Club needs
An ace: Corbin Burnes is a free agent after a tremendous first season in Baltimore. The Orioles could have to pay more than $200 million to bring back the 30-year-old right-hander, or they may try to find a new ace elsewhere.

Another right-handed-hitting outfielder: The O’s projected starting outfield entering the offseason had three lefty hitters (Colton Cowser, Cedric Mullins and Heston Kjerstad). Switch-hitter Anthony Santander hit free agency after slugging a career-high 44 home runs, so Baltimore is looking to replace that power if he doesn’t return. The deal for O'Neill, who belted 31 homers last season, will help. But the Orioles could continue to look to add to that group.

Bullpen help: It can never hurt to add relief depth, and Baltimore is in the market for that after parting ways with Danny Coulombe and Jacob Webb last month.

Potential trade candidates
The Orioles are set to return their two first basemen -- Ryan Mountcastle (projected to earn $6.6 million in arbitration by MLB Trade Rumors) and Ryan O’Hearn (making $8 million after his 2025 team option was exercised). But corner infielder Coby Mayo (Baltimore’s No. 1 prospect and MLB Pipeline’s No. 8 overall prospect) could also factor into the mix at first.

Mountcastle could be a valuable trade chip if the O’s are comfortable with a platoon of O’Hearn and Mayo. The 27-year-old’s power numbers have dipped a bit, but the new left-field wall at Camden Yards should help him if he stays in Baltimore.

Another trade possibility for the Orioles is to part with prospects from their strong farm system to acquire an ace, such as White Sox lefty Garrett Crochet.

Prospect to know
Baltimore is likely signing Sánchez to a only one-year deal because it has Samuel Basallo (O’s No. 2 prospect, No. 13 overall) waiting in the wings. The 20-year-old Dominican reached Triple-A Norfolk for the first time in late August and could get to the big leagues by the second half of 2025.

While the O’s may be asked to include Basallo in trade packages, they’ll likely want to keep him. There will be room for both Basallo and Rutschman on the future roster, as the former could get time at first and both would get starts at designated hitter.

Rule 5 Draft
The Orioles made a selection in the MLB portion of every Rule 5 Draft from 2006-22, but that streak ended in ‘23. They may pass again this year, although their 40-man roster currently stands at 37 players.

Right-handers Juan Nuñez (O’s No. 8 prospect) and Alex Pham (No. 25) were left unprotected by Baltimore. Nuñez, 24, has never pitched above High-A Frederick. Pham, 25, owns a 3.71 ERA over 179 2/3 Double-A innings.

Burning question
How much will the Orioles actually spend?

Despite the support of the ownership group, Elias isn’t going to ask for money to throw around just for the sake of saying he finally did so. The O’s brass plans to act diligently, making smart investments for the long-term future of the franchise.

With that being said, Baltimore may see a significant bump in payroll. Could that include a megadeal for the likes of Burnes or someone similar? We’ll have to wait to find out.