By parting ways with productive and popular José Iglesias (via trade) and Hanser Alberto (non-tender) at MLB’s non-tender deadline, the Orioles restructured their middle infield this week in a series of moves that also reinforced the realities of their rebuild. The transactions left two sizable short-term holes in the Orioles’ middle infield and sparked plenty of questions from fans about what else the offseason might hold.

Let’s use the topic as a springboard then to jump right into the latest Orioles Inbox, which we’ll be running as a weekly feature on Orioles dot com throughout the offseason. Submit your questions via Twitter for a chance to see them answered here -- there should be more than enough for us to discuss.

Let’s answer these questions in tandem. It seems necessary the Orioles will have to go outside the organization to replace Iglesias, which executive VP and GM Mike Elias confirmed on his Wednesday night Zoom with reporters. The in-house candidates are simply limited.

They love No. 6 prospect Gunnar Henderson, but he’s only 19. No. 7 Jordan Westburg is yet to play professionally, and No. 16 Adam Hall hasn’t reached Double-A. Maybe No. 13 prospect Terrin Vavra gets a look at Spring Training, but he won’t be a real candidate to start at short everyday, at least not right away.

Richie Martin? Probably more of a utility option at this point. Same for Pat Valaika.

“I think we’ve got work left to do there,” Elias said. “Part of the risk with a trade like this, when it comes to the stability at the Major League level that we desire, is we’re now looking for infield upgrades. There are a lot of good players out on the market, and we’ll have a chance to explore those and try to be opportunistic and smart again like when we found Iggy.”

In practice, that might be easier said than done. It’s true that Wednesday’s non-tenders flooded the free-agent pool, but when you look more closely, not a single full-time shortstop was cut loose at the deadline. The closest is former Rangers utiltyman Danny Santana, who is coming off elbow surgery and questionable for 2021. He joins Marcus Semien, Didi Gregorius, Andrelton Simmons and Freddy Galvis in a very thin veteran shortstop market, most of whom are likely to command multiyear deals outside the Orioles price range. I’d focus on Galvis, almost by default.

I think it’s very likely. The Orioles have made at least one Rule 5 selection every year since 2006, and aren’t exactly in a position to be ignoring opportunities to take fliers on young players. There is actually a suspicion in industry circles that the Rule 5 Draft could be especially active this year, with lower-budget teams prioritizing it as a way to stockpile young, cheap talent in rough economic times. The O’s certainly fit that mold, and also could be in danger of losing some prospects for the same reason. But more on that later.

Absolutely. The Orioles were planning on moving Martin into a utility role before his season-ending wrist injury last summer, exposing him to reps at second, short and also third base as early as Spring Training, if you remember. Even with Iglesias gone, I expect that to be the plan again going forward if Martin is healthy and in the Majors. He also has a Minor League option remaining, so he could spend some time at Triple-A.

For reference: We’re talking about right-handed reliever Zac Pop, who the Orioles acquired as part of their return for Manny Machado in 2018. Pop, 24, hasn’t pitched since undergoing Tommy John surgery in April 2019, but he is Rule 5 eligible this year after being left unprotected last month. Pop is a former seventh round pick who was throwing in the upper 90s before surgery. He is seen as a potential impact reliever with the ability to neutralize righties and keep the ball in the ballpark.

We already mentioned why the Rule 5 Draft might be unusually active this year. Pop’s chances of selection seem higher than usual for that reason, but any team taking a flier would do so without seeing him pitch competitively in two full years, and above Double-A at all. Health wouldn’t necessarily be an issue from a roster standpoint, since any team that selects Pop could simply stash him on the injured list until he’s ready to return to the mound.

In short, it's possible. Probably not terribly likely. But it’s a risk, one the Orioles were ultimately willing to take in order to protect six other, higher-ranked prospects last month.

His contract.