BALTIMORE -- The Orioles surprised the baseball world in 2022 by becoming Wild Card contenders, though they were ultimately eliminated on Sept. 30. Rookies such as catcher Adley Rutschman and infielder Gunnar Henderson are two reasons the O¡¯s gave American League teams fits.

With Rutschman behind the plate, the pitching staff improved immensely, especially in the second half. Henderson provided much-needed punch and plate discipline in the batter¡¯s box. Imagine Henderson and Rutschman together for a full season on offense -- that could be a powerful combination.

? Rutschman named Most Valuable Oriole for '22

Executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias is making sure that Henderson and Rutschman receive help for next season. In fact, Elias is talking about going to the playoffs next year.

¡°We feel the organization is at a position now to realistically pursue that goal for next year,¡± Elias said before Wednesday¡¯s season finale doubleheader against the Blue Jays. ¡°That¡¯s going to be my focus this offseason and the focus of our squad when we meet in Sarasota, [Fla.,] next year. It¡¯s not going to be easy, given who we have to compete against. I feel this team is officially in the fight in the American League East. That¡¯s a big achievement for us.¡±

Elias now believes that Baltimore is now an attractive destination for free agents.

¡°We hear great compliments from our players about the clubhouse environment that [manager] Brandon [Hyde] has built and the way the players get better, and they have put that on display this year,¡± Elias said. ¡°It¡¯s a great town. It¡¯s a great ballpark. It¡¯s now a great place to pitch [because the left-field wall was moved back before the 2022 season]. I think we are going to have a lot of players join this team. It was a really fun vibe all year long.¡±

Elias said he continues to have meetings with his staff about how to improve the Orioles. In his mind, the needs are not obvious as far as targeting a certain position. Elias also declined to talk about how much money the team will spend this offseason.

¡°We are going to look at any and all ways to improve our chances of making the playoffs within the budget we are going to be working with,¡± he said. ¡°That¡¯s going to depend on what the market gives us. There are a number of areas [where] we can supplement this team.

? Orioles' Henderson honored as Pipeline Hitting Prospect of the Year

¡°I don¡¯t have a specific prediction about which position any Major League acquisition is going to come in. One thing that makes this a little bit tricky is we have great interesting internal candidates. ¡­ It¡¯s not necessary that we go target one particular part of the team. We will be looking to supplement and upgrade, and how that fits into the whole roster -- it¡¯s going to be case by case.¡±

Elias didn¡¯t say if the team would pick up Jordan Lyles¡¯ $11 million option for 2023, but he acknowledged that Lyles was a big help to the pitching staff, winning 12 games, making 32 starts and becoming a mentor to the younger players around him.

¡°He helped these young [pitchers] take a step forward, protected our bullpen so much this year,¡± Elias said. ¡°So kudos to him for everything, but we¡¯ll take the aspect of the business as it comes. But in a baseball sense, I want to thank him and congratulate him for 2022.¡±

Elias didn¡¯t even hesitate and called Hyde the American League Manager of the Year. Hyde took a team that lost 110 games the year before and made them Wild Card contenders.

¡°This is the year people are noticing what a talented manager that we have in Baltimore,¡± Elias said. ¡°... He has been working with the front office to build the entire organization. This isn¡¯t something that is new for me in 2022. Obviously, he has national attention and rightfully so for the performance of the team. ¡­ This is a good year for him to win [the award].¡±