The Orioles’ recent drafts played a significant role in their turnaround. A key figure in those selections is leaving the organization.

Brad Ciolek, Baltimore’s director of draft operations, is joining the Washington Nationals as their senior director of amateur scouting, a source with direct knowledge of the agreement confirmed. Ciolek has been with the Orioles for more than a decade and has overseen their past five drafts — each of those under executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias.

A rare holdover from the previous front office, Ciolek served as Baltimore’s interim scouting director for the 2019 draft, in which the Orioles had the No. 1 overall pick. They used it on catcher Adley Rutschman and took infielder Gunnar Henderson with their second-round selection. Those two players ranked first and second among Orioles in FanGraphs’ version of wins above replacement as the club won 101 games and the American League East this season.

The 2019 draft also produced major leaguers Kyle Stowers and Joey Ortiz, with fifth-round pick Darell Hernaiz traded to the Oakland Athletics to acquire left-handed pitcher Cole Irvin. Baltimore’s top two choices in 2020, No. 2 pick Heston Kjerstad and No. 30 pick Jordan Westburg, and 2021 No. 5 pick Colton Cowser all reached the majors in 2023; Ciolek spent those two drafts as Baltimore’s supervisor of domestic scouting operations.

Jackson Holliday, the first overall selection in 2022, ranks unanimously as baseball’s No. 1 overall prospect. That draft was Ciolek’s first in the directing role. Of the top 30 prospects in the Orioles’ top-ranked farm system, 20 were products of Ciolek’s drafts, based on Baseball America’s rankings.

After the initial turnover surrounding Elias’ November 2018 hiring, the Orioles have enjoyed relative consistency across the top of their baseball operations department. Assistant general manager of analytics Sig Mejdal and director of senior director of international scouting Koby Perez were among Elias’ first hires after he joined Baltimore. Ciolek, director of pro scouting Mike Snyder, director of minor league operations Kent Qualls and director of baseball systems Di Zou were already in the organization at that time. Director of player development Matt Blood and assistant general manager of baseball operations Eve Rosenbaum were brought in ahead of the 2020 season.

Brendan Fournie, hired as Baltimore’s director of baseball strategy in late 2021, is the only member of the baseball operations department with a director or assistant general manager title who was hired within the past three years. That could change if the Orioles make an external addition to replace Ciolek.

The Athletic first reported Ciolek was joining the Nationals. 106.7 The Fan first reported his position with Washington.

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Hats and shirts celebrating the Orioles’ American League East title are still for sale in the B&O Warehouse.

Meanwhile, the union workers who stock and sell the team merchandise at Camden Yards have been passing out leaflets to customers during the first round of collective bargaining negotiations with Fanatics since the company took over the Orioles Team Store ahead of the 2023 season.

The Orioles contracted with Delaware North for both concession and merchandise sales from 2010 until 2022. Effective this season, the team contracted with Levy, a Chicago-based hospitality company, to manage concessions, and Fanatics, a licensed sports merchandise company co-headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, and San Mateo, California. Fanatics has made Major League Baseball’s uniforms and official merchandise since 2017, when it bought Majestic for around $225 million.

This season, merchandise workers did not have a union contract as Fanatics, unlike Levy, did not assume the union contract with Unite Here Local 7, instead agreeing to bargain.

“The union does not have a contract with Fanatics,” said Tracy Lingo, president of Unite Here Local 7, which represents around 400 concessions workers and 50 merchandise workers at Camden Yards. “When Levy came in, they assumed the previous company’s contract with us. Fanatics has not done so. We are bargaining a first contract with Fanatics.”

Lingo added that union and company representatives have not met since August, and that workers began to communicate with customers about the labor dispute during the playoffs this month and plan to continue to pass out leaflets at the team store explaining their grievances. The 101-win Orioles attracted roughly 7,000 more fans per game this season compared with last, around a 40% increase.

A Fanatics spokesperson declined to comment Monday night. The Orioles did not respond to a request for comment about the team’s business with Fanatics.

The union says Fanatics has not allowed workers to work five days a week while keeping the team store open six days a week.

Carolyn Brooks, who has worked the cash register at the team store since 2018 and grew up in East Baltimore, said she lost around $90 a week when her hours were cut from five to four days per week.

“They bring in boatloads and boatloads of merchandise for us to size and put on hangers and to put out on the floor. We have to stand for long periods of time providing for this company that is making all this money,” Brooks said. “Fanatics doesn’t want to do anything for us, but we have rights. We deserve respect.”

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The Orioles’ 2023 season is over, but the awards to recognize their unprecedented campaign are just beginning.

Three Orioles — catcher Adley Rutschman, first baseman Ryan Mountcastle and left fielder Austin Hays — were named American League Gold Glove Award finalists, Rawlings announced Wednesday afternoon.

Three finalists at each position were chosen in each league by the 30 MLB managers and six coaches from each team — votes that make up 75% of the process — and the Society for American Baseball Research Defensive Index, which accounts for the remaining 25%.

Gold Glove Award winners will be revealed Nov. 5 at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN’s “Baseball Tonight.”

Rutschman was one of six catchers in the AL to start more than 100 games behind the plate this season and ended his second big league campaign rated as an above-average backstop in each of the four major metrics measured from Statcast tracking data.

His 22% caught stealing rate is narrowly above average, but his 1.91-second pop time — the time it takes him from catching a pitch to the ball reaching the middle infielder’s glove at second base — ranked fourth in the AL among backstops with more than 30 stolen base attempts against them. His pitch framing, according to Baseball Savant, ranks in the top 20% in the major leagues, and his five catcher-framing runs rank eighth in the AL. He’s also a plus blocker, ranking in the 85th percentile in Statcast’s pitch-blocking metric and eighth in the AL in blocks above average per game.

