BALTIMORE -- By this time next year, the Orioles could feel their rebuild had passed an inflection point. Hence the excitement entering 2022 with a host of top prospects projected to reach the Majors and big decisions on the horizon for executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias and the O’s. 

Here are five key questions they face in ’22:

1. When does Adley Rutschman arrive?
It’ll be the main talking point surrounding the team, and an intrigue of the baseball world at large. When does Rutschman, the sport’s top overall prospect, make his long-anticipated debut in Baltimore?

Fresh off an excellent first full professional season at Double-A Bowie and Triple-A Norfolk, Rutschman is almost three years removed from being selected first overall in the 2019 Draft. He seemingly has little left to prove in the Minors and there is not much blocking his ascension -- a reported free-agent deal with Robinson Chirinos would make him the only catcher on the Orioles’ 40-man roster. Club officials have said Rutschman will get a real shot at cracking the Opening Day roster this spring. Whenever it happens, it’ll mark the most anticipated Orioles debut since Matt Wieters in 2009 and could signal a turning point in the club’s long rebuild.

2. Is a big trade on the horizon?
Every winter comes with reborn speculation the Orioles might trade one of their homegrown stars, and this winter is no different. Given the impending arrival of Rutschman, top pitching prospect Grayson Rodriguez and others, does dealing someone like John Means, Cedric Mullins or Trey Mancini make sense now? And would the O’s make a deal?

The answers lie in the team’s internal forecast as much as in any potential return package that might materialize. But dealing Mullins feels the least likely, given his breakout age-26 season and the fact that he’s under team control through 2025. Means is under team control through 2024 and also could fit into the team’s competitive window. But Mancini is a free agent next winter, and despite public acknowledgment of interest from both sides, there has not been any word of an impending extension. He’s also set to turn 30 this year after successfully returning from Stage 3 colon cancer with a productive and durable -- if not elite -- 2021 campaign.

3. Who are the solutions in the infield?
Signing veteran second baseman Rougned Odor to a team-friendly, one-year deal shored up one of the O’s positional holes, but others remain across the infield. Jorge Mateo and Kelvin Gutierrez showed flashes down the stretch last year at shortstop and third base, respectively, but neither are guaranteed jobs this spring. Expect them to compete with Jahmai Jones, Ramon Urías and Rylan Bannon for reps at all three positions come camp, and for Baltimore to add at least one additional player into that mix at some point. Until then, the field, literally, is wide open.

4. Will they dip further into free agency?
They’ll probably have to, given the infield uncertainty we just discussed. The Orioles have still yet to sign a free agent to a multiyear deal in Elias’ tenure, sticking instead to one-year pacts for veterans like José Iglesias, Freddy Galvis and Maikel Franco in recent offseasons. The holes those players filled persist, and Baltimore’s top shortstop and third base prospects remain a year to several years away. Hence the reoccurring need for a veteran infielder who can provide stability behind what again will be a young, unproven pitching staff. Additionally, the O’s could look at further upgrading that starting staff after signing right-hander Jordan Lyles (one year, $7 million with club option) to slot in behind Means in the rotation.

5. Which other prospects could debut in 2022?
The O’s protected six prospects from the Rule 5 Draft (since canceled for 2022) back in November -- lefties D.L. Hall and Kevin Smith, right-handers Kyle Bradish, Felix Bautista and Logan Gillaspie, and second baseman Terrin Vavra. Not all are guaranteed to have 2022 debuts, but Bradish, Bautista, Gillaspie and maybe Smith can be reasonably expected to arrive this season. Yusniel Diaz and Bannon remain on the 40-man roster and have yet to debut, making their arrival early in ’22 very real possibilities. Also falling into that “very real possibility” category are Rodriguez and fast-rising outfielder Kyle Stowers, who finished ’21 at Triple-A. 

Simply put, the Orioles’ plans are flooded with youngsters -- don’t forget rookie holdovers like Jones, Michael Baumann, Zac Lowther, Ryan McKenna and Alexander Wells -- who should get a chance to stick in ’22.