DALLAS -- Entering the offseason, there was a widespread belief that the Orioles would be more aggressive shoppers in the Hot Stove market this year. That’s because the club was heading into its first winter with an ownership group led by David Rubenstein, a private equity billionaire and Baltimore native.

So far, the O’s are proving that will be the case.

The Orioles’ representatives at the 2024 Winter Meetings departed Dallas on Wednesday having completed their first two big moves of the offseason. On Tuesday, they finalized a three-year, $49.5 million deal for outfielder Tyler O’Neill -- the first multiyear contract given to a free agent by Mike Elias in his six-year tenure as general manager -- and a one-year, $8.5 million deal for catcher/designated hitter Gary Sánchez.

• How new signees O'Neill, Sánchez fit into O's roster plans

“We've had a lot of things leading to increased spending, and it's been pretty continual the last few years. But this is another step forward,” Elias said. “A lot of buyers and not a lot of right-handed outfielders and not a lot of catchers of Major League quality. And so we were able to attack those needs pretty aggressively, and I credit [the ownership group’s] support in that. So it's something I hope we'll be seeing more and more and more of as the years go.”

Baltimore could need more of it this offseason, too, as it still has work to do before the 2025 season.

Biggest remaining needs

An ace starter: The Orioles have had a hole atop their rotation since Corbin Burnes became a free agent, and it’s still there. Meanwhile, pitchers are quickly coming off the free-agent market, which has gotten quite pricey in recent days.

Blake Snell (five years, $182 million from Dodgers), Max Fried (eight years, $218 million from Yankees) and Nathan Eovaldi (three years, $75 million from Rangers) are among the top starters who have signed. The trade market has also become active, as the White Sox shipped left-hander Garrett Crochet to the Red Sox on Wednesday.

It remains possible that Burnes could return to Baltimore, but the 30-year-old should get the largest contract for any pitcher this offseason. Another route the O’s could take is pursuing a trade for a pitcher like Padres right-hander Dylan Cease, whom the Orioles have shown interest in, according to MLB Network’s Jon Morosi.

Bullpen depth: Baltimore has lost lefty Danny Coulombe and righty Jacob Webb, so it could look to add more arms to its relief mix. The O’s have several internal options for the back end of their bullpen (such as Brandon Young, Kade Strowd and others), but they would benefit from adding at least one more high-leverage reliever.

“I could see scenarios where we acquire more relievers,” Elias said. “We've got the whole pitching market up on the board, and we're just trying to find a place where we can find a deal and we can strike.”

Rule 5 Draft
For the second straight year, the Orioles didn’t take any players in the big league portion of the Rule 5 Draft after taking at least one at the event every time it was held from 2006-20. They lost right-hander Juan Nuñez (the club’s No. 8 prospect per MLB Pipeline) to the Padres. The 24-year-old has never pitched above High-A.

Baltimore also didn’t take any players in the Minor League phase, but it lost six more -- righties Tyler Burch (Rockies), Dan Hammer (Rays), Jean Pinto (Astros) and Zachary Peek (Brewers) and outfielders John Rhodes (Dodgers) and Elio Prado (Phillies).

Boras talk
Per Winter Meetings tradition, agent Scott Boras held a lengthy scrum with the media on Wednesday morning, during which he was asked several questions about the Orioles:

On a potential return to Baltimore for Burnes: “Corbin’s open to really listening to every team.”

On Baltimore’s aggressiveness in free agency: “We’ve been in very close contact with Mike Elias and talking to him regularly, and he’s made it very clear that under this ownership, they’re going to take steps forward that they haven’t taken in the past.”

On whether Gunnar Henderson would benefit from not signing an extension and waiting for free agency: “That would be something that Gunnar has to define over time, where he’s playing. Certainly, skill-wise, he is already one of the elite young players in the game, that’s for sure.”

GM’s bottom line
Despite going a combined 0-5 while getting swept out of the postseason each of the past two seasons, Elias remains confident the Orioles are “in a really good mode right now” and is optimistic about the future of the franchise as he continues to navigate the offseason.

“We have a really good chance over the next few years, we think, to continue to be a playoff team, and with that, we hope deep playoff runs are part of it,” Elias said. “There's measurement to how you go about this business, there's give and take. You can't do everything that you want to do all the time in a lot of cases. So we're working together to figure out what the right recipe is. But the support from [Rubenstein] and his group for our baseball operations department, and just for investing in the franchise, is as good as it can be. It's excellent.”