Only two starting catchers in the AL rank better than Rutschman as both a framer and a thrower: Seattle’s Cal Raleigh and Texas’ Jonah Heim. Raleigh isn’t a finalist — Toronto’s Alejandro Kirk is instead — while Heim and Rutschman will go head to head again for an award after Heim, an Orioles draftee in 2013, won the fan vote over Baltimore’s backstop to start the All-Star Game.

But Rutschman’s value as a catcher is perhaps derived just as much from his handling of a young Orioles pitching staff that took leaps in 2023. The 25-year-old has been often credited by his pitchers and manager Brandon Hyde for his ability to help craft a game plan, call pitches and provide support throughout the game. After innings end, he meets his pitcher at the foul line for positive reinforcement — an unusual yet distinctive act he does no matter the circumstances.

Hays was perhaps the most likely Oriole to be a Gold Glove finalist after standing out in Camden Yards’ abnormally large left field. Mountcastle, meanwhile, is a surprise after playing just 90 games and 769 1/3 innings at first base this season.

Hyde frequently talked about the importance of having Hays in Oriole Park’s left field — the sport’s largest after the organization moved back the wall before the 2022 season — to the success of Baltimore’s young pitching staff. Hays’ seven defensive runs saved ranked third among AL left fielders. The only two ahead of him — Cleveland’s Steven Kwan (15) and Toronto’s Daulton Varsho (11) — are also finalists. Baseball Savant’s Outs Above Average ranked Hays’ range as slightly below league average, but his arm is rated by Statcast as one of the sport’s best with an arm value in the top 10% and arm strength in the top 20%. Hays, an All-Star after a torrid first half, totaled only four outfield assists, but that’s largely because opposing base runners rarely tried to take an extra base against him.

For Mountcastle, being a Gold Glove finalist at first base would’ve been a shock just a few years ago. Drafted as a shortstop out of high school in 2015, Mountcastle moved to third base as a minor leaguer in 2018. He then spent the following three seasons playing first base and corner outfield before permanently moving to first last season. Of the 12 AL first basemen with more than 600 innings played, only five had a positive DRS, with Mountcastle’s two ranked third on that list. The only two ahead of him are New York’s Anthony Rizzo (three) and Texas’ Nathaniel Lowe (two), both of whom are also finalists. According to OAA, Mountcastle’s minus-1 ranked sixth among AL first basemen, including behind teammate Ryan O’Hearn at three.

Infielder Gunnar Henderson and center fielder Cedric Mullins were not named finalists. Mullins, a finalist in 2022, started just 101 games in center field this season after landing on the injured list twice with groin strains. Henderson split his season between shortstop and third base, hurting his chances of being a finalist at either, but he also didn’t make the final cut for the utility spot despite ranking fifth among AL infielders in DRS, which was awarded for the first time last year.

However, Henderson’s offseason won’t be without hardware. The 22-year-old is the favorite to win the AL Rookie of the Year Award next month after leading the 101-win Orioles in Baseball-Reference’s version of wins above replacement at 6.3.

Starting pitcher Kyle Bradish is expected to get votes for AL Cy Young, Rutschman could be the AL’s Silver Slugger at catcher, first baseman Ryan O’Hearn is a consideration for AL Comeback Player of the Year and closer Félix Bautista is worthy of Mariano Rivera AL Reliever of the Year consideration. Hyde is expected to win AL Manager of the Year, and executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias is a strong candidate for MLB Executive of the Year.

On Tuesday, Henderson, Bradish and O’Hearn were finalists for the player-voted Major League Baseball Players Association’s Players Choice Awards. Henderson was nominated for AL Outstanding Rookie, Bradish for AL Outstanding Pitcher and O’Hearn for AL Comeback Player.

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Chicago Bulls guard Ayo Dosunmu was recognized for his dedication to helping children in Chicago with the NBA Cares Bob Lanier Community Assist Award.

The announcement was made in part by several students he’s working to help at his former elementary school, Beasley Academic Center. Dosunmu partnered with the school to offer Bulls tickets to every student who makes the honor roll this year. The incentive program is one of several initiatives that earned Dosunmu the Lanier honor, which three Beasley students presented to him Thursday at the Advocate Center.

A Morgan Park product, Dosunmu has been dedicated to community involvement since he gained notoriety as a star guard at Illinois. He spends his summers at home in Chicago and partners with local advocacy groups focused on youth engagement and gun violence prevention.

The NBA recognizes eight players each year through the Community Assist program with seven monthly awards and one offseason award.

Dosunmu was recognized for his work over the summer through the Ayo Dos Foundation, which aims to create safe third spaces for children in Chicago.

He partnered with Black Kids Predict and Beyond the Ball to host basketball clinics for 180 local children this summer, donating $5,000 grant donations to both Beyond the Ball and Urban Male Network. He also hosted a second-annual block party to honor his childhood friend Darius Brown, who was shot and killed in 2011. In September, Dosunmu partnered with Nordstrom and Shoes That Fit to donate more than 350 pairs of Nike sneakers to students at Philip Randolph Elementary School.

“That’s what really makes you a good person,” Dosunmu told the Tribune. “Basketball players make a lot of money, but the important thing is how can you use your money, how can you use your image to inspire others? I’m blessed to see both sides of the fence. I want to be using that. I don’t just do it for the cameras. I don’t do it for the popularity contest. I really do it to change the lives of some kids that really never had anything.”

